Will Osun survive this onslaught?

When the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Rilwan Disu, was appointed we rejoiced like them whose dream had come true. His appointment raised the hopes of many Nigerians who have experienced the Nigeria Police, and who know the numerous ugly stories around the Nigeria Police Force as an institution. Well, it must be acknowledged that the people, who came out as the hopefuls, were also cautious in their optimism and enthusiasm. Their standpoint is that they, as Nigerians, also know that Olatunji Disu was going to operate in a country which has all its institutions tied to the apron strings of the government in power. It is even trite to say that institutions in Nigeria obey the whims and caprices of the government in power just like the leaf on a tree obeys the dictates of the wind. And we know that the wind directs the leaves as it wishes…

This column also celebrated the appointment of Mr. Olatunji Disu as the IGP. It went full throttle that week because Tunji Disu is a good man and a celebrated officer. It not only harped on how much of a good man Olatunji Disu is, it also tried to establish how much of a fantastic police officer he has been. To further help in that revelry and perhaps ecstasy, IGP Disu made a statement in which he promised that he would be professional in his duties as Nigeria’s Police chief. He made heartwarming promises. He also pledged to Nigeria his country to lead a professional, accountable and modern police force.

Upon his confirmation, IGP Disu spoke with newsmen at the State House and also addressed the members of the management of the NPF at the Force Headquarters in Abuja. He enthused how much he would love to see public trust in the Police restored. Specifically, he said he wanted officers and men of the force to understand that the citizens pay their wages from their sweat and tax, and therefore must recognise the citizens as their boss. “I will let them know that the era of impunity is over.” “I will try to follow a regime of zero tolerance to corruption.”

These statements as the new IGP, gave such vibes that presented him as though we still had our regular Oga Tunji Disu. From what we read about his track record and what we read about his performance in office, he sounded like the same innovative and down-to-earth Tunji Disu. It came to many Nigerians like Mr Disu was going to oversee a professional police system upon which he would bring that expertise with which he did things while he served meritoriously in Lagos State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and elsewhere.

Since Tunji Disu transformed into Olatunji Rilwan Disu after being confirmed as Nigeria’s 23rd Inspector-General of Police on February 24, 2026, it looks like we have a new man. Since he succeeded the man a few people really remember, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, mixed feelings have trailed his performance. Is Olatunji Disu doing anything differently, or are we the hysterical ones here? Has the system engulfed our Officer and Gentleman? Has he been brought to new levels of politics of policing where he cannot help himself and the system as he had envisaged? Isn’t it disturbing that the system rather seems to only want to preserve itself and while at it, ruin the names of all our good ones?

These questions are on the lips of Nigerians as a result of the mind-boggling political and judicial confusion playing out in Osun State. The state is gearing up for a governorship election which is just a few weeks away. The tension generated in the state as the people and the stakeholders prepare for the brewing event has blended dangerously with the prolonged rancid local government administration dispute in the state. This unholy mixture of the existing local government governance problem with the erosion of reason preparatory to the coming election, is not just unhealthy for the state as an entity, it is also unsavoury for both its government and the entire citizens. The people of the state deserve their peace. It didn’t seem that this mattered until the elections became the issue. Going by what can be inferred from the reports of the violence in state, the usual suspects, who don’t usually get what they give in terms of violence, are at it again.

Civil society organisations are reporting that there have been more than 40 election-related violent incidents across the state. We have had reports of deadly violence in Ile Ife, Osogbo, Ede and Ilesa – the major towns in the state. Indeed, all over Osun State, the opposition All Progressives Congress and the ruling party there, Accord are at daggers-drawn. In these incidents, the civil society organisations claim that no fewer than thirteen people have lost their lives. This is outside the injuries to people, their businesses, and the sundry disruptions of their daily life as citizens of the state. Where then would the courage to participate in the elections come from, if stakeholders fail to take the necessary steps? That is where our respected IGP comes in.

As the state marches towards the August 15 election, there have seen violent disruption of political gatherings and intimidation. There have been shootings and the destruction of property. The Ataoja of Osogbo has cried out that his palace had been desecrated by political thugs. Beyond the desecration of his palace, the monarch is also claiming that he had been targeted. There have been reports of armed takeover of local government secretariats in the state. The unconstitutionality in the local government sector of the state is happening right in the face of several judicial interventions by various courts in the land. What this means is that the perpetrators of violence in Osun do not care what our courts say. They are operating above the law from somewhere above and outside the state.

It has been long since a sitting governor pointedly called out a political party for active violence in his state. Governor Ademola Adeleke had to cry out. He claimed that his state was besieged and that the onslaught might ruin the peace the state had enjoyed over the years. Adeleke accused the Commissioner of Police in the state of bias and also decried attacks on members of his political party, Accord. He claimed that people had been killed and maimed while the Commissioner of Police in the state had done virtually nothing to quell the raging inferno. At best, Adeleke continued in his allegations and lamentations, the Commissioner of Police had been taking sides against his own supporters. And so, the governor wants the Commissioner of Police redeployed from Osun State. IGP Disu has been to Osun. He saw Governor Adeleke and they spoke. He did not say what would happen with regards to the allegations of Governor Adeleke against the Commissioner of Police. Disu was tactical in his detachment from the lamentations of Adeleke.

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So, Adeleke and his supporters are right now on their own. Until something happens, they would still continue in their seething, and in their allegations of unholy alliance between the state police command and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). They should be used to it by now. When the local government crisis started in the state about two years ago – and this was long before IGP Disu, Nigerians saw and generally spoke up against how the police and the judiciary ganged up against common sense in the Osun local government matter. It is still the same as it was then, only that the accusations against those fuelling the crisis have heightened and have taken new dimensions. Among the newest fingers pointed is that those local government chairmen have become insatiable holes in which Osun local government allocations have disappeared. The government is even alleging that the police in the state accepted gifts of 30 vehicles from those controversial council chairmen.

But now, we have a new IGP. The man is Olatunji Rilwan Disu, and we felt things might be done differently, considering his gospel and his antecedents. St. Francis of Assisi wrote rules for his brothers in 1221. Chapter 12 of the rules says “Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds.” From this 11th Century rule came the common saying attributed to St Francis about action speaking louder than words. So, the IGP should preach his gospel at all times and should only “use words when necessary.”