Former Kano CP Wakili and patriotic service

He came, saw and conquered, having spent the last 35 or more years in the service of his fatherland as a police officer. His last assignment in Kano proved it all as BASHIR MOHAMMED writes.

Since his deployment to Kano state as commissioner of police where he took over the mantle of leadership from his predecessor, Alhaji Rabiu Yusuf on the eve of the 2019 general elections, Alhaji Mohammed Wakili, now retired, has proved that he is a no nonsense cop. At every opportunity, he made it clear that he was in the state to chase criminals out of their hideouts.

He came at a time when Kano city was battling with the nefarious activities of hardened criminals like Yandaba who often terrorise innocent people in all the nooks and crannies of the state. His exploits, however, put them at bay.

He was also known for his usual mantra of kwaya-kwaya which earned him the reputation of ‘CP kwaya-kwaya’ meaning drugs-drugs. In every part of the city, he expresses his readiness to confront the menace headlong with the belief that it is when one gets drunk that the temptation to commit crimes gets higher.

To the police officers in the command, Wakili is a name like a commander on the battle field who gives command without any disobedience for fear of his wrath. He is known as one who defies all entreaties when it comes to the issue of sanctioning an erring officer.

He undoubtedly made it explicitly clear to anyone who cared to listen that he was not in Kano to make money at the expense of jeopardising the security interest of the people of the state. Wakili could beat his chest to disabuse the minds of everyone that he was firm and resolute in whatever he does, with the understanding that one will render account to the Almighty one day.

According to him, “If anyone thinks I am in Kano to make money, I stand to prove that person wrong. Anybody who thinks he has the courage to call my bluff would bury his head in the sea of shame. I am not such type of person who can be stampeded into striking a deal with people of dubious background and pedigree. I happened to work in sensitive places where one can be easily seduced on pecuniary ground, but I am not the type.”

Proving his professional bravado and capacity to descend on anyone who runs foul of the law, Wakili, on his assumption of duty, effected the mass arrest of over 1,600 hoodlums within 10 days, an unprecedented feat never achieved by his predecessors. Without minding the existing nature of cordial relationship between a police commissioner and governor, Wakili broke the norm by almost distancing himself from the seat of power in order to walk his talk.

It was, however, as a result of his isolation tendency that made many to see his perceived error. It was also the contention of such people that without the governor’s support, his effort to contain criminal acts would not succeed 100% because of logistical support, most especially as he was redeployed to the state at the time the 2019 elections were about to be held.

With tens of thousands of residents of the ancient city living with the perpetual fear that their lives and property were not safe from the hoodlums terrorising the people especially on the eve of the elections, Wakili heroically wielded his swagger stick by making them to cool their heels in the various prisons across the state before being charged to court.

Working journalists covering the state with special interest on the methodology he employed to curb the alarming spate of crimes, found it easy to cross check their facts from him directly or from the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO).

He had said, “My phone is always ready for you anytime you people want to confirm something from me. it is just too simple, call my number, it is only the number with which I communicate with everyone. Just call and say you are the one, I am ever ready to respond to your call even in the wee hours of night. As far as I am concerned, I don’t have anything to hide.

“You people would think that I am one a difficult person who cannot be confronted at a given time. Those who know my antecedents knows that I am down to earth and always ready to extend the olive branch to those willing to obey the laws of the land and ruthless to those who take solace in flouting them,” he added.

People’s opinion of him

However, in spite of his stunning accomplishments as a dogged, committed and selfless police officer worth his onion, Wakili began to lose his popularity during the elections with competing ideological interest dominating the political space.

Wide spread allegation against him was rife among which is that being the one calling the shots at the top echelon of the police command in Kano, he allegedly took side with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at a time the race for the Government House was intense.

In the run up to his retirement date, those who were not comfortable with his style of leadership were jubilating, celebrating his exit from the force, saying they were free from his authoritarian rule, having allegedly played into the hands of a cabal seeking to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the gubernatorial contest during the poll.

His penchant for fighting crime had diminished the influence of hardened criminals in Kano thereby forcing them to retrace their steps and think twice whenever his name was mentioned.

His exit from the force, has undoubtedly elicited a flurry of public opinion even within the rank and file of the force especially those who had it so good with him and those who swallowed the bitter pills of his no nonsense leadership.

According to a police constable who craved anonymity, Wakili had striven hard to fight for his rights which had been trampled upon during the tenure of successive police commissioners in the state. He said that with CP Wakili at the helm of affairs, he was made to exude considerable confidence worth being a police man.

He said, “I am mourning his exit from the force knowing that a resilient and committed officer just retired. I would continue to remember him for standing to fight for the rights of the most helpless personnel in the force. Those celebrating his exit are the real enemies of progress.”

He, however, stated that being a commissioner of police entails the commitment and the effrontery of an officer willing to face criminals no matter the position and influence of their godfathers, stressing that his exit had opened the floodgate for bad eggs to rear their ugly heads in the force.

But in the words of one Malam Hamza Doguwa, he was not impressed by the much-vaunted claim that Wakili had performed wonders in his professional calling for dancing to the tune of a cabal operating under ground to revamp their lost influence in the political space. He said that he would not in any way be convinced that Wakili in his professional conduct was non-partisan.

He said, “Look at the way he blatantly put some innocent lawyers in detention with no cogent reasons adduced to justify such detention few days after the gubernatorial election in the State. knowing that the detention could not be justified, he unreservedly apologised in the media for the repercussions to be doused.

“We all believed that the detention of the lawyers was politically-motivated. He had effected the decision in order to support his masters’ grand conspiracy theory. There is no way he could be detached from the allegation that his action was politically-motivated,” he affirmed.

What is now on the lips of Kano residents about the exit of CP Wakili is that replacing a hero is difficult than getting one.

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