Brief Hint on Chief Sir Donatus Ewe Ejifugha

SIR DONATUS EWE EJIFUGHA: THE ICON BEHIND THE SUCCESS STORY OF IMO CIVIL GUARD CORPS

       

The famous Imo Civil Guard Corps, which was created from the Imo Orientation Agency (IOA), was formally founded on July 26, 2013 by the amiable and indefatigable governor of Imo State – Chief Owelle Rochas Okorocha, OON. Since the establishment of the paramilitary body in Imo State – the Eastern Heartland, it has been discharging its duties in the area of Guard services, Traffic and Crowd Control, effectively and relentlessly.

Indeed, the success story of the Imo State Civil Guard (IMCG) cannot be completed without mentioning the renowned security giant - Chief Sir Donatus Ewe Ejifugha, KSJI who has, from the onset as the Commandant General of the corps, been doing everything humanly possible to ensure that the body becomes an envy of all in Imo State and in the diaspora.

After his primary, secondary and university educations at Ubachima Primary School Awo-Omamma, Comprehensive Secondary School Awo-Omamma, and Abia State University (ABSU) Uturu, Abia State, respectively, the young and vibrant Donatus Ewe Ejifugha was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force on 1^st June 1974.

After his stewardship at Aba and Umuahia Police Stations between 1974 and 1979; from 1979 to 1985, he was assigned to the Imo State Government House under Chief Dr Sam Mbakwe and Brigadier Ike Nwachukwu’s administrations respectively. Subsequently, from 1988 to 1990, he was the Officer in Charge of Anti-Robbery Squad at Olu Obasanjo Police Station, Port-Harcourt Rivers State; after which he was transferred to the Zone 9 – Umuahia as well as the Imo State Police Command.

From 1995 to 1997, he served under the Force Criminal Investigation Department (C.I.D) at Alagbon Close, Ikoyi in Lagos State. Due to his high level of vibrancy and competence, in 1997, Chief Ejifugha was reassigned to the Imo State Headquarters C.I.D Unit – Owerri, as the Officer in Charge (O/C) of the Anti-Vice Squad of the Unit; a position he held till the year 2000.

As a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), the proactive Ejifugha served in three different locations starting from Osisioma Police Station, to Central Police Station –Aba, and Ukwa Divisional Police Station; all in Abia State, from 2000 to 2002, 2002 to 2004, and 2004 to 2006, respectively. Furthermore, in 2006, he was assigned to serve as the Area Commander (O/C Operations) at Aba Area Command; where he retired after thirty five (35) years of meritorious service, on 1^st June 2009 precisely, as a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).

Due to his passion for service to humanity, immediately after his retirement, he joined Politics. As it is widely noted that a gold fish has no hidden place, in 2011 after the emergence of Owelle Rochas Okorocha as the Governor of Imo State, Chief Sir Donatus Ejifugha, KSJI was appointed as the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Security and Advanced Protocol; a position he held till 2012. In the same vein, he was later appointed by the Governor as the Sole administrator of Oru East Local Government Area.

With regard to his dogged and ebullient nature coupled with his experience as a retired security expert, in 2013, His Excellency Owelle Rochas Okorocha went further to appoint him to super head the Imo State Civil Guard Corps as the pioneer Commandant General; a position he is expected to hold for five (5) consecutive years as the law stipulates. There is no gain reiterating that the ongoing pragmatic dispensation of the Imo Civil Guard in Imo State at large is not unconnected to the fact that an ever-competent man Chief Donatus Ejifugha is piloting the affairs of the corps. This is the singular reason the People’s Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha always addresses him as “A round peg in a round hole”.

Of course it is longer news that the officers and the entire management and staff of the Imo State Civil Guard Corps have been performing up to the expectation of any concerned Imolite both home and abroad. Since the emergence of the corps, the officers have been working continually to ensure that Crowd and Traffic congestion as well as Street hawking become a thing of the past in Imo State in its entirety. The 2003 and 2004 Operation Zero Traffic Congestion and Operation Free Flow of Traffic respectively, during the festive periods of the aforementioned years, is one of the yardsticks of the ever-performing nature of the corps.

As regards his numerous contributions to selfless service to humanity, Chief Ejifugha has bagged series of awards from various social and religious organizations or institutions such as Rotary International Club – District 9140 Owerri, National Association of South-East Students, Federation of Oru Students’ Associstion, Boy’s and Girl”s Brigade – Nigeria, and Christ the King Catholic Church (C.K.C) Awo-Omamma; just to mention but a few. Also, due to his innumerable efforts coupled with his countless contributions to the activities of the Catholic dominion and the Church at large, on Sunday 2^nd November 2014, he was honoured by the global Catholic Community as a Knight of Saint John International (KSJI).

On the other hand, his remarkable and outstanding personality made him to be honoured with various Chieftaincy titles by different Autonomous Communities across Nigeria, to include; Ode Jim-Jim I of Awo-Omamma, Ome Ka Agu I of Umuahia Ibeku, Nwata Kwochaa Aka I of Abayi Aba, Ogba Egbe I of Uturu, among others.

