From DPO to IGP: Disu returns to Ago-Iwoye where his police journey began
By Zagazola Makama
Decades after serving as a young police officer at Ago-Iwoye Division in Ogun State, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has returned to the station — this time as the head of the Nigeria Police Force.
It was a homecoming filled with memories, reflection and a powerful reminder of how far a career in public service can take a person.
During the nostalgic visit over the weekend, Disu returned to places that once formed part of his daily life as a young officer. He revisited his former office, walked through the residence where he once lived and returned to the farm he tended during his early years in the police.
The places may have changed with time, but for the IGP, they represented the beginning of a journey that would eventually take him to the highest professional position in the Nigeria Police Force.
Standing in the environment where he once served as a Divisional Police Officer, Disu’s story offered a striking contrast between his past and present.
From a young police officer working in Ago-Iwoye to the officer occupying the Force Headquarters, the journey was built over decades of service, responsibility and progression through the ranks.
But rather than treating the return as a celebration of his present position, Disu appeared to use it as an opportunity for reflection.
He posed a simple but thought-provoking question: “Can YOU visit where you worked before?”
Behind the question was a bigger message — that people should never become too important to remember where they started.
For many young officers, the Ago-Iwoye experience could easily be seen as just another posting. For Disu, however, it became the first chapter of a career that would eventually lead him to the pinnacle of the police profession.
His return therefore carried a human lesson beyond policing: success does not erase one’s beginnings.
The old office, former residence and farm served as physical reminders of a period when the IGP was simply another young officer trying to build a career.
Years later, he returned not as the same young officer, but as the Inspector-General of Police.
His story is a testament to the power of dedication, humility and perseverance — and a reminder to serving officers and young Nigerians that extraordinary destinations can grow from very ordinary beginnings.
From Ago-Iwoye to Force Headquarters, Disu’s journey demonstrates that where a person starts does not necessarily determine where he or she will end.
Sometimes, the most powerful measure of success is being able to return to the beginning, look around and remember who you were before the world knew who you became.
