Valedictory Speech By DIG Marvel E. Akpoyibo, Npm, Mni, Psc, Deputy Inspector-General Of Police At The Occasion Of Pulling Out Ceremony Held On 14th January, 2014
Protocols
It is certainly not an easy task to give a valedictory speech that can adequately address every aspect of my experience as a Police Officer since I got enlisted into the force about thirty-three and half (33½) years ago.
Permit me however, to commence this valedictory speech by appreciating the Almighty God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last, the Ancient of Days, the I am that I am, My Ebenezer, the One who rules from eternity to eternity, to whom alone, be all the glory, all the honour, all the adoration, reverence and Majesty. He alone made this day possible. There were so many other officers who came into the Force before me, and even long after me and who dreamt, and wished to see a day like this, but never had the opportunity. There were also, a good number of my contemporaries who came into the Force the same day with me and who also looked forward to seeing a day like this but such opportunity never came. A good number of them were called to glory ever before they got to their retirement age. May their gentle souls rest in perfect peace. This underscores the reason why I commenced this valedictory speech with thanksgiving to the Almighty God.
My enlistment into the Force was divinely and fortuitously ordained. After my University Education, I did not have the least premonition that I was going to be a Police Officer. I finished from the University of Benin as one of the best Students in Sociology Department and was graciously offered an appointment as a Graduate Assistant by the University and to resume after my National Youth Service. As fate would have it, an incident occurred in 1980 while on National Service; and this changed my plans to become a University teacher, the men of the underworld attacked us in the Corpers’ Lodge and it was by divine intervention that we escaped. This was the origin of my desire and passion to join the Nigeria Police Force. I had a clear vision and mission and that was getting a legitimate platform to help curb the menace of violent crimes in our society. I must confess that the journey so far has not been an easy one. It was the love and the passion I had for the job that served as a driving force to keep me going.
On several occasions I would leave home for work and I would not know exactly when I would be back home. This became a pattern and my dear wife and lovely children got used to this. It was not also, possible to predict where next I would be deployed. Consequently, the family stuffs were always kept in a state to allow for such frequent movements without notice. I must not fail to commend my wife and my lovely children who remained steadfast and prayerful at all times!!!, I must not also, fail to acknowledge the roles played by my superiors both at the training Colleges and while on the field in building me up and giving me the right professional knowledge and direction. I was always prepared to learn and I indeed, learnt a great deal from them. God used these patriarchs to make me what I am today. They include late DIG Johnson Oladipupo Odu, Late CP. Amos Dangana, DIG Donal Ugbaja (Rtd), DIG Parry Osayande (Rtd), late CSP Fred Ezepue, late ACP Sylvester Anosike, to mention but a few. I will remain forever indebted to them.
On behalf of my retiring colleague, DIG Philemon Leha, NPM, psc, I wish to express our eternal gratitude to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP MD Abubakar, CFR, NPM, mni for putting together this glorious and elaborate pulling out ceremony. You were not only a boss, you were a friend, a brother and a confident. We shall no doubt, miss working with you. And to our fellow Deputy Inspectors-General of Police and members of the Management Team, you were simply wonderful. The level of understanding, love and friendship that existed amongst us was un-precedented. We shall remain forever grateful to you. We shall no doubt, miss those exciting moments we shared together at our Management Meetings. To our other Compatriots AIGs, CPs, DCs, ACs, CSPs, SPs, DSPs, ASPs and our foot soldiers, the Inspectors and Rank & File, we are saying we love you all and thank you for collaborating with us in the service of our fatherland. You must keep the flag flying. Our collective roles and efforts to ensure the safety of every Nigerian is a continuous one; and we shall not end this struggle until the battle is completely won. It is our prayer that the Almighty God who has seen us through our service year will also see you through.
Distinguished guests, we want to thank you all for finding time to share this moment of joy with us inspite of your busy schedules.
Finally, we want to express our profound gratitude to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, GCON and the Police Service Commission for the opportunity given to us to serve this great nation in various capacities during our service years. We shall continue to support the system in our own little way even after our disengagement, realising the fact that the well being of the nation is the well being of all of us and by the grace of the Almighty God, this nation will attain her goals and become the envy of other nations!!!.
