I Have No Regrets In Life – ASP Yusuf Kudu Rtd

At 85 years, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Yusuf Kudu (Rtd) stands as a living testament to a life of service, faith, and resilience. Celebrated by family, friends, and well-wishers at a thanksgiving service on marking his birthday, the retired police officer reflected on his long journey through life and career. The thanksgiving service held on Sunday August 9, 2025 at the Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ LCC No. 1 Akwanga. With a calm sense of fulfillment, he declared that he has no regrets, insisting that his guiding principle has always been fairness, honesty, and reliance on God’s grace.

Born into a pastor’s family, ASP Kudu (Rtd) grew up under strict Christian values that shaped his worldview and later influenced his approach to policing. He recalled childhood experiences that nearly claimed his life, but which he now interprets as evidence of divine grace preserving him for a greater purpose. That sense of providence, he said, has followed him all through his 85 years and sustained him through dangers that could have ended differently.

His years in the Nigeria Police Force were marked by service in some of the nation’s most difficult periods. From the Tiv crisis of 1963 to the Nigerian Civil War, ASP Kudu found himself at the center of volatile assignments. He recounted surviving near-death experiences at the warfront, including injuries that nearly blinded him, yet through it all, he pressed on with a strong conviction that he was called to be a peacemaker.

Looking back, he emphasized that his greatest strength was the ability to remain fair and incorruptible in a profession where many were often tempted. He recalled how colleagues once accused him of “preaching the Bible in the police” because of his insistence on truth and fairness. But to him, those values were non-negotiable. They were the same principles that guided him in interactions with diplomats and foreign nationals during his service at various embassies, including the Embassy of Palestine in Victoria Island.

Beyond his career, ASP Kudu has deep concerns for the Eggon nation, his people. He lamented the divisions and self-diminishing tendencies among them and called for unity, proper structuring of traditional institutions, and collective self-respect. To the younger generation of Eggon people, he charged them to rise as cultural and political vanguards, to defend their identity, and to channel their education and strength toward the development of their land.

As he looks to the years ahead, the octogenarian maintains that he remains anchored in worship and service to God. For him, every additional day is a gift to be lived with gratitude, sincerity, and love for family and community. With a life that has traversed danger, sacrifice, and unwavering faith, ASP Yusuf Kudu sums up his journey in simple but profound words: “I have no regrets in life.” In the following interview, he speaks with candor about his childhood, his years in the police, his faith, and his hopes for the Eggon nation – offering readers an inspiring glimpse into the mind of a man who has seen much and learned to value life without regrets.

Looking back at the past 25 years, what are you grateful to God for?

Past 25 years? That’s great. I am ASP Kudu (Rtd). I’m happy you are the ambassador of the Eggon nation. Your father did the work and he opened a business for you. Do it heartily. Your father was here with me, we chatted, where I’m sitting with you now. I told you before. We chatted and we cracked jokes and discussed at length. I think I still have a copy of that Eggonnews.

Well, I am grateful to God. Past 25 years. 85 years! 85? Your father interviewed me about some years ago. You are coming back to reverse me to 85 again.

Look, when I was a young child, about 10 years, these birds that have nests, turning the mud down, they had stinking insects, not honey bees, very bitter insects, flying insects. I took my hand there, touched it, oh, come and see how these insects covered me. From up there, I dived to the ground. I was about 10 years.

When I got up, I said, oh, me, a man. Then another thought came to me and said, oh, it is the grace of God. Otherwise you would have broken into pieces. That was my first accident in life. I said, Jesus, thank you. I’m talking that I’m a man, I’m not a man, but your grace covers me. That’s my first grace.

My father was a pastor. He went to Gindiri in 1939. He graduated from Gindiri in 1940. Now, coming back here, he gave birth to me. So, that was the beginning of the hurdles of my life. Being a child of a pastor, I was brought up in the ministry. I appreciate what the Lord is doing to me all the way.

I grew up, was employed. I did not give any kobo to anybody. They were begging me, begging me, begging me to come and do the work, free. Even that day we were employed, many were saying that, ah, with all their money, they did not take them. But me, even a kobo I did not give to anybody. God saw me through.

And then they were begging me to come and join the police. My parents said no. At long last, I found myself there. I served and retired successfully.

We were heavily involved in solving the Tiv trouble in Doma in 1963 December. The Western Crisis, I was there. The Civil war, I was there. We were at the warfront. All the crises at the time in Bauchi, here and there. Vehicles will fling us in the bush. We got up, stand up and continued our work. It was the grace of God and not by power.

You see my left and right eye, soldiers inflicted injuries on my eyes. There was blood everywhere. The other one, after five years interval. But still I am seeing. That is the grace of God. Yes. I am living by the grace of God and I am so grateful to my God.

I hold on to Jesus. He is the author of my life. Yes. Otherwise, I for don kpeme since.

So, in all these years, do you have any regrets at all? Anything that, if given the opportunity, you would do differently?

Life is a battle. When you appreciate your past, you will also see the failure and the lacking. But I don’t have much to regret in my life. Because I maintained the ethics of my occupation – being fair.

The seven beatitudes say blessed are the peacemakers. A policeman is a peacemaker. And that’s why I joined the police.

In all my ways, all my doing was to render service in a very honest way, in line with my occupation. And I thank God.

When you are a peacemaker, you make peace. If you are a law enforcement, you know the law. And you have mercy on people. Be very fair to every human being.

I served with members of the diplomatic community; Ambassadors, Diplomats. We interacted with many nations. I was at the embassy at Victoria Island. The last embassy I served in in Victoria was the Embassy of Palestine. So, we interacted.

