By Sylvester Udemezue
MEMORY VERSE:
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’”
(per Audrey Hepburn)
I have just gone through a piece of 12/01/2021 breaking news item tilted, “BREAKING!!! Nigeria’s First Female Commissioner Of Police Emerges In Oyo”, which reports that “There has been a change of guard in the Oyo State police command with the deployment of Mrs. Ngozi Onadeko, as the new commissioner of police. Mrs. Onadeko takes over from Mr Nwachuckwu Enwonwu. Mrs. Onadeko is the first female to occupy that position in the state. Her posting is at the instance of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu”.
I heartily congratulate Compol Mrs. Ngozi Onadekobob this feat; it is a no mean feat. Like Irvy Okoronkwo, you’ve shown that what a man can do, a woman can do even better. It is important at this juncture to recall that as the First Female Commissioner of Police In Oyo State, Mrs Ngozi Onadeko has started after retired DIG MRS IRVY UCHE OKORONKWO, Nigeria’s first female Commissioner of Police.
Mrs. Ivy Okoronkwo, appointed was appointed a Compol for Ekiti State, by IGP Sunday Ehindero in 2005. (See: “Nigeria: IG Appoints 1st Woman Commissioner of Police” 29 DECEMBER 2005, published by allafrica.com). As the Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of Ekiti State, Nigeria, she was the first female police officer to be posted to head a State Command in the Nigerian Police.
Mrs Okoronkwo was later promoted to the rank of an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) and posted to head Zone 7, thus becoming the first female officer to head such a zonal command.
On Tuesday, 5 October 2010, Mrs Irvy Okoronkwo was appointed a Deputy Inspector General of Police, and made the second-in-command to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim. She again became the first female officer to be appointed a Deputy Inspector General of Police in the Nigeria Police. (See: wikipedia).
Bravo to Nigerian women in the Police Force. Like Marie Curie once said, “[women] must believe that [they] are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained”. There’s a saying, attributed to
Margaret Thatcher, that if you want something said, ask a man, but if you want something done, ask a woman. Further, some believe that there is no tool for true development more effective than the empowerment of women. I therefore charge you, Compol Mrs Ngozi Onadeko, to be like Madeleine Albright who once declared, “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent”, or as Maya Angelou who about herself said, “I am a woman / Phenomenally / Phenomenal woman / That’s me”.
This is no joke nor any exerggeration; there’s something so special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer. Indeed, there should be no limit to what you, as a women, can accomplish; or, since there are no ceilings, let the sky’s the limit.
It is in this light that I charge you, dear Compol Mrs Ngozi Onadeko, to keep going — keep going higher. As things stand in our country, with men having proven a total failure in providing security, in governance, and in most aspects of leadership, we need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, to reshape the conversation and to make things better. Who knows, Compol Onadeko may well suppass DIG Okoronkwo who was stopped as the deputy IGP. May I ask, Would the world fall flat, pass away or breath its last if a woman IGP emerges in Mrs Ngozi Onadeko? Go for it, ma, to make the womanfold proud. It is not impossible. Listen to this counsel by Francis of Assisi on how to make possible and easy what otherwise appears impossible: “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” The mere fact that no woman has ever done it doesn’t mean you can’t do it. If you do what other women before you didn’t do: extra hardwork in the legitimate direction, coupled with a thorough belief in yourself, you’d achieve what they couldn’t achieve. A positive attitude is key to success, progress and fulfillment. Said George Bernard Shaw: “progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” Let the per Audrey Hepburn’s immutable words be your inspiration: “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’”
Best wishes. And congratulations once again. From a Retired Resident of Ibadan, Oyo State (RRIOS), within your Police jurisdiction,
Sylvester Udemezue
(UDEMS)
08109024556.
mrudems@yahoo.com. (14/01/2921)
