Shem Obafiaye, a senior ranking officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), who made the viral ‘Oga At The Top’ remark, has been promoted to the rank of Deputy Commandant-General.
When Obafiaye was the Lagos commandant of the NSCDC in 2013, he appeared as a guest on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television breakfast programme, and was unable to provide the website of the NSCDC.
Responding to the TV live hosts when asked, he said, “The website is… excuse me… wait… it can only be made known by my Oga at the top,” he said, with an index finger pointing skywards.
When asked further to give more clarity on how the website could possibly be accessed, he answered that, “I cannot categorically tell you one now and my Oga at the top would give you another one.’
Hours after the interview, Nigerian skit makers released tunes with the phrase, ‘Oga At The Top’ and the lyrics went went viral.
The phrase instantly became a meme, morphed into danceable tunes for club goers. Skit makers went further to make T-shirts with a comical face of Obafiaye embossed on them.
Weeks after, Obafiaye was redeployed from the Lagos command of the NSCDC.
He has now been promoted to the rank of Deputy Commandant-General by Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the minister of interior. Equally promoted and decorated are two of his colleagues — Fasiu Adeyinka, ex-Kwara commandant; and Raji, former Imo commandant; as deputy commandants-general.
“As the chairman of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), I decorated the three new Deputy Commandants General of the NSCDC,” the minister said on Wednesday.
In the same vein, on the 1st of December, the federal government approved the promotion of 32,361 personnel of all ranks in the parastatals under the ministry of interior.