Surely, by painstakingly considering the overwhelming achievements and unrelenting hard-work of this tireless Masquerade -  Chief Sir Honourable Donatus Ewe Ejifugha, KSJI, in both human and societal developments, it is needless to state that he is no doubt a star everyone wishes to behold.

 COMR FRED NWAOZOR

(The Media Ambassador)

SA on Media & Public Matters to the Commandant General
__________________________________

+2348028608056

         

     

Celebrating the 2015 World Day of Social Justice

THE NEED TO STRENGTHEN AWARENESS ON FREE, FAIR AND CREDIBLE ELECTION AS THE WORLD DAY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IS COMMEMORATED TODAY FRIDAY FEBRUARY 20

        

An election is a process in which people or the public choose a person or group of persons to hold an official position through voting. In the same vein; a free, fair and credible election, in a concise term, could be described as an election in which no one is disenfranchised and no iota of injustice is being employed.

On the other hand; a social justice is a situation in which individuals or citizens of a certain society are allowed to fulfill their societal/civil roles or obligations as well as receive what is due for them. Social justice, which is a justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society, assigns rights and duties in the institutions of a given society which enables people to receive the basic benefits and burdens of cooperation.

Considering the significance of social justice, no doubt, it is only by the acknowledgement of its existence, that, a free, fair and credible election would be guaranteed in any country or organization. This is why thorough practice of social justice is required by any nation that claims to possess a good number of true democrats.

It was Abraham Lincoln who said in 19^th May 1856, that, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” Furthermore, in his first inaugural address as the President of the United States of America (U.S.A) in March 4, 1861, he said, “This country with its institutions belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it.”

To this end, it is high time the aspirants in the forthcoming elections in Nigeria started playing politics of vision to be accompanied with mission with the view that the people or the electorates are the major determinant in any election; rather than the usual or the ongoing alleged believe that the polls do not require the participation of the electorates for an election to take place.

On their part, the electorates ought to understand that the future of this country lies in their bare hands by ensuring that they concentrate on the real visions of the respective aspirants instead of laying emphasis on his/her ethnic, political, or religious affiliation.

It was John Quincy Adams who said, “Always vote for principle; though you may vote alone, but you shall live to cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” Also in his speech, Woody Allen stated, “We stand today at a crossroad: one path leads to despair and utter hopelessness while the other leads to total extinction. Let us hope we have the wisdom to make the right choice.”

In this regard, most importantly, the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC), which stands as the sole umpire for the said elections, should in their corporate capacity not attempt to compromise the confidence majority of Nigerians have in them. Similarly, by comprehending the fact that many Nigerians have become sceptical over the effectiveness of elections in Nigeria due to the porosity of the ones conducted in the past, it is therefore the responsibility of the INEC to prove to the doubtful electorates beyond any reasonable doubt that, the fast approaching elections would be the first as well as the best of its kind in the history of the country, in order to eliminate the enormous apathy witnessed among them.

Today Friday February 20, the world over is commemorating the World Day of Social Justice. The World Summit for Social Development was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1995 and resulted in the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action regarding Social Justice. Nearly ten years later, precisely in February 2005, the United Nations’ Member States reviewed the Declaration when they gathered at a session of the Commission for Social Development in New York, U.S.A.

Subsequently, on 26^th November 2007, the UN General Assembly named February 20 as the annual World Day of Social Justice; the Day was scheduled to be first observed in the year 2009. On that day, the General Assembly urged the leaders of the various Member States to allow their citizens to exercise their civic responsibilities as well as grant them their respective entitlements irrespective of background, status, or age.

As the world marks the World Day of Social Justice, there is need for all concerned and patriotic organizations as well as stakeholders such as the civil society, religious bodies, and the media at all levels, to strengthen the ongoing awareness on the need to exercise a free, fair and credible election in the country come March 28 and April 11, 2015 respectively. As regards this, we are expected to continually preach the gospel of “One man, one vote”, and the need for every Nigerian to participate actively at the polls.

We shouldn’t forget that, for us to actualize the future we dream of, all hands must surely be on deck; else, we would end up actualizing a goal we never wished to behold. Think about it!

 

 

FDN NWAOZOR

(The Media Ambassador)
_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056

 

 

Celebrating The 2015 World Radio Day (Aired News Commentary)

THE NEED TO DIGITALIZE THE NIGERIAN RADIO BROADCASTING INDUSTRY AS THE WORLD RADIO DAY IS COMMEMORATED TODAY FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13
        

According to the BBC English Dictionary, Radio is defined as ‘the broadcasting of programmes for the public to listen to, by sending out signals from a transmitter.’ Also, the Wikipedia online Encyclopaedia defines it as ‘the radiation or wireless transmission of electromagnetic signals through the atmosphere or free space.’ In the same vein, a piece of equipment used to listen to radio programmes or receive radio signals is also referred to as a Radio.

Information such as sound is carried by systematically changing or modulating some property of the radiated waves including amplitude, frequency, phase, or pulse width. When radio waves strike an electrical conductor, the oscillating fields induce an alternating current in the conductor. The information in the waves can be extracted and transformed back into its original form.

