By Tony Okafor, Awka
The Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Aderemi Adeoye, has said he would have been a teacher if not for the cyclic poverty in his family.
He stated this in an exclusive chat with the RAZOR Newspaper management team in his office at Amawbia in the Awka South Local Government Area of the state.
He said he had finished every process to becoming a teacher after his graduation from the university but was to wait for six months before posting,but he could not wait for the six months
Moratorium because of the level of poverty in his family which he needed to salvage.
He said his mother struggled to see him through the university, adding that when he was doing his National Youth Service he was saving money to take care of his younger siblings and solving other sundry family problems.
Continuing, Adeyo said as a result of the “critical minimum” situation he found himself, he hadn’t the patience to wait for the six months moratorium before he would be employed as a teacher hence he joined the police force as a recruit(constable) with School Certificate instead of university degree to make ends meet.
While thanking God for His mercies upon him, the CP enjoined junior police officers not to despair, but rather to be dedicated to their duties and improve themselves academically, stating that in the police force and in life generally hard work would always pay.
He said despite his humble beginning, he hard read up to Master’s degree level and done other courses in prestigious institutions across the world.
Stating the tough terrain he had forayed in the police force, including the Boko Haram ravaged Borno State and the Niger Delta, Adeoye said he had also served in foreign missions.
On why he had recorded successes in Anambra State, the CP said, “We’re being supported by other security services because we can’t do it alone. The strength we have is okay during peace time, but insurgency has led to manpower wastages.
“Over the years people retire from service and for many years no new recruits were taken. People also resign; people die in the course of duty. So definitely our strength has gone down, but we’re making do with what we have, by making strategic deployment and identifying areas we need to pay attention to and ensuring that we keep our best hands to face the battle.
Other arms of security services are helping to keep our heads high and above water.
On the menace of cultism in the state, the CP said, “I will say that the claim of killings everyday is an exaggeration because I have data. In the last six weeks, four people were killed.”
He assured that before long, residents of the state would not only sleep with their two eyes closed, they would be snoring in their sleep and keep their doors open because of the safety that would be put in place by the security operatives in the state.
