On Thursday morning, news made the rounds that Waheed Ayilara, the incumbent Akwa Ibom State police commissioner, had died.
Ayilara died at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) from prostate cancer complications.
The late police chief once served as the acting commissioner of police in Lagos in November 2023, before he was promoted and deployed to Akwa Ibom to head the state command in February.
Ayilara joined the police on May 18, 1992, as a cadet assistant superintendent of police and has since served in various capacities.
While serving as the Akwa Ibom police commissioner, he made foodstuff donations to the indigenes of the state but the act earned him backlash.
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DONATION OF BEANS TO AKWA IBOM RESIDENTS
On July 28, Ayilara’s donation of two cups of beans, packaged in small transparent polyethylene bags, to Akwa Ibom residents led to outrage on social media.
The bags had the following inscriptions written on them:
“Akwa Ibom Student’s Parliament (7th Assembly). Welfare package. CP Waheed Ayilara loves you all.”
The late commissioner’s gesture became known to Nigerians when Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relations Officer, posted about it on his official X handle.
“This is commendable, CP Akwa Ibom, CP Waheed Ayilara. I know Akwa Ibom people will enjoy this “season” because the governor is a police pikin. We stand by our people, we love our people, and we will always interact,” Adejobi stated in his post.
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The police spokesperson’s post on Ayilara’s donation subsequently sparked outrage from Nigerians.
An X user with the handle @Richeey001 responded to Adejobi’s post, saying:
“How many days will a family eat this? People don’t want things like this. It is not sustainable. You won’t give them every week. What we want is good governance, a thriving economy with different opportunities so people can get results for their hard work and feed well.
“Akwa Ibom people will enjoy because of packaged beans that is not up to half custard. Something that can’t even go round half of the families in the state. Very funny joke.”
A second X user with the name @daniels_osi told Adejobi that he was ashamed of the policeman:
“I’m wondering, do your counterparts in other countries see your posts too? I’m feeling ashamed on your behalf.”
@CroBender, a third X user, had the following to say about Ayilara’s donation:
“That photo literally brought tears to my eyes. Is this where we have got to as a nation? But on reflection, I paid heed to your advice not to cry more than the bereaved. Ire oo.”
Yet another X user with the handle @PureStanley1 also commented:
“Is this even up to 3 cups of beans? A cup of beans is N450. Let’s assume that it’s 3 cups of beans. 3 × 450 = N1,350. Wow, I’m not surprised. What will surprise is if the people u are sharing this too, will collect it with a smile on their faces, instead of pouring spits and curses [sic].”
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A fifth X user named @Gibekure also lent his voice, saying:
“And we are told not to protest… This is how bad our country is.”
The majority of X users FIJ saw on Adejobi’s post deemed Ayilara’s gesture as a reflection of the government’s inadequacies.
Incidentally, Adejobi’s post came three days before a nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest.
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