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Social media undoubtedly has a huge influence in our lives, whether we like it or not. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the rest are our daily bread. When we wake up in the morning, we instantly reach for our phones just to find out what happened while we were out cold.
Just like there are two sides to everything, social media has its good and bad parts. It’s a tool we can use however we want to.
Remember Edward Onoriode, the police officer who defuses bombs for a living?
He’s one of the reasons why we haven’t lost our faith in the Nigerian police. Well, he’s here to inspire us again with words of wisdom. This time, it’s about how using social media positively helped him get a job.
Edward is currently a peace ambassador to Africa under AUPOL (Africa Union Police) and he got this job all thanks to social media – Facebook to be exact.
Read his story:
What type of friends do you keep online?
Millions of people are on Facebook but are not making the best out of it. What has most of you people gained being on Facebook everyday? What type of friends do most of you keep on Facebook? Are you on Facebook to read gossips alone, make jokes alone, criticise politicians alone, ridicule religious people alone, scam people or defraud innocent people? Are you on Facebook looking for that important connection that will skyrocket you to the next level in life, do business online, post pictures alone, writes stories, talk about sex and relationship alone…etc…? What type of friends do you keep online? Or are you the type that is always on Facebook hunting for the opposite sex or same sex just to satisfy your sexual urge? Are your Facebook friends the type that will bring out the best in you? Are they the type that will make you become something out of nothing? Remember, there are so many opportunities being online mostly on Facebook. Are you taking advantage of those wide range opportunities? Or you are just on Facebook for Facebook sake?
Many years ago, I kept my identity very secret. Only a very few Facebook friends knew am a police officer because I wasn’t too proud to tell the world am a policeman. I felt I’ll be stereotyped if I come out open. I never knew I was only deceiving myself and fooling myself all those while. I was ashamed to be identified as a Policeman until I met Mr Remi Adeoye on Facebook who is so proud of his job and display it without minding whose ox is being gored. He changed my psyche and perception about the job I do for a living. He made me to understand I should be proud of what I do for a living. He made me to realize I can change the face and thinking of most police officers if I come out open. He made me to realize with my boldness to issues, I can change the perception most people have towards the police. He made me to realize my achievement in life is because of the job I do for a living despite being a rank and file in the police something many senior police officers haven’t achieved and are dreaming to achieve. All his advise were well noted by me and I thought about them for a while and that’s why I came out open. Today, am so proud to be called a Police officer and an EOD personnel.
Me and Mr Remi Adeoye haven’t really met in person. We are just friends online. He love some of my articles and I love almost all of his articles. We bonded like father and son. He chat with me like we are age mate. He advise me like am his biological son. He talk to me like a colleague, brother, friend and son that have knew each other for ages. He mentor me both on marital issues, social issues, economical issues, financial management, religious matters and how to be professional in my job and duty. He’s one Facebook friend I’ll forever be grateful to have and I want to take that relationship beyond Facebook. In fact, he’s my Facebook man with a golden heart of the year and beyond.
Last year, we were chatting as usual and he told me he’d like to recommend me as a peace ambassador to Africa under AUPOL (Africa Union Police). I thought he was joking. He requested for my particulars and I reluctantly gave it to him not really hoping anything good will come out of it due to the Nigerian factor.
Two months after I gave Mr Remi Adeoye my particulars, i was on duty one faithful morning when I received a call from Abuja that I should report at Abuja the following day by 7am for screening and interview at the Directorate of peacekeeping mission camp. I was mute for minutes and all I could say afterward was “YES SIR!”
I was confused when I dropped the call. “How can I be in Abuja the following day by 7am without preparing for such unprecedented journey?” I thought to myself.
Abuja from Lagos is not Ibadan from Lagos nor Sango from Lagos. I quickly sent some messages to Mr Remi Adeoye confirming the call I just received and he confirmed it and told me to report at Abuja at the said time because some inspectors are actually coming from Egypt, Uganda, and Kenya to screen prospective volunteers.
Immediately, I placed a call to my wife and told her to leave her shop and head home to help me get some few belongings that am going to Abuja that night.
That day, I took a night bus to Abuja hoping that I’ll arrive at Abuja hopefully before 6am and prepare for the screening that is slated for 7am. Unfortunately for me, the bus I boarded was involved in a minor motor accident and I ended up arriving Abuja at 12:30pm. It was really emotional. I don’t have Mr Remi Adeoye number and the only means I can reach him is via Facebook. I quickly sent him some messages telling him all that happened on my way to Abuja. Luckily for me, Mr Remi Adeoye is very penchant and always online on Facebook. He replied me immediately and told me what to do. When I got to the screening camp, my name has already been strucked out because I wasn’t around when the inspectors called my name. I quickly sent another message to Mr Remi Adeoye again, he replied me and told me he’ll call the inspector on phone to admit me which he did. I was admitted and I was the last person to be screened that day. Sadly, I didn’t perform well due to pressure, stress, so many thoughts on my head and emotions.
