NSCDC Commandant Obafaiye Shem became
massively popular, thanks to his ‘Oga at the
top’ interview with Channels TV. In a recent interview with National Mirror,
Obafaiye Shem spoke about ’Oga at the top’,
his new posting and even marriage. Excerpts: What is your assessment of the security
situation in Ibadan and Oyo State in general? The security situation in Oyo State is relatively
peaceful and I must tell you that the synergy
among the security agencies here is very
superb. We relate well; the Commissioner of
Police carries me on well and indeed refers to
me as his brother. I do the same to him. Anything that affects one affects all. At a time, there was a clash between my men
and the police. Immediately I told him about it,
he promptly took it up and resolved it. My
bosses were amazed. That’s the level of
rapport that exists between us. How would you compare the work situation in
Lagos to the one in Oyo State? Lagos is very riotous. What I am trying to say is
that there is so much stress in Lagos State
when compared with a state like Oyo. Oyo
State is a more peaceful state. Ibadan is
particularly peaceful. Life here cannot, in any
way, be compared with life in Lagos. But just as God backed us up in Lagos, He is still doing the
same here in Ibadan. The way He made me
succeed in Lagos, is the same way He has
started making a success of my work here in
Oyo State. My achievements have been positive. It has
always been my desire to do my best as much
as possible on this job and wherever I find
myself, and God has been good to me. This is
what I always tell my subordinates. Since all of
us cannot be president; we cannot all be Commandant General, we can all contribute our
quota to the growth and development of
Nigeria in whichever corner we find ourselves. This is what I always tell my subordinates. I
always tell them that if they are cleaners, they
should clean well. The Bible instructs us to do
our job as unto the Lord. We should do all with
the fear of God. That is, if no one is watching
you, God is. My wish is to do my best, to leave a good legacy behind for my generation and
everyone coming after me. Would you rather work here or in Lagos? Our job is with the federal government. So, it is
not about where anyone prefers, it is about
where we are posted to. And the rule is that we
must be ready to work anywhere; we must
adapt to whichever environment we find
ourselves. It is a service and we must do it well at all times. There is nowhere I cannot work. You were posted to Ibadan shortly after the
“My Oga At the Top” interview. How about your
family? Did you move them down to Ibadan or
they are still in Lagos? They are here. They joined me barely a week
after I resumed here. It makes the job easier
because there won’t be any divided loyalty. What are the challenges of your job? Life is a risk and so is every job. Our own job is
no exception. Even the Army, advanced as they
are, they still have challenges. In our own case,
we are making do with what the federal
government has been giving us. We have men
on ground and with good leadership, we are showing commitment and doing well. God has
been very faithful. In the course of our job, we
arrest tankers with arms and ammunition
among other major things. We have challenges,
but they are minimal. How would you rate the success of the NSCDC
so far? Am I not too small to rate the NSCDC?
Generally, I would say, of all the agencies, ours
is the closest to the masses. We live with them,
interact with them and we have a good
intelligence gathering network. We are doing
well in all ramifications. On some different occasions, we are the first to get to scenes of
fire incidences. In the area of disaster
management, we help manage situations,
rescue and rehabilitate. In the area of
preventing the activities of pipeline vandals, we
are also doing well. If I am to give a mark, I would give 75%. That is an A. As security officer, what tips would you give to
individuals for safety? We must observe personal security in our
homes. It would be wrong to switch on your
light before leaving home; people should be
conscious of strangers around where they live;
they need to call the attention of neighbours if
they see strange faces; they should put bulbs in their surroundings to illuminate the
environment. I would also advise that you don’t
just leave your gate open. Your security man
should be registered with a security outfit so
that they will be able to capture his data. This is to enable them to trace him. It is risky
and not ideal to just employ somebody just
because he claimed to have worked as security
officer in some place before. He might have
been sacked for one misdemeanor or the other
before or may even be telling lie just to feed himself. He may not be able to handle the job
and you may end up suffering for this at the
end of the day. And for those who employ
house helps, they must be careful of who they
leave their children with. A lot of underground
work need to be done to have these kids placed in safe hands. What is your opinion about the Channels
Television interview that brought you instant
fame? I have nothing much to say other than to bless
God for everything. I thank God for all that
happened; I thank God for my boss, his support
and love. He is a good boss and I appreciate
him. As far as I am concerned all things work
well for those who love God and in all things, the Bible says we should praise God. The people that thought they were going to
ruin me did not know that they would end up in
announcing my destiny. In the history of
humanity, there had never been any human
being that had instant fame like I did especially
in a case that was meant to end negatively. My brother-in-law in London is even so excited
about the incident that he promised to assist
me make big money out of this supposed
mess. He had already handed the matter to an
agency over there to trade mark “Oga at the
Top.” But I just asked him to forget it. There is no need for that. Many of my class mates are in top positions in
Nigeria currently, yet, they said I did not go to
school. I can mention a lot of them here,
including the Attorney General in Lagos State,
Ipaye. But why should I do all that. All the same, I give
all the praises to God. It was not the first
interview I would be having with them
(Channels Tv). After that interview we shook
hands and I even gave them my complimentary
card. I could see that they were not really cheerful. If there was any effect, it was on
them and not me. It was the same day I met
with Governor Fashola of Lagos State. Theirs took place in the morning and I met
Governor Fashola later in the day. Some people
believed they were up to something, but I did
not know. I was only being careful with words
as a security officer. We apply caution in all
that we say and do. It was a live programme, the whole world was watching us, so, I did not
want to be too free. But like I said, I thank God for everything. I
blame nobody for anything; I see everything as
an act of God. They believe they would use it to
destroy my destiny but God turned everything
around for me, for the better. How did your family take the development? The day of the interview, 16th of March, 2013,
was the day my father was buried. It was as if it
was designed to destablise me on the day of
the burial of my father, but it was not so. It was
three or four days after that they apologised
and said it was not meant to embarrass me. Channels felt bad because it backfired.
