The recent promotion of over 20,000 police Inspectors to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) has ignited a debate between a prominent activist and a public affairs analyst over who deserves credit for the action.
The promotions, which have been widely praised as a move to boost the morale and welfare of police officers, have been criticised by activist Omoyele Sowore as a direct result of his #IGPMustGo protests and other demonstrations.
However, public affairs analyst, Hassan Yahaya, has strongly refuted this claim. In a commentary, he argued that police promotions are governed by institutional procedures based on merit, years of service, and the needs of the force, not public protests. Yahaya called Sowore’s claim misleading and “an insult” to the thousands of officers who earned their promotions through hard work.
Yahaya contends that the promotions were a result of deliberate planning by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and his management team to reward diligence and enhance operational efficiency.
He criticized what he described as Sowore’s “penchant for self-glorification,” accusing the activist of twisting facts for relevance rather than engaging in genuine advocacy.