By Tatalo Alamu
The columnist mourns the passing of one of the finest human beings ever to don the uniform of the Nigerian Police Force in its uppermost crust. It was a uniform that sat very well on his tall, gangling and deceptively languid frame. Solomon Arase was an intellectual in uniform, a rare distinction in a workforce notorious for the menacing and minatory bearing of its top cadres. Calm, unflappable and superbly cultured, he was an officer and gentleman in the most sublime sense of the phrase. If ever the title, Inspector General was designed for a particular officer, it was for him: combining the native wiles and guile of the guardroom police inspector with the massive intelligence and cerebral armament of a modern military general.
Such was Arase’s meticulous brilliance, painstaking attention to details and fair-mindedness that he was in high demand even as he rose through the ranks. His superiors spotted his humility, his sense of loyalty, his professional diligence and capacity to deliver such that they earmarked him for high duty as he slogged his way up. He wore no airs apart from his extant rank and was therefore able to put them at ease. As attested to by one of his former bosses, he was probably the only police officer in recent times who had served as Principal Staff Officer to three consecutive Inspector-Generals before subsequently acceding to the exalted position himself.
His sense of personal loyalty knew no bounds and did not recognize any professional or political danger lurking in the background.
This is how you recognize foul-weather friends, colleagues and subordinates alike. The last time we met was a few years back at the wedding of the daughter of his former boss, Tafa Adeoye, to the son of a friend. He was his smiling, polite and ever courteous self as he rose for a warm embrace. Now, he has gone to meet his maker after meritorious services to country and people. May his soul rest in peace.
