She is one police officer, who does her job with great panache, despite being in a profession dominated by men. Enigmatic Ifedolapo Opeyemi Badmos is the Zonal Police Public Relations Officer for Zone II, comprising Lagos and Ogun states.
This beautiful female police image maker exhibits virtues that continue to propel her career progression and elevation from one higher position to another.
Since she joined the Nigeria Police Force in 2002, she has served in various capacities. She was once Aide-de-Camp to the number four citizen of Nigeria. Until her appointment as Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, she served as the Divisional Police Officer at Isokoko Division, Agege, one of the toughest police formations in Lagos State.
I am satisfied, but not fulfilled yet because I am barely 15 years out of the stipulated 35 years in the service. This is a very noble job that gives you the opportunity to free the oppressed. When I was growing up, I was always in the forefront of fighting for my mates against the oppression of girls by boys
Talking about the special nature of her profession, the Amazon says, “A lot of people believe that this is a place for men. Even at the training school, the teachers would shout, ‘All of you here are men; in this academy, there is no woman. Everyone here is a man!’ In every activity, be it obstacle crossing or rigorous exercise, you have to do it like any other person. There’s no discrimination or exemption of gender. That is what makes you a police officer.”
According to Badmos, the rigorous physical exercises she had to go through, daily, at the Police Academy, in the beginning, were daunting, but she endured it all and even got used to them.
This rigorous training has, no doubt, toughened the smart female police officer so much so that, in addition to discharging her official duty, she even craves to pursue a cause that would be of great benefit to the society at large. She’s committed to fighting the problem of domestic violence in a different manner. For her, both genders can fall victims of domestic violence, and so women and men alike, should be protected against this social malaise.
She explains, “When we got to the training academy, it was a different world. It was the advent of mobile phone services, but in the Academy, there was not even connectivity not to talk about other restrictions that left you with no choice. There was no freedom to exercise those free rights you have as a woman. At that point, I was like ‘Oh my God, is this what I will pass through for 18 months?’ But funnily, I lived with it and at some point, I made up my mind that I was at a point of no return, after the gun training that toughened my imagination.
“As a police woman, you have to champion the cause of women in the society. In the African setting, women are relegated and maltreated. There are two things I actually concern myself with in life – how to be successful and how to fight against domestic violence. This is not necessarily against women alone, but anything that connotes domestic violence to both genders.”
But delectable Badmos, who is currently a chief superintendent of police, still has a lot of years ahead of her in the profession and she’s determined to make the best of it all in the interest of the larger society.
“I am satisfied, but not fulfilled yet because I am barely 15 years out of the stipulated 35 years in the service. This is a very noble job that gives you the opportunity to free the oppressed. When I was growing up, I was always in the forefront of fighting for my mates against the oppression of girls by boys. This profession is not for everyone. Rather, it is for those who have passion for protecting the oppressed in the society,” she says.
To her, therefore, hard work is the only key to success in whatever endeavours one is involved in in life.
Badmos notes, “Hard work does not kill. To me, it is high time women braced and proved that action speaks louder than voice. I value what I do in the police force and just half way into one’s career, one seems to enjoy elevated positions.
“A gold fish has no hiding place. Promotions will always come through hard work. However, in a workplace setting generally, men always feel superior and the police force is not an exception. But with what the leadership of the force is doing now, women now believe in themselves.”
Although she is a strong believer in feminism, she’s of the view that women should not see themselves as a weaker gender, as they should be given equal opportunity like their male counterparts to prove their mettle.
She says, “From a spiritual angle, I will quote a Bible verse that says ‘women are weaker vessels,’ but I would say that it is when it comes to treatment of women that one should apply that. When it comes to the level of delivering on a task, a woman cannot say she is weak because the Bible has said so.
“Every woman has the mental ability, physical strength, technical know-how and even academic strength to deliver in any job or duty she may find herself. The only place the wisdom of weaker vessel should be applied is when it comes to the issue of domestic violence.
“A man exerts more physical strength in anger than a woman. Women are soft and tender at home because of their loving nature, which some men see as being
weak.”
Advising the younger generation, the female police officer says, “The challenge of life is like an examination, without which you will not graduate to the next level. You have to possess this ‘never-say-die’ attitude. Do not give up.”
Despite her busy schedule as police image maker, she still finds the time to adequately play her role as the mother to her
family.
Badmos says, “I thank God because I have a very caring husband, who is always there to support, coupled with the assistance of my immediate family members. But they have come to understand that mummy is a busy person, who is out there taking care of people’s lives and property.
“I’m a fun-loving person. I work hard and when the opportunity comes for me to loosen up, I utilise it well. Music gives me joy. I love all kinds of music genres, but I devote more to philosophical music that makes me think, such as classical music. My mum was a good dancer in her younger days, a trait which I eventually inherited.”
