Opinion
Nigeria Police Academy 1988-2021: The journey so far
Prof. Suleiman Muhammad Saye
Thirty-three years is sufficient, a matured age for an adolescent to make impact on his/her immediate surroundings and even beyond, at forty is considered a full adult capable of handling any challenge.
The Nigeria Police Academy was established in 1988 (33 years ago) following the need to upgrade the quality of Nigeria Police Force from the inherited British Colonial West African Frontier Force. It was also established as part of the Police Reform initiative; to produce the ideal Superior Police Officer who is equipped with knowledge and skills to face the challenges of policing in an increasingly complex Nigerian society and technologically sophisticated world. It is built on the philosophy to train highly reformed, mobile, innovative, effective civil police.
Before 1988, the Academy was running a dual programme of Cadets Inspectors and Cadets Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASPs) at Challawa, Kaduna and then Wudil. Degree and Diploma holden were given an eighteen months programme in Police professional training and Police laws without any input by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
The necessity to upgrade and convert the Academy to a Degree awarding cropped up due to the barrage of challenges poised by security issues locally and globally. Initial move was made by a committee headed by DIG M. Danmadami in 2006 and another one by IGP M. D. Yusuf in 2007. The reports of the two committees did not see the light of the day but had influenced the necessity of setting another one headed by an academic: Prof. Tekena N. Tamuno (a Historian from University of Ibadan).
Tamuno’s 14-man committee was made up of a variety of professional people and academics from the government, the Police Force and other indispensable security stakeholders. The committee submitted its report in 1998 with a strong recommendation of upgrading the Academy to a degree awarding status. In 1999, the Federal Government approved the recommendation and released the sum of N318 million as take-off grant. By 23rd April, 2009, the Hon. Minister of Police Affairs, Dr. Ibrahim Yakubu Lame in the course of inaugurating the Police Reform Committee stated the immediate take-off of Academy as a degree awarding institution. It was one of the cardinal objectives of President Umar Musa Yar’Adua’s reform programme.
With this inauguration, the ball was set rolling, in doing so, the Academy shall adhere to the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards as prescribed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) which supervises and regulates all degree awarding programmes – institutions in Nigeria. The Academy would also aim at serving not only the needs of the Police force and related agencies but those of the society in general. It shall also aim at providing training that would prepare its graduates not only for the Police duty but also their post-career life.
The planning committee for the take off of the new institution was made up of:
Prof. Idris Abdulkadir – Chairman
Prof. Nura Alkali – Member
Prof. Buba Bajoga – Member
Prof. Munzali Jibril – Member
Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede – Member
Prof. F. A. Ogunbona – Member
DIG Fidelis Oyakhilome (rtd) – Member
Alh. Adamu Gumba – Member
Alh. DIG Uba Ringim – Member
Alh. Mukhtar Abbas – Member
Dr. Ahmed Adam Okene – Member
Dr. Ezekiel O. Oyemoni – Member/Secretary
This committee worked tirelessly and finally succeeded to upgrade, the Academy to a degree awarding institution and the National Universities Commission (NUC) accordingly recognized it as the thirty-seven (37th) Federal University and one hundred and twenty fourth (124th) University in Nigeria.
Academic activities commenced on September 2013, secondary school leavers were admitted and started a five-year degree programme at Wudil on 22nd September, 2013.
The academic head of the institution is to be manned by a Provost but due to exegesis, the Bill is yet to be approved. Prof. Munzali Jibril was appointed to serve as the Pioneer Coordinator. Others that follow are thus:
Prof. Munzali Jibril – 06/11/2010 – 31/03/2015
Prof. Siraj Abdulkarim – 31/03/2015 – 29/03/2017
Prof. Ibrahim Abdulkadir (Acting) – 29/04/2017 – 22/07/2019
Prof. Umar M. Sani (Acting) – 27/07/2019 – To date
Registrars
Mal. Ghali Usman – 06/01/2010 – 31/03/2017
Mr. Charles Egwumba (acting) – 31/03/2017 – To date
Commandants
AIG C. T. Akagbosu 1989 – 1990
AIG J. A. Iyamabo 1990 – 1996
AIG B. A. Albasu 1996 – 1999
AIG Baba Amadu 1999 – 2000
AIG O. O. Onovo 2000 – 2001
AIG W. Ehikhametalor 2001 – 2002
AIG U. Suleiman 2002 – 2002
AIG N. E. Nijom 2002 – 2005
AIG E. I. Anuniru 2005 – 2008
AIG Mukhtar Abbas 2008 – 2009
AIG J. O. Uzuegbunam 2009 – 2010
AIG Danlami ‘Yar’Adua 2010 – 2011
AIG Shehu A. Babalola 2011 – 2012
AIG Christopher Dega 2012 – 2013
AIG B. A. Bolanta 2013 – 2015
AIG Adenrele T. Shinaba 2015 – 2016
AIG Aminchi S. Baraya 2016 – 2017
AIG Sani U. Muhammad 2017 – 2018
AIG Yakubu O. Jibrin 2018 – 2019
AIG Zanna M. Ibrahim 2019 – 2021
AIG Lawan T. Jimeta 2021 – 2022
AIG Ahmad Abdulrahman 2022 – Date
Graduating Sets
Since the upgrading in September 1988, the following ASPs have graduated from the institution:
1st Regular Course 23/11/2017 – 600
2nd Regular Course 14/03/2019 – 621
3rd Regular Course (Tuesday 22/06/2021) – 418
MILESTONE
As of today, over a thousand six hundred well-grounded middle-level Police Officers have been injected into the society to beef up and enhance the security efforts of the nation.
