The public expects the ongoing twelfth Biennial Police Games to be the best ever. This is because the event is holding in Anambra! The state has, in the last few years, become synonymous with excellence. It has emerged the most competitive in the federation and is now leading the country in various areas, including security and social harmony.

Over 5,000 police officers are taking part in the Games which will end on Saturday this week. Already, different games are holding at Otuocha Stadium, Rojenny Holiday Resort and Games Village, Oba, near Onitsha, Nerous Stadium, Nanka, Tansi College, Awka and of course Alex Ekwueme Square.

The police force has contributed immensely to national sports development. Chioma Ajunwa, who, in 1996, emerged the first Nigerian Olympic gold medalist, was a police inspector who has now risen to the rank of Chief Superintendent. The late Sunday Bada, who won a silver medal, which has now been upgraded to gold at Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 because the original winners of the 4 by 4 race tested positive to a banned substance, was a policeman. Esene Ikpoto, who represented Nigeria at different competitions, including the Olympic Games held in Christchurch, New Zealand, is a police officer.

Why are the police holding the 12th Biennial Games in Anambra State? After all, the state is reputed for excellence in education, agriculture, manufacturing, technology, security and entrepreneurship. However, some of the best sportsmen and women from Nigeria are Ndi Anambra.

Take Mary Onyali, an Olympic medalist; Innocent Egbunike, another Olympic medalist and Emmanuel Ifeajuna, the first Nigerian to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games. How about Emmanuel Okala, Nigeria’s greatest goalkeeper, or Power Mike Okpala, the undefeated world heavyweight wrestling champion? Who can ever forget Ben Lion Heart Okpala, the African heavyweight wrestling champion or Ngozika Ekwelum, the national boxing champion? No-one can forget that Christ the King College, Onitsha made history in 1977 when it became the first secondary school in Africa to win the World Secondary School Football Competition held in Ireland?

However, if Anambra State did not have a longstanding robust record in sports, the police authorities would have still gone out of their way to make the state government a partner in the 12th Biennial Police Games by hosting the Games. The reason is simple: the Nigeria Police Force cannot possibly ask for a better partner in preventing and fighting crime than the Obiano administration. The police will remain grateful to Governor Willie Obiano for years to come.

Anambra did not emerge Nigeria’s safest state overnight. Plenty of solid thinking, planning and resources went into the current excellent security architecture. For instance, last October 11, Anambra became the first place in Africa to have the super smart Mobile Surveillance System (MSS) from the latest technology in fighting sophisticated crime.

But Governor Obiano was not yet done. Two months later, he presented 40 vehicles to intelligence and security agencies in the state as well as the Anambra State Fire Service. This was in fulfillment of his pledge on March 29, 2018, when he gave out 60 patrol vans to the security community in the state to increase the number to one hundred.

As Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, leader of the Centre for Change, chaired by Wole Soyinka, remarked on Monday, February 17, while presenting an award of security excellence to Obiano, the only government official in the country to be honoured by her centre, all states in Nigeria and the Federal Government should come to Anambra to learn security administration. She added that Anambra’s excellent security nexus is responsible for some five billion dollar in investments in the state in the last five years.

Meanwhile, the police leadership deserves kudos for choosing to hold the games in Anambra, Nigeria’s safest state and the friendliest state to the police and other security agents in the country. God bless Anambra State, the Light of the Nation.

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