“He Must Be A Cadet”: How One Innocent Question Revealed the Sacrifices Behind The Badge

“He Must Be A Cadet”: How One Innocent Question Revealed the Sacrifices Behind The Badge

The hall erupted in laughter the moment the young Assistant Superintendent of Police finished asking his question.

“He must be a Cadet,” the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Tunji Rilwan Disu, remarked with a warm smile as he took the microphone.

The question was as sincere as it was innocent:

“Sir, why can’t policemen vote during elections in Nigeria?”

It came from a young Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in the Benue State Police Command during a question-and-answer session following the Inspector-General’s interactive engagement with officers after a courtesy visit to the Command Headquarters in Makurdi.

Barely two years into the job, the young officer genuinely felt he was beginning to lose one of the fundamental civic rights he once enjoyed as a civilian. Like many new entrants into the Force, he was still adjusting to the realities of a profession that demands extraordinary sacrifice.

The IGP responded with empathy, humour, and the wisdom that comes from decades of policing.

He explained that, with time, the Force would demand so much of him that voting during elections would eventually become one of the least of his concerns.

Then came a revelation that changed the mood in the room.

“For the record,” the IGP said with a smile, “I have never voted in my life.”

For a brief moment, the hall fell silent.

Almost immediately, several senior officers seated across the hall nodded in agreement. One after another, they affirmed that they too had never cast a ballot since joining the Nigeria Police Force, having spent virtually every election period on operational deployment, maintaining law and order, protecting electoral officials, securing polling units, escorting sensitive electoral materials, and ensuring millions of Nigerians could exercise their democratic rights peacefully.

The young officer suddenly realized that what he thought was a personal loss was, in fact, a sacrifice shared by generations of police officers who had devoted their lives to protecting the country’s democracy, even when they could not personally participate in one of its most fundamental civic exercises.

The laughter that greeted his question gradually gave way to thoughtful silence as the weight of the profession’s demands became clearer to everyone in the room.

Drawing further from his own experience, the IGP shared some of the deeply personal sacrifices policing had required of him over the years.

He spoke about being away on official duty when one of his children was born, missing the priceless moment of hearing a baby’s first cry. He recalled never having the opportunity to take any of his children to school like many fathers do, missing their first steps, their first words, school graduations, birthdays, sports days, parent-teacher meetings, and many other milestones that parents cherish.

He reminded the officers that there are policemen and women who spend Christmas, Eid, New Year celebrations and other festive seasons at checkpoints or on patrol instead of with their families; officers who miss weddings, naming ceremonies, anniversaries and funerals because duty calls; fathers and mothers who have watched their children grow through photographs and video calls while deployed hundreds of kilometres away from home.

Some celebrate promotions over the phone because they are serving in distant locations. Others return home bearing physical and emotional scars from dangerous operations. Sadly, many make the ultimate sacrifice, laying down their lives in service to the nation, leaving behind grieving families and loved ones.

The Inspector-General emphasized that policing is not merely a profession, it is a calling built on sacrifice, discipline, resilience and patriotism.

“This job is about putting the nation before yourself,” he reminded the officers. “Only those with a genuine desire to serve can truly wear this uniform with honour.”

He urged them to remain worthy ambassadors of the Nigeria Police Force by upholding professionalism, treating members of the public with dignity and respect, protecting the rights of every citizen, and remembering that the uniform is a symbol of trust and responsibility.

The exchange, though light-hearted at first, became one of the most memorable moments of the visit. Behind the laughter was a profound lesson that the badge comes with responsibilities that often outweigh personal comfort and privileges.

The young ASP may have asked about voting, but he left with something far more valuable: an understanding that the calling of a police officer is defined not by the rights one gives up, but by the millions of lives one protects.

Indeed, policing is more than a career. It is a lifetime commitment to place the safety, peace and security of the nation above personal convenience, a commitment only true patriots willingly embrace.

Akindele Adegebo, ANIPR, ACIPM, writes from Lagos.