Fifteen out of the seventeen programmes have been successfully accredited by the National Universities Commission.
Five iconic projects executed by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are completed and been used, they include a modern Postgraduate Hostel, 4500-seater auditorium, a state-of-the-art forensic laboratory, an independent shooting range, and an ICT complex.
Also, some capital projects such as the unique Muhammadu Buhari Parade Ground, the VIP Pavilion, Photography Pavilion, Institute for Security Studies and Cyber Crime have been completed. Cadet/Students’ Affairs Complex, Postgraduate School and the Convocation Square are in the pipeline.
The institution is a division and member of INTERPRA (International Institute of Police Academies).
All these laudable achievements are possible by the joint efforts of the Presidency, the Honourable Minister of Police Affairs, the CBN under Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission (PSC).
BOTTLENECKS
One of the major stumbling blocks bedeviling all universities in Nigeria today is lack of adequate funding. The Police Academy is not an exception, in fact, it is more dire here because of the dual roles. More funds are required so as to stimulate efforts to ensure the Academy compete favourably with similar Police Institutions internationally. Secondly, the Academic Bill has remained a mirage. Without the Bill, the institution lacks ‘Legal backing’ and there are quite a number of decisions that suffer, for instance the issue of Governing Council is still pending.
STAFF WELFARE
Secondly, POLAC is facing the problem of management especially the Academic wing. The five Professors that headed the institutions so far are either Coordinators or acting Coordinators instead of Provost as enshrined in the Bill.
Provost shall have a full fledge mandate to execute a planned programme of activities. Coordinators do not have such mandate. The Bill has been prepared and sent since 4 years ago, but is still to be signed. There are a lot of stories about the Bill, some say its delayed due to personal/stakeholders’ interests, others say its because of role conflict to be sorted out. Whatever the case, the Bill is very vital for an effective running of the institution. So where is the Bill? I beg to know.
STAFF WELFARE/MOTIVATION/INCENTIVE
If there is any dark area in the trends of growth in the life of the workers of POLAC, welfare is the main thorn in our flesh. Staff have cried, wept and have surrendered to the will of the Almighty in a typical Nigeria common man’s “God dey” style on this aspect. The fact that we are not allowed to join any labour union, makes it almost impossible for our grievances to be forwarded. Teething issues like accommodation i.e housing, pension, allowances, local conferences are poorly handled to the dislike of many staff members.
Though promotions are done, but, there are a lot of gaps to fill in terms of staffing, interviews of principal officers, lecturers and lab scientists and technicians were conducted at one time or the other but results remain elusive, it may not be unrelated to lack of a Governing Council which may facilitate execution of vital decisions. So, we keep on asking for the sake of the Almighty: where is our Bill?
Prof. Suleiman Muhammad Saye
Is a Professor of counseling and educational psychology,
Dean
Postgraduate School,
Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil.
My Dear Khalifa
It has been seven years, yet it feels like yesterday since you departed. Our memories of you remain vivid, priceless, and are deeply rooted in our hearts. The moments we shared, your teachings and your selfless example continue to shape us daily, to the admiration of many.
Your legacy, especially your deep devotion to Islam and its propagation, still echoes across generations and geographies. Through your life of service, you inspired countless others to embrace kindness, humility, and compassion. You lived not just for yourself but in service to others, and this principle continues to guide our path.
In honour of your memory, we will remain steadfast in our commitment to selfless service. We will continue to support noble causes and charitable undertakings that reflect the values you lived by, regardless of race, gender, or background.
May the Almighty Allah, in His infinite mercy, keep granting you Al Jannah Firdaus. May your soul continue to rest in the eternal peace and light of His divine presence.
Abdul Samad Rabiu, CFR, CON
For the Family
08.05.2025.
Isyaku Ibrahim
There is no doubt whenever you talk about Enyimba of Aba in Nigeria’s top flight who won the competition nine time, the next team that will come to your mind is Kano Pillars that lifted the trophy on four good occasions. But nowadays,it seems the Kano darling is losing its prestige, recognition and above all popularity in the local league.
This was as a result of lack of total commitment, determination, tenacity, patriotism,diligence and seriousness which the side was known for in the past.
