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History was recently made in the United Kingdom when Chief Superintendent Victor Olisa, who recently became the London Metropolitan Police Commander, Bexley Borough, the first Nigerian and black man to become Chief Superintendent.
Mr Victor Olisa, a Warri-born, Delta State indigene, now has his name listed among the league of Nigerians doing well abroad with his recent promotion as a Chief Superintendent with the London Metropolitan police.
In effect, the London-based 52-year-old Victor is now the London Metropolitan Police Commander for Bexley Borough.
He currently lives in Surrey county in southern England, with his physiotherapist wife and two teenage children.
He is the first black officer to rise to this position in the United Kingdom. His primary assignment is to oversee all policing matters in Bexley area.
The office of a Borough Commander of Police in the United Kingdom is like that of a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the Nigeria Police.
The Chief Superintendent, who assumed office, precisely on April 16, is said to be one of the three chief superintendents from black minority ethnic backgrounds currently working for the Metropolitan Police.
Victor, whose grandfather was a police officer in Nigeria, left the country for London decades back, but it was in 1982 he started his policing career in Surrey, a county in southern England.
Three years later, he got promoted to the position of a sergeant before he got transferred five years later – in 1990- to the City of London Police as a detective inspector in the Fraud Squad.
It was 13 years after this period, that is, in 2003, that he got promoted to the position of a Chief Inspector of Police, and this gave him the opportunity to work in the Race Unit at the London Home Office.
In 2006, Victor was transferred as a Superintendent in Southwark Council before his recent appointment as a Chief Superintendent commanding a police borough.
Speaking to reporters in London about his appointment, Victor said his focus was on the job rather than being the first “black person” to hold the position.
According to him, “policing runs in the family and I have always wanted to be a police officer and ethnicity does not affect that.
“I consider myself first and foremost a police officer. If being black is an advantage, then brilliant; if it’s a disadvantage, I will have to deal with that, I can’t hide it.
Victor, who said during his tenure as police head, he would discourage racism said: “I am impeccably against anyone who uses racist language or behaves in a racist manner.”
He said it was the responsibility of the force to correct wrongs and not an institution for people with racist views.
“This will not be allowed under my watch. I believe that everyone should be treated with dignity wherever they come from,” Victor said.
The information released by Metropolitan Police Service shows that the force employs more than 31,000 officers together with about 13,000 police staff and 3,700 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
The MPS is also being supported by 2,500 volunteer police cadets and more than 5,000 volunteer police officers from the Metropolitan Special Constabulary (MSC) and its Employer Supported Policing (ESP) programme.
The Metropolitan Police Services covers an area of 620 square miles and a population of 7.2 million
