Mike Okiro, former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), recently shared in an interview with TheSun on his 75th birthday that becoming a member of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) wasn’t his childhood aspiration.
He described joining the force as nothing short of a miracle.
Okiro, who served as the 13th IGP and later chaired the Police Service Commission (PSC), recounted how his perspective on the police force evolved during his time as a student activist at the University of Ibadan (UI).
He mentioned frequent clashes between his group and the police, recalling instances where they were consistently obstructed from pursuing what they believed was just.
He said: “That I grow up to be an IGP is by God’s grace. That I equally joined the police was something out of the ordinary. Because as a young man growing up, I never had an encounter with the police. We saw the police from a distance.
“My father was a civil servant. When I became a student in university, one of the people I hated the most was the police. Why? because I was a student activist. I believed in taking active action in student activities. Often then we had an encounter with the police and I did not like the police at all because they were always preventing us from doing what we thought was right to do.
“They were always preventing us from protesting against domination and injustice. So, I did not like the police. But here I am now. I joined the police out of curiosity and adventure. I became the IG by God’s providence and blessing. I retired after 60 years of age. It is the mandatory age for retirement. Here I am now at 75.”