BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE
The announcement of Olumuyiwa Adejobi, as the new Police Public Relations Officer for Lagos State, elicited joyful reactions for all and sundry on September 9, 2020.
A Chief Superintendent of Police, he took over from Bala Elkana, a Superintendent of Police.
Adejobi has, over the years, been the delight of journalists and has been one of the faces bringing respect and finesse to the Police. He is a respected public relations practitioner par excellence.
Adejobi’s appointment by the immediate past Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, followed the retirement of Deputy Inspector General in charge of Operations, Abdulmajid Ali, whom he served as a Personal Assistant.
He has served in several capacities as police spokesperson. On August 2, 2016, he was appointed as the PPRO for the Zone 2 Command in Lagos State.
Before his appointment as the Zonal PPRO, Lagos, Adejobi was the PPRO of the Ogun State Command between December 2008 and July 2016.
He was born in Ile Ife, Osun State to the family of late Oba Moses Olayioye Adejobi and Olori Mary Olaitan Adejobi of Orile Owu, Ayedaade Local Government Area of Osun State.
He bagged his BSc in Archaeology and Geography (Combined Hons) in 2001 from the University of Ibadan and MA in Peace and Conflict Studies, in 2004, in the same prestigious University of Ibadan before he was appointed into the Nigeria Police Force as a cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police on February 1, 2005.
Adejobi is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and Institute of Chartered Administrators of Nigeria and many other professional bodies.
He has attended courses, including Superintendent of Police Course 22, Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State; Police Mobile Force Training, Gwoza Camp, Maiduguri, Citizenship and Leadership Training, Shere Hills, Jos; Conflict Handling Styles, University of Ibadan; Public Relations Skills and Styles, Force Public Relations, Nigeria Police Force, Abuja, completing the Development of Nigeria Police Force Media and Communications Strategy, Abuja.
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Muyiwa would want to sleep but Muyiwa won’t be able to sleep because I don’t put off my phone. The sacrifices I make, people have noticed them. Invite Muyiwa to any programme, Muyiwa will be there; call Muyiwa to go and attend any community meeting, Muyiwa will be there. Talk of giving information out, I don’t joke with it
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He attended a key leadership training course at Pointman Leadership Institute, United States, and has been part of many other training programmes, at home and abroad.
Adejobi has also held prominent positions, including Corps Liaison Officer, National Youth Service Corps, Nnewi North Local Government, Nnewi, Anambra State; Parade Commander, Squad 6, Cadet ASP course 22, Police Academy, Kano; Second-in-Command, General Parade Commander, Ogun State Command; Operations Officer, Sagamu Division, Ogun State; Officer in charge of Anti Bank Robbery and Pipeline Vandalism, Sagamu; Administrative Officer, Department of Operations, Ogun State Command; Operations Officer, Department of Operations, Lagos State Command, and Directing Staff, Police College Ikeja, Lagos.
For his widely acknowledged dedication to duty, Adejobi has received many awards and medals, including commendation award by the National Youth Service Corps, Anambra State; Inspector General of Police commendation certificate; Best Police Public Relations Officer in West Africa by Security Watch Africa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Best Police Public Relations Officer in Nigeria by Security Watch Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa; Merit Award by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Ogun State Chapter and Best Police Image Maker of the Year, by Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria.
His excellent performance on the job may not be by accident. Adejobi comes from a family of police. At least, 10 of his family members are with the Nigeria Police Force. His wife is also a police officer.
He has promised that he will ensure prompt exchange of accurate information in Lagos State.
The spokesman says he will apply the “R.A.C.E Approach” as a tactic to properly perpetuate and immerse himself into the new office.
RACE is an acronym for Research, Action, Communicate and Evaluation.
“The first thing to do is to Research into things that need to be in place; take Action; Communicate to people on my course of action and get Evaluation. The feedback I get from people will enable me to access and cross-check policies and decisions in order to forge ahead,” he notes.
The officer assures that he will work with Divisional Police Officers to gather information on occurrences and promptly disseminate same to the public.
On how he has managed to keep the flag flying, he says, “People feel comfortable relating with me because they talk to me on issues on my line. It is not convenient my brother, I need to tell you this. People will call me at about 1am, 2am, 3am. When there is an incident in the town, they will call my number rather than the control room number.
“If I give them control room number, they will say I don’t need control room number, after all, I have Muyiwa’s number and of course, the implication is that whatever happens to such a person, he is not going to call any operational number, he is not going to call central control room, he is going to call Muyiwa Adejobi and Muyiwa Adejobi is a human being.
“Muyiwa would want to sleep but Muyiwa won’t be able to sleep because I don’t put off my phone. The sacrifices I make, people have noticed them. Invite Muyiwa to any programme, Muyiwa will be there; call Muyiwa to go and attend any community meeting, Muyiwa will be there. Talk of giving information out, I don’t joke with it. Talk of being well connected on the internet, I’m well connected.”
“If there is a story, I write the story, get confirmation and approval from the CP, and I send it out. If there are issues to be discussed, whether national or state, I contact the Force PRO. If he gives me the go-ahead, I do it. As part of my schedule, as enshrined in the police schedule of duties, I’m to get the Force PRO abreast of what is happening in my command and I will continue to do this,” he adds.
(This piece was written before Adejobi was posted to the Police Force Headquarters, Abuja on Friday.)