To say the fact, the pyramid City lad was previously rated among the traditional teams in the top flight as they have established and tested players that would not disappoint their teeming fans no matter where they are playing.
It was based on this late Rashidi Yekini while watching the team at Adamasingba Stadium now Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan said if he was to play for a local team he would prefer to lace his boot for Kano Pillars ahead of others.
The reason he Said was simply due to excellent free flow football of the team but now it seems that has gone for bad.
When the club was established as early as 1990 among the objectives behind was to boost the name of the state through football and beside that win trophies with a view to competing favourably with others.
While those behind the idea should be commended to a large extent for their foresight in that respect in view of how the team is now a household name in the round leather game countrywide but there is the need for a collaborative effort with a view to normalising things in the ancient city side as the club has now stepped down from its aforementioned aims and objectives.
It is painful that the team’s main priority nowadays was not to lift the league as the case was previously but to survive relegation which was baseless,laughable and nothing to write home about considering their past experience particularly when they were based at Sabongari Stadium.
Definitely,this season is almost over as Remo Stars are as good as being crowned the winners of the event
The best option for Sai Masu Gida is to start early preparation for the upcoming season through putting their house in order aimed at restoring their winning culture as the teeming fans are tired of flimsy excuses on the reason behind their lack lustre performance year in year out.
Honestly, what they are basically hoping for is to see the club matches theory with practice through grabbing the trophy or at least earning one of the three continental tickets in the country.
optimistically this is achievable with the full support of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf coupled with that of his laborious and submissive Deputy Comrade Aminu Abdulsalam, good management, superb technical crew and the support of ardent fans who are always with the side in either thick or thin.
Ibrahim is a Director Public Enlightenment at Kano State Ministry of Special Duties.
Prof. Ibrahim Bello-Kano (IBK)
Double Professor Uba Abdallah Adamu has angered many non-Kano people resident in Kano by his famous, widely circulated quip, an aphoristic description of Kano in which says the anyone tired of (living in) Kano is tired of life. Prof Adamu’s appraisal of Kano is based on a sound premise and a powerful emotional logic. Prof. Adamu’s comment has a powerful pedigree. On the arguments of the highly acclaimed French sociologist and space theorist, Henri Lefebre in “The Production of Space” (1974), it can be shown that Kano, especially the city and the metropolitan area, has three characteristics, typical of the greatest cities in the world since Antiquity:
1. It is a conceived space (an urban area, complete with a series of interlacing and interloping and interlocking urban designs since the 9th century). Kano was already a city and an urban space well before 1903. It’s one of the oldest urban areas in the Sudan.
2. It is a lived space, complete with the everyday experiences of its inhabitants and their emotional identification with it. Hence the many “quarters of the city”— from Alkantara, Alfindiki, Ayagi, to Mubi and Gwangwazo and beyond those.
3. Kano is also a practiced/practised space, with its inhabitants, visitors, and emigré population working to “practice up” the city in their daily lived experiences and within its urban and emotional spaces. That’s the truth of Prof. Abdallah Uba Adamu’s hyperbolic reference to Kano as a barometer of happiness or depression.
Prof Adamu is also correct in that most immigrants to the city never leave it, even if their last name may indicate other towns or cities. Already, Kano is one of the most truly cosmopolitan cities in Nigeria, surpassed only by New York, London, and Abidjan. In 1958, almost a decade before Lefebre’s book, the philosopher of science and urban studies, Gaston Bachelard published “The Poetics of Space” in which he argues that to live, or to choose to live, in a place, say the Kano metropolis, is already to enact an emotional act, and an existential event, in and for which Kano is already a resonant space of intimacy, or an intimate place of lived subjectivity. This is the case because one cannot live in Kano, even for a brief period, without (seeking to) creating a home, a nest, and an intimate space of “Kano beingness” or a Kano-based “being- in-the world”. That’s why Kano evokes and resonates with a strong emotional identification with it. When I was about 8 years old, I was told, on visiting the Dala Hill, that God had planned to create a holy city in Kano, but a dog urinated on the hallowed ground, and that’s how the divine plan was moved elsewhere. Of course, that story is clearly apocryphal, yet it shows how the Kano people are intensely proud of their places and spaces. So, Prof. Abdullah Uba Adamu’s hyperbolic and surreal description of Kano is essentially correct and pleasingly poignant. Many emigré groups are unhappy with his remarks, but if you live in a place, earn a living in it, or draw opportunities of all kinds from it, then you have got to love Kano, the most romantic of cities, a city full of dreams, aspirations, emotional highs and lows, and learn to identify with its fortunes. Kano, the city of gold and piety, recalcitrance and hope, modern politics and ideological contestations; the city of majestic royalty; the city of women and cars, as Shata once described it. Kano… the great Entreport. Kano, your name will endure through the ages. Cheers.
Ibrahim Bello-Kano (IBK) is a Professor of English at Bayero University, Kano.
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