Anybody that wants to go for an interview in
Channels will be very skeptical now and
henceforth. I just felt it was my time for divine
announcement, so I did not take it the way they
thought I would take it. In fact, when I saw the T-shirt, I wanted to buy
one. Some had thought that my transfer to
Ibadan was a demotion, but they are wrong. It is
not. They also claimed that my wife went to
Channels over the issue. The question I asked
was, to do what? She did not. The whole thing has only turned around to be God’s glory in my
life. What is your philosophy of life and how did it
apply in the case of “My Oga At The Top” case? My philosophy of life is to impact positively on
this generation. I want to leave a legacy, a good
and worthwhile legacy behind that will not
make my family live or walk in fear when I am
gone. I want to sustain my good name; and that
is what I preach to my staff every day. I tell them to be open-minded; be determined;
do what you will do with your best ability
whether people are there or not. Note that
there are people watching you and your work
will speak for you when you are not there. This
is what I always tell them. What is the lesson to be learnt in your “Oga At
The Top” issue? Everyone should identify a lesson out of the
whole saga. What is your childhood ambition and where
were you born? My dream was to become a military person. In
the village, they called me a Soldier because of
the way I walk. Talking about where I was born, I
was born in Ayetoro Kiri in Kabba/Bunu local
government area of Kogi State. What influence do your parents have on your
life as an adult? My parents are very hard working and well-
disciplined. My father was a farmer and made
us to work on the farm as early as 4 a.m. and
wouldn’t come back until 10 p.m. They were
very strict. My father was not that rich, but he
was determined and loved his children to go to school. The two of them are dead now but they
left a good memory of themselves behind. And
you know like it used to generally be in those
years, we lived a communal life. My father lived a very selfless life. He wished
all other children that were not even his own
the best that he wished for we his children. He
wouldn’t let any child that he found at home
when others were in school be. That earned
him the name- “Baba ki lo n se n le.” He would ensure that the reason why the child was not in
school got fixed as much as possible. This and others we learnt as we grew up. He
taught us the essence of hardwork. He was not
rich, so, we had to work on the farm very hard
to get money to take care of our school fees.
My mother was also hard-working. She was a strong-willed woman who was a
popular garri maker of her time. She died in
2009 while papa died in February 2013. They
taught us to be solution givers and we thank
God that we are on that path. He believed in the
power of cane. I remember a time that I and one of my brothers went to work in the farm
and we covered so much ground and without
food. When he came, we thought he was going
to be excited and commend us. He, instead,
went wild when he found out we did all that we
did on empty stomach. He caned us in anger. Would you recall any of your childhood pranks? I was a serious student in UNILAG and so
wouldn’t joke with my books. I came from a
poor family and I didn’t want to disappoint my
parents and myself. I think I entered the
female hostel twice throughout my
undergraduate days. My success was more important and I wouldn’t want anything to
distract me. How would you describe village life? It was a communal life. People do things
together, but in the city, they want to do it by
themselves. There were good and healthy
foods in the village. Everything was expressly
from nature, the air, water, vegetables and all.
Even herbs came handy for ailments that would have cost a fortune in the city. City life has
caused crises to marriages whereas this is not
common in the village. There is a huge
difference between life in the village and in the
city. What attracted you to your wife? She is beautiful and a good singer. She was
leading a chorus at a crusade when I first saw
her. She is an evangelist. How would you describe marriage? Marriage is a beautiful thing. That is the way I
would describe it. How do you unwind? I am married to my job and my wife complains
about that. When I am not working, I am in
church. The last time I went on leave was in
2009. What is your general advice for people? Let every individual do his work as ordained by
God, believing that he or she is accountable at
the end of the race. People should be
contended with what they have; they should
use all their strength to do whatever is given to
them and wait on God for reward. People should put their trust in God and not in human
beings. Today, we have so many people
derailing because they expect so many things
from human beings. Wait for God at the
appointed time. Do what you are doing with the
fear of God
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