Top five female police image makers

• Women who shaped police commands

Braide

Daniel

Several policewomen are today spokespersons in various commands. This position used to be formerly reserved for policemen. But many of these policewomen took over the office and are doing amazingly well. There are five women police image makers who faced a lot of storms in managing their commands, swam to the shore and were later applauded.

1. Oyo Command: Olabisi Okuwobi Ilobanafor
Olabisi Okuwobi Ilobanafor is the former spokesperson for Oyo State Police Command. She’s a graduate of English. She enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police in 2002. Not much was known of her until she assumed duty as the police image maker in Oyo State in 2007.
She was the Delta State Deputy PPRO in 2004 and subsequently the PPRO in the state till 2007. Upon her transfer to the Benue State Police Command, she became the PPRO there in 2007 before being transferred to Oyo State in 2007.
She was an active police image maker between 2007 and 2010 before embarking on a United Nations Peace Keeping Mission in 2010. During her tenure, Ilobanafor was a darling of many journalists and accessible to members of the public. Unlike most image makers, Ilobanafor could be reached on her mobile telephone at any time of the day. If any journalist was in police trouble, he or she was in safe hands if Ilobanafor could be contacted. Ilobanafor once left her residence around 1: am to go to a police station to identify and free a journalist who was involved in a civil matter. She hardly ever switches off her phone.
She shunned the idea of selecting some journalists for press briefing as most police image makers do. She was broadcast journalists’ delight when it comes to interview on radio and television; where she used to display her dexterity in the English Language.
When the news filtered out that she was going on a foreign peace mission assignment in 2010, many journalists and citizens of the state prayed that Ilobanafor, then a DSP, would return to her position after the trip.
Their wish came to pass when she returned in 2012 and effectively manned the office until 2014. When most police image makers are contacted for reaction or confirmation of stories, they would reply, “I have not been briefed. Call me back later.” When the journalist calls back, they wouldn’t pick.
But Ilobanafor does not wait for a journalist to call back. She would verify the story and call. This attribute is what gave her an edge over other image makers. What clinched Ilobanafor’s number one position in the top five list of female image maker is her civility and quick attendance to journalists outside her command. In situations where most police image makers would say, “I don’t know you,” Ilobanafor would call to verify the story, then call the journalist. Ilobanafor is now a Superintendent of Police (SP) and currently serving in Lagos State.
2. Lagos Command: Ngozi Conchita Braide
Ngozi Conchita Braide was the first female PPRO in Lagos State Police Command. She had never been an image maker until Lagos Command. She was a green horn and struggled to succeed in an unknown terrain. She was made the image maker of Lagos Command on June 11, 2012 and redeployed in September 2014. Perhaps because of her charming looks, Braide had to fight and win a lot of battles before becoming one of the best image makers, clinching a position in the top five female image makers.
In Lagos Command, she got what many journalists termed, ‘baptism of fire.’ After she assumed office, she was first deceitfully sucked into the Igbopolitics apparent in the crime beat. She soon realised that being an image maker, wasn’t about hobnobbing with Igbo journalists. She was too caught up in the controversies and gossips pervasive in the crime beat that her job began to suffer. There were complaints of Braide not picking calls or replying text messages. Still others maintained that whenever there was a police function for journalists, she wouldn’t invite them. Braide got into further trouble with online reporters and blackmailers.
But she soon got wiser to the antics of mischievous and unscrupulous journalists. She began to ignore the lies, ignore the so-called Igbo politics and sometimes confronted those who tried to blackmail her. Soon after she was able to tackle these issues, a new police image maker emerged.
She got stronger and better in her job. She began to pick her calls and reply text messages. She also learnt how to manage negative stories. She began to be praised and admired by those who had earlier chastised her. She survived the fire and storm in volatile Lagos crime beat. One of her greatest achievements was being able to get the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, to renovate the Lagos Command’s PPRO office.
 http://newtelegraphonline.com/top-five-female-police-image-makers/