Cheers of Cherio as the INTERPOL Greets Garus Goodbye

By Bala Ibrahim

“Everything has to come to an end, sometime”.- L. Frank Baum

Glasgow, the most populous city in Scotland goes agog, as it plays host to the 92nd session of the International Criminal Police Organization, INTERPOL’s General Assembly, that started on the 4th and climaxed today, 7th November 2024. Indeed L. Frank Baum, the American author was right when he said, “Everything has to come to an end, sometime”. Well, the 92nd General Assembly of the Interpol has come to an end, and so does the tenure of the Executive Committee, the membership of which includes AIG Garba Umar rtd, the Vice President in charge of Africa. While announcing the end of his tenure, at a farewell session last night, Garba Umar awakened the conscience of the incoming Executive Committee, to the popular maxim that, to whom much is given, much more is expected. As such, he appealed to them to rise to the expectations of the Interpol, by making the world a safer place. Garba Umar had long anticipated the coming of today, that’s why he was quick to send the following message to some of his colleagues and course mates, viz:

THANK YOU MESSAGE.

It was 3 years ago when I contested and won the position of VICE PRESIDENT INTERPOL (AFRICA) in ISTANBUL TURKIYE and now my tenure comes to an end on the 7th of November 2024 in Glasgow United Kingdom. Dear Colleagues, I wish to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for your support and encouragement which led to my successful contributions in the fight against transnational organized crime and terrorism. Am also proud to be your ambassador in the global policing strategies.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL. AMEEN

In the Japanese language, there is a word called Sayonara, which is used to say, Goodbye, So long, or “See ya!” In Glasgow today, that word was rampantly used on the outgoing members of the Executive Committee, with AIG Garba Umar Baba rtd, popularly called Garus, among the major recipients of the farewell word.

The Assembly has voted for nine members of the Executive Committee, as the three-year mandates of the incumbents has ended. Amongst those elected is Mr. Mohammed Dkhissi from Morocco, who scored 96 votes, or 58.5%, to beat Namibia’s Ms Anne-Marie Nainda, who got 40, or 24.4% of the total votes. Morocco’s Dkhissi is therefore taking over from Nigeria’s Garus at the Executive Committee of the General Assembly.

The General Assembly is INTERPOL’s supreme governing body and comprises delegates appointed by the governments of member countries, Nigeria inclusive. It meets once a year and takes all the major decisions affecting general policy, the resources needed for international cooperation, working methods, finances and programmes of activities. Already, pursuant to the exit of Jürgen Stock, who has completed his second and final mandate after 10 years, this year’s session of the General Assembly, has appointed a new Secretary General for the Organization, in the person of Valdecy Urquiza, who was selected by the Executive Committee, after a recruitment process earlier this year. Mr Valdecy Urquiza is from Brazil and the outgone Vice president INTERPOL for the Americas.

Nigeria made an intimidating appearance at the event, with the Minister of Police Affairs, Sen. Dr. Ibrahim Gaidam leading the team. Amongst those on the Government delegation are IGP Kayode Egbetokun, CP INTERPOL, CP Olaolu Adegbite, the Principal Staff Officer to the IGP, CP Johnson Adenola, Mr. Ibrahim Alhaji, Director Police service, Ministry of Police affairs, Mr. Kowata Goni, chief of staff to the Hon Minister of Police Affairs, Mr Maina Bukar Alibe, Protocol officer Ministry of Police affairs, SP Mohammed Abubakar Sarkin Daji, coordinator of the Nigerian delegation, ASP Ubaidullah Kazaure, language translator, Insp. Ukasha Adamu Marafa, Technical officer to the Vice President Interpol for Africa, Hajiya Khadija Fayek Umar, Little Farzana Umar, Mr. Suleiman Abubakar Ubale, Sharif Zailani Shanono and Dahiru Saadu.

Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, who happens to be the course mate of the outgoing Garus, leveraged on the positive outcome of the meeting, to further strengthen the capacity of the Nigeria Police Force and the West African Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO), in his capacity as chairman, in the quest of Nigeria to curb organized crimes across the country and the West African sub region. He reiterated the commitment of the Nigeria Police, through its INTERPOL unit, to continuously collaborate with other Police institutions to ensure collaborative investigation of international crimes, with a view to reducing the potential for such crimes within the Nigeria’s borders. This has tallied with the submission of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, who, while opening the event, stressed the need for international police cooperation to combat pervasive organized crime.

With around 1,000 attendees, the General Assembly is INTERPOL’s supreme governing body and the largest global gathering of senior law enforcement officials, who collectively decide how INTERPOL operates.

In recognition of their selfless service, last night, the President of the INTERPOL, decorated all the outgoing Executive Committee Members, including a warm and cheerful cherio, to our one and only Garus.