A man’s career is not measured solely by the height he eventually reaches. Sometimes it is best understood by the quiet impact he made long before the title and the stars arrived.
For Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu, the road to the top of the Nigeria Police Force began in the modest corridors of the Ago-Iwoye Police Division. His recent return to that same station was more than a ceremonial visit. It was a deliberate journey back to the place where a defining chapter of his professional life first unfolded.
I commend the IGP for that decision. While some people treat the past as something to leave behind, others return to it with gratitude, reflection and humility. Disu belongs to the latter group.
A Student’s Memory of “Egbon Tunji”
I first encountered him as a student of the then Ogun State University, now Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye. At the time he was simply the Divisional Police Officer. To many of us, however, he was “Egbon Tunji.”
He understood the delicate balance between enforcing the law and engaging young people. He knew when to be firm, when to caution, when to listen, and, most importantly, when to advise. In a university community that could easily slide into tension, that quality stood out.
The Night Ago-Iwoye Almost Turned Deadly
One incident remains etched in my memory. A community dispute involving students and some Oru indigenes escalated rapidly. Tensions rose to dangerous levels as students began moving from Ago-Iwoye toward Oru.
I was at Itamerin Junction that evening. So was Disu. From what I witnessed, he and his team worked to prevent the situation from descending into uncontrolled violence. That same night a stray bullet entered my eye. I survived, but the details of that personal ordeal belong to another day.
What stayed with me was Disu’s approach. He did not treat students as enemies of the state. He recognised them as young Nigerians whose emotions could be inflamed and whose futures could be destroyed by a single reckless decision. He urged us to see ourselves as our brothers’ keepers.
Firm Without Being a Bully
“Egbon Tunji” was authoritative yet approachable. He could enforce discipline without humiliation. He reminded young people that the future was larger than any confrontation of the moment. Policing, in his handling of the division, went beyond arrests. It included conflict prevention, community engagement and protecting students from decisions that could permanently derail their lives.
Looking back, his tenure in Ago-Iwoye felt relatively calm compared with later periods marked by cult clashes and student unrest. For those of us who lived through those years, that relative calm mattered.
He Never Knew I Remembered
I never reminded him of those days, even when our paths crossed again after he rose to head the Rapid Response Squad in Lagos. There were moments he asked his officers to look for me — once after the stray-bullet incident, and again after a separate episode involving my stolen phone that led to a malicious-damage allegation. Those small intersections may seem insignificant against the arc of a man who would one day become Inspector-General. Yet history is often best understood through such ordinary moments.
Even as a young DPO, Disu carried himself with a sense of responsibility that suggested he would not remain ordinary. I always believed he would go places.
From Ago-Iwoye to Force Headquarters
Today that same officer sits at the pinnacle of Nigeria’s police institution. His return to Ago-Iwoye carries powerful symbolism: from commanding a university town to commanding one of Africa’s largest police forces; from “Egbon Tunji” to Inspector-General Disu.
I congratulate the IGP on this homecoming. I also salute the memory of the late CP Bolaji Odesanya and the present Commissioner of Police in Ogun State for their contributions to the Force.
For those of us who were there, the significance runs deeper than nostalgia. We saw the young officer before the rank and the office arrived. We saw a police officer who could stand in the middle of a volatile situation and try to prevent catastrophe. We saw a man who believed young people still had futures worth protecting.
Nigeria now sees the Inspector-General of Police. Ago-Iwoye remembers the DPO. And perhaps that is the most powerful part of this story.
Every great journey has a starting point. For IGP Olatunji Disu, that place is Ago-Iwoye. For some of us who walked those same streets with him years ago, his return is not merely history. It is personal.
