I Won’t Fail, Says First Lagos Female PPRO

In the first interview she granted P.M.NEWS as the first female Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, Ngozi Conchita Braide, was upbeat about her new job.

Ngozi Conchita, first female Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO.

“I will not fail. I will lift the flag of Nigeria high and project a positive image of the Force,but it does not mean that when I see black, I will call it white,” she told P.M.NEWS in a telephone interview.

As a woman, she said, she may achieve more than men. “Considering the fact that I am a woman, I am going to get some things done. You know what they say, ‘what a man can do, a woman can do even better’.

“I am an advocate of gender equality. I have headed important positions in the past and even when I went on the United Nations assignments, I stood up to men. My job is to project the image of the Force and assist the Commissioner of Police to succeed as he brings down crime in Lagos.”

She called on Lagos residents not to expect a perfect police force because according to her, “the Nigeria Police is a fragment of the society.”

Lagosians are already speaking about what they expect from the new police image maker in the state.

“Braide will have to contend with entrenched scepticism from Lagos residents”, said Mr. Kola Oni, whose Davies Street in Ketu has been attacked by robbers a horde of times in recent weeks, including last night.

“She should be diligent in her approach. She should tell Lagosians the truth and not what the police want to hear. They are fond of manipulating figures. They have no respect for figures and it is wrong. It is not healthy to juggle figures since they are not the ones killing people. I will advise her to be honest, state the facts as they are and say the truth.

“My advice to her also is that the police should respond to distress calls promptly and keep excuses aside, excuses of not having petrol in their cars or of not having patrol vehicles or drivers. She is accountable to the Nigerian people first and she will be seen either as honest or someone who only covers up for bad eggs in the police,” Oni said.

“I do not care if she is a woman. If she’s not qualified, I am sure, she will not be deployed to Lagos. Having a woman as the police spokesperson is interesting and I know that she will do a good job,” Oni said.

The new PPRO is a Deputy Superintendent of Police. She is the 16th PPRO of the state since the office was created in 1971. She had served in various commands including the Special Fraud Unit, Milverton, where she was recently transferred from.

Braide would be the third PPRO of the command this year following the exit of Mr. Samuel Jinadu in January and Mr. Joseph Jaiyeoba on Monday, 11 June.