YUSUF, Alh Mohammed Dikko

was the Assistant Financial Secretary of the branch. Soon after that the Northern EkmentsProgressive Union (NEPU) was formed. He was instrumental to inviting the organisation to establish an office in Katsina and he became the Secretary of the branch. However his political aspirations were halted when hejoined the Northern Regional Public Service since both his trade union and political activities were prohibited by law now that he had become afullfkdged regional civil servant. M.D Yusuf transferred his services from the Katsina NA to the Northern Regional Government in 1954 after which he went to Oxford University, U.Kforthe Special Administrative Officers course. When he retumedto Nigeria in 1957 he wasposted to Ikrinasan AssistantDistria Officer. In 1959 he was sent to Katsina tojoin theNorthern Region Public Service Commission. In 1961 he waspostedto London to recruit Expatriate Officers to work in Northern Nigeria after Independence. Between 1962 and 1964, he underwent an intensive course of training in the broadest asperts of Police operations. He was then posted to Kaduna as Assistant Commissioner of Police, the rank on which hejoined the force because of his seniority in the public service at that time. He became Deputy Commissioner, and in 1966 he was promoted to the rank of Commissioner in charge of Northern Region, and was holding thatpostwhen thefirst military coup in Nigeria took place inJanuary 1966. Asa resultof the changes, which took place after the coup he was summoned back to Lagos to take over the post of Headof the Special Branch and he remained in that postfrom March 1966 untilJuly 1975, when he was appointed Inspeaor General of Police. However when in March 1979 serving membersof the cabinet were asked to return to their professional duties if they did not wish to remain when the Government's termof office ended, Alhaji Yusufu took up the portfolio of Internal Affairs in addition to hisjob as Inspeaor General. He was a memberof the Grassroot Democratic Movement and currentlyof the Movementfor Democracy and Justice. He is a vigorous and strong patriot whose vision, competence and breath of national contaa, integrity and moral authority cannot be challenged He was ako the Chairman of the Northern Non-Political organisation, TheArewaConsultativeForumACF. A.nd here I should like to say something about the difficult and dangerous tasks which our Nigerian Soldiers and Police have been dealing with in the Congo, and to tellyou why it is iny our interests that we shouldmaintainthem there. Fromtime to time there has been considerable pressure for their withdrawal, but to have brought them back to Nigeria would have been to play straight into the hands of those powers which are seeking to profit out of the chaos in the Congo. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa March, 1961