Most of my telephone calls are nasty – Police PPRO Ngozi Braide

The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Ngozi Braide in a recent interview talked about her family, personal life and job. See excerpts below...

Some people alleged that you didn’t get the PPRO job on merit, but through closeness to some men at the top hierarchy in the force. Is this true?
You know the irony is when people gossip about you, you are usually the last to hear it. The gossip must have gone round but I never heard about it. I can tell that I got to this position through hard work. I wasn’t just handpicked. There was an interview and I emerged the best. If people are saying that, it’s their problem. 

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I am not saying that people are not talking about me, but I am saying that I do not care. I don’t even see this as the peak of my career. There is more for me to accomplish. I see this position as a normal police assignment just as I had worked in other departments before getting here – I worked in Interpol, Special Fraud unit, Intelligence Unit and IG monitoring Unit before I came to the Public Relations Unit.
Have you ever told a lie to the public on a case to cover the police’s reputation?

(Laughs) Is there somebody that can say that he or she has never told a lie?
I mean as an exigency of your job …
I can’t remember lying to the public but I am human just like you. As humans, once in a while one might tell a lie but on this job I can’t remember telling the public a lie. I am always out to do it right.

Would you encourage your children to join the police? 
Yes, even if all of them want to join the force, I will encourage them.

Has being a woman been an added advantage to your job?
Yes, it has been. When I was in the investigation unit, I didn’t wear uniforms so I could hardly be identified as a police officer. I was able to break into cases where my male counterparts met brick walls. Women are rarely ever suspected. I never failed.

Are you married to a policeman?
I don’t like discussing my family.

You wear uniforms daily. Hasn’t this affected the number and quality of clothes in your wardrobe?
Yes, but it was better when I was in the investigation unit since I didn’t have to wear my uniforms. But my wardrobe has now become really inactive. I wear uniforms from Monday to Friday. At times, I wear uniforms on Saturdays if an event demands it. It is not easy coping with that as a fashionable woman but I won’t be here forever. When I move around and I see fine outfits that I should be wearing I feel it temporarily. But my job first; I really don’t have a problem with that because of my love for the job.

Do you socialise?
I do especially on Saturdays but I can’t go everywhere I would have loved to go because I no longer have my privacy. I have to choose where I go to. Each time I get into a place, people come around to ask me one thing or the other. But it is important to socialise and identify with the public. When I really want to relax, I love to go to the beach with my family and feel nature.

Do you still go to the market to do shopping?
I still do. I do bulk purchasing because I don’t have the luxury of going to the market often. I also do my cooking myself; even if it means doing it at 11pm after returning from work. The market women usually don’t recognise me, but at times some other people still meet me in the market and ask if I am Ngozi Braide and ask for my telephone number. That is why the job teaches us to be properly composed at all times. I have lost my privacy but it’s okay.

Which fashion item can’t you resist?
Everything, I love clothes, I love wrist watches, I love rings, I love jewellery, I love shoes. Yes, I think I love shoes and bags more. I love to wear beautiful shoes. They are just there now, I rarely wear them, but I still keep buying more.

How do you cope with your numerous male admirers?
I am coping well. I don’t have to bother about the ones on Facebook for now because I don’t have an account right now. Some impostors were found to be running a parallel account with my original account and I had to close it. But on my phone I get so many calls, many of which come from men who just call for nasty reasons. In fact, I get 50 per cent reasonable calls and 50 per cent nasty calls. Then physically at functions, some men really make me feel shy because of their gestures. I have, however, chosen never to act snobbishly, so I handle them maturely.

Hope your husband isn’t getting uneasy of this trend?
No. He trusts me