When a British man was insulting me, I say, look, don’t insult the policeman. Don’t insult Nigerians. I say, English is your language but you cannot use it to insult others. He retraced himself and apologized. And we become good friends.

So, it is well. I don’t have anything much to regret. Failures are normal in life. And when you fail, if you are intelligent, you retrace your steps and take correction.

I was a bit not tolerant to corruption. Because nobody asked for money from me and I did not have to ask people for money when I’m doing my work. Even if you give me, I will say thank you most of the time. Even my colleagues were telling me, ‘ah, you are preaching the Bible in the police. I said, law, you are to teach others. And when they commit minor offense, you want them to go. Simple. Allow people know the law. There are minor laws. There are criminal laws. There are capital offenses. So, as a policeman, you treat everyone according to his degree of offense committed.

So, I’m happy. At this age, I can still talk. And I vibrate.

So, I can see that you are surrounded by family today. Your children, your in-laws, your grandchildren. What would you like them to learn from your life?

Um… Sincerity. Honesty. These are the very good attributes of life. Hard work.

When you are very fair to others, they will appreciate you. And my family is appreciating me because I hold the family as Jesus said, love is the greatest of all laws. So, I treat everyone as myself.

I can see you are very passionate about the Eggon land. And at this age, you have seen a lot. What advice do you have for the Eggon nation?

The Eggon nation, we love to belittle ourselves so much.

We thank God today we have somebody who is retired justice, as the Aren Eggon. Although I interacted with other Aren who is now of blessed memory. He was trying to drag me. He called me from time to time to discuss some issues in the Eggon land.

Look, Eggon people, we have to find our place. The Eggon people migrated from Medina according to history. In 1965, I was going to Maiduguri when I was serving in Bauchi. There is a village called Ngazargamu. We loaded from Damaturu, when we go to that village, one aged man heard me speaking Hausa. He then approached me and said, you are speaking as if you are from Kambari. I said, yes, I am an Eggon. He now said, ‘look at your parents’ houses’. One, two, three houses. The village is just along the road from here to Maiduguri. He said, this is where your people migrated from’. He said he himself used to visit his brothers who went down on an expedition and settled down where the Eggon people are. You call the place Arugbadu.

He said he used to visit them, three of them. A Nungu man, Eggon with distinct tribal marks in threes and then the Eggon with the long mark. Three of them.

He said they migrated from Ngazargamu down to where the Eggon people are today. So, we have to trace our history.

And, the Eggon institution is bastardized. Why? What happened to Doma? One ruling house did not cast a vote for electing Yahaya Doma to become Andoma. When that house rose up, the court nullified the election. And that’s why Yahaya Doma could not rule. He ruled for five years. One house was not included among and given a voting card to vote Yahaya Doma as Andoma. The court nullified it.

It is high time the Eggon people constitutes themselves properly. Thank God we have a learned man as Aren Eggon. We have 22 clans in Egon land. Every clan has a voting card to vote the Aren Eggon into power. Can you go and put somebody from Kano to vote the Sultan of Sokoto into office? No. It is people that elect their leaders to rule them. And the Eggon people are people that know we have the hierarchies. We should constitute our 22 clans, each of them should have a voters card if we want to vote Aren Egon into office. We have not constituted that. It should be done.

And we are advising the present Aren Egon to hold Eggon people in trust. You go to any part of the world, where there is business, you see Eggon people there. Any part of the world, I’m not even talking about just Nigeria.

We are a powerful nation. We should hold ourselves at high esteem.

Look at Dr. Arigu (Moses), they gave him award in in Canada because he excelled, in blocking cyber thieves. We have people like him almost everywhere. In China, Japan, everywhere in the world.

So we have to constitute ourselves. When we humble ourselves and respect ourselves, others will respect us, both politically and otherwise.

In 1965, I went to Kano on investigation. An old man in Dantata house, when I asked for the person I wanted to arrest, he asked me, ‘where are you from?’ I said, I’m an Eggon man. He said, ‘oh, Eggon of Allumbugu. Sarkin yanka.’ So the Eggon nation are well known for their firmness. Allumbugu was very firm. I remember that my father once took me to where he was and we saw Allumbugu was on the throne, he was judging. He showed me where Allumbugu used to hang people. If you kill, they kill you. So he was a very firm chief. The Eggon people are known.

Even in the palace of the Queen of England. She warned the Europeans coming to exploit minerals to be careful of Eggon people.

You remember the story of the European man who came on an expedition for minerals. He misbehaved. He told his guard to fire gun. They cut his head and today Eggon people are known to be brave.

Eggon youth are our vanguard. You are our vanguard politically and culturally. Every nation, when you have powerful youth, they are the vanguard of that nation.

That’s what we are supposed to do.

Eggon youth, stand up and defend your nation. Defend your parents.

We have many educated people in Eggon land. Stand up. We are counting on you.

The Eggon people are playing harlotry with their lives, politics and the rest of it, which is not good. We should stand strong and stand out. Stand strong and hold our entity. We should humble ourselves.

My advice is to every member of the Eggon nation. Every Eggon youth, every Eggon person, should stand up, team up and sustain yourself and plan forward. Do not continue to work for others in a case of monkey dey work, baboon dey chop. That is what is happening. 

So, finally, what is your prayer for the remaining years of your life? What is your prayer to God?

I have been in the ministry of worshipping God in truth. And I will continue to remain in the ministry of the gospel, be it in the choir or elsewhere. For the remaining period, I may die tomorrow but I really appreciate God.