Shem Obafiaye, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officer who gained notoriety for his widely shared “Oga At The Top” comment, talked candidly about the interview and that it had a psychological impact on him.
Obafiaye, the NSCDC’s Lagos Commandant at the time, attracted a lot of attention in 2013 when he appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily breakfast show.
Obafaiye responded, grinning widely and pointing aloft, “The website is… excuse me, wait… it can only be made known by my Oga at the top,” when asked to supply the NSCDC’s website.
Ten years after the incident, Obafiaye spoke up about the comment, sparking amusing memes, catchy songs, and T-shirts with the phrase “Oga At The Top” on them.
When asked if the interview that resulted in his deployment affected him psychologically, he said: “Definitely, it has to because I had never gone through such in my life, but with the words of my cousin, ‘I know you have a future; if you are ready for national recognition, be ready for national embarrassment, harassment, and insults’.”
Obiafiaye noted that “Immediately after the interview—and I was changed—my principal, who is my commandant general, just asked me to rest. I was at home for one month rest before they moved me to Oyo State Command,” he said on Tuesday’s edition of the breakfast show.
Speaking of the effect on his family, Obafiaye noted that his kid frequently returned home and talked about how his peers referred to him as “Oga at the Top.”
Despite this, he emphasized that he had not suffered any consequences and that it was simply a part of the experience rather than a crime.
When Obafiaye considered how his supervisors and colleagues responded, he saw that they did not react badly.
He apologized to anyone who made fun of him during the interview, laughing as he did so. He also acknowledged the impact of social media in the “new age.”
Shem Obafiaye was last week elevated to the position of Deputy Commandant-General after serving for ten years, and he also disclosed on the program that he had retired from the military.