A radio communication system sends signals through the radio. The radio equipment involved in communication systems include a transmitter and a receiver, each having an antenna and appropriate terminal equipment such as a microphone at the transmitter and a loudspeaker at the receiver in the case of a voice-communication system.

The etymology of radio or radiotelegraphy reveals that it was initially called ‘wireless telegraphy’, which was later shortened to ‘wireless’ in Britain. The prefix ‘radio-‘ in the sense of wireless transmission, was first recorded in the phrase ‘radio conductor’ – a description provided by the French physicist, Edouard Branly in 1897.

In recent years, the more general term ‘wireless’ has gained renewed popularity through the rapid growth of short-range computer networking like Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, as well as mobile telephony such as GSM and UMTS. Today, the term ‘radio’ specifies the actual type of transceiver device or chip, whereas ‘wireless’ refers to the lack of physical connections; suffice to say that, the former talks about radio transceivers only while the latter talks about wireless devices and wireless sensor networks generally.

Presently, the radio set seems to be the easiest and most affordable means of telecommunication. Until the invention of the social media, it was widely regarded as the only handy medium for information dissemination. It is the easiest, in the sense that most current electronic devices such as GSM among others have access to radio signals; most affordable, in the sense that anyone regardless of his/her status can boast of an access to radio communication.

For instance, a portable radio set can be obtained at the rate of three hundred naira (#300) in any local market in Nigeria, and the Direct Current (DC) battery, which could be used to power the said device, can be purchased at most sixty naira (#60). But a GSM, which could guarantee an access to a certain social media such as Facebook, can never be obtained at less than five thousand naira (#5000); in most cases, it takes only Symbian phones such as Android, Phantom, iPod, and Blackberry for one to gain access to most recent social media like BBM, Whatsapp, Badoo, Twitter, Instagram, and what have you, and such phones cannot be obtained at less than twenty thousand naira or thereabouts.

The television communication system is not left out in this analysis or comparison. In an average electronics market in Nigeria, a 14-inches television set is sold at about sixteen thousand naira or above. And after purchasing the TV Set, the consumer still needs to obtain an outdoor antenna to enable him boast of absolute clarity while using the device. Even, sometimes he may still need to buy a Power Generating Set to aid power supply since there is no assurance for steady power supply in Nigeria.

Therefore, another remarkable phenomenon to be considered while comparing a radio communication system with other means of telecommunication is that due to instability of power supply in most developing nations like Nigeria, acquiring information through the communication system in question has remained the only reliable means of telecommunication in existence.   

On the other hand; considering other means of communications such as the print media, how many Nigerians can afford a one hundred and fifty naira (#150) or one hundred naira (#100) newspaper as the case may be, on a daily basis, or even a four hundred naira (#400) newsmagazine weekly? Needless to say; the print media is not just expensive to an average Nigerian but no doubt an exorbitant means of communication, compare to radio broadcasting service.

Today Friday February 13, the world over is commemorating the 2015 World Radio Day. The Day was proclaimed on 3^rd November 2011 during the 36^th General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It was originally proposed by the Spanish Kingdom; the first procedure was in January 2008 by the President of the Spanish Radio Academy, Mr Jorge Alvarez. The Day 13^th February was chosen in line with or in recognition of the day the United Nations Radio was established in the year 1946.

Afterwards, in December 2012 precisely, the General Assembly of the United Nations endorsed the Proclamation of World Radio Day thereby enabling it to become a Day to be celebrated by all the UN Member States, agencies, as well as their partners. Various radio industry bodies around the world have been supporting the initiative by encouraging radio stations in developed countries to assist those in the developing world.

As the global society celebrates the annual World Radio Day, there is need for the totality of the Nigerian Radio Broadcasting industry to be overhauled. In this regard, the concerned bodies should as a matter of urgency, be mandated to switch over from the ongoing analogue broadcasting to digital broadcasting.

Thus, in view of the above remark, the recent mandate of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) in collaboration with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in line with the directive of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) regarding migration from analogue to digital broadcasting by all the broadcasting firms in the country not later than June 17, 2015, ought to be very taken seriously by the concerned authorities.

On their part, the members of the National Assembly are expected to enact a formidable law that would mandate the closure of any media firm that fails to meet the stipulated deadline as well as sanction anyone that attempts to return to analogue broadcasting in future. The proposed law should also mandate NBC and other relevant authorities to ensure that provision of digital broadcasting equipment by any upcoming or intending media firm is a prerequisite to issuance of license to the company in question.

In addition, the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) ought to in its capacity assist the government in conscientizing their members on the significance of digital broadcasting. Therefore they should at all times maintain a cordial relationship with the NBC with the aim of actualizing a totally digitalized broadcasting industry in Nigeria. The generality of the civil society is as well expected to follow suit in this sensitization crusade.

Yes, radio broadcasting service remains the most reliable and affordable means of communication in the world, but it is worthy to note that its reliability or affordability is liable to become a thing of the past if abused or if adequate attention is not given to the sector. Think about it!

 

COMR FDN NWAOZOR

(The Media Ambassador)
_________________________
  frednwaozor@gmail.com
  +2348028608056