The following day was for interview/exercise. That day, the inspectors said they want only one EOD officer to represent EOD personnel for interview/exercise. Luckily for me, my colleagues told me to step up and represent them. I was glad, and I did my best even though I never prepared for such exercise and performance and I did very well in the exercise. That singular performance was how I was selected among over 500 officers across the nation that applied for AUPOL job.
You see! One Facebook friend who I met online was able to pilot me and caterpult me to what I am today and who I’ll become tomorrow.
Many people has criticised me by being too regular on Facebook. Some said; “what have you gained being a Facebook regular and celebrity?” “What have you gained being online daily?” ” You are jobless that’s why you are always on Facebook writing rubbish….” That’s what many people often told me and I never mind, I kept focus and do what gives me joy in a diplomatic way even though many people don’t agree with me. Today, that jobless boy is a AU staff and a peace ambassador. That jobless boy don’t only earn naira monthly but he’s also being paid in dollars monthly now. That jobless boy is now touring many Africa countries on a UN jet eating continental dishes. That jobless boy don’t pay for his internet services anymore but access the internet for free. That jobless boy is given a free accommodation, free healthcare services, free meal, free flight around east Africa countries and will be given a certificate as a peace ambassador when he complete his mandate with AU after 12 months or 24 months maximum.
I ask again, what type of friends do you keep online? Have they been able to add value to your life? Or are they the types that are just good for gossips, hate speech and propagandas? Pls, make good use of being online!!! Not everybody you throw insults at due to differences in political issues, religion, relationship arguments… etc… as you don’t know who may be your helper in life.
I want to use this opportunity to say a very big thank you to Mr Remi Adeoye for granting me this opportunity to be part of those chosen to represent EOD, The Nigerian Police and Nigeria on international assignment and I promise I’ll do my best not to disappoint you, myself, my family, EOD, the Nigerian Police, Nigeria and Africa at large.
Thank you very much Mr Remi Adeoye!!!
We often think that humanity is a lost cause, but then something happens and you’re given a reason to believe that there’s still hope.
In Nigeria, the saying “The Police is your friend” is actually ironic.
Nobody believes it. Coming across a good, selfless police officer is the same as seeing a blue moon. But something happened recently that impressed us and we’re sure it’ll impress you too.
Remember Edward Ezekiel Onoriode, the police officer who defuses bombs for a living?
Edward has given us another reason to love police officers.
He discovered a purse, at Ikeja Shopping Mall, containing valuables and really expensive items such as: cash in local and foreign currencies, recharge cards worth N2000, nine ATM cards, international passport, international and local drivers licenses, a national ID card, voters card and a gold necklace.
Edward had the opportunity to keep everything for himself, or return the purse with some articles missing and he would’t be held accountable if he said that he found it that way. But he got in contact with and returned the purse to the owner.
The lady who couldn’t believe her luck offered Edward monetary compensation, which he promptly turned down, because he believes “It’s good to do the right thing, not because of any reward that comes with it, but because its the right thing to do.”
Could any police officer get better than that?
Read the full story below.
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I was at Ikeja shopping mall two days ago on duty where I recovered a missing purse at the parking lot. The purse…
I was at Ikeja shopping mall two days ago on duty where I recovered a missing purse at the parking lot. The purse contained; some cash both local and foreign currencies, recharge cards worth about N2000, nine ATM cards, complementary cards, valuable documents, international passport, international and local drivers license, national ID card, voters card and a gold necklace.
I took the missing purse to the security office where all lost but found items are being kept for the owners to claim should in case the owners lodge a formal complaint that their items at the mall went missing for possibly claim after identification.
At the security office where we went through all the items inside the purse for record purpose, one of the security men told me point blank that if he’s the one that recovered the missing purse, he’d remove the money, gold necklace and recharge card before bringing the purse to the office for record purpose. I wasn’t disappointed with his misguided speech because that’s the normal character of most Nigerians when they recover a missing item.
Somehow, I decide to trace the owner of the purse via her complimentary card and put a call across to her. Open receiving the call, she screamed at the background jubilating that her missing purse has been recovered. She drove straight to the mall, tracing me through my mobile number I used in calling her.
When we met, she didn’t mind we were in public, she gave me a warm hug and thanked me and prayed for me. I took her to the office where the purse was kept. She checked her purse and discovered that nothing was missing. She was astonished. She asked me again if I was the one that saw the item and I said yes.
She told me that she was already in the bank filling forms to block her ATM cards. She said in those ATM cards, she have over N200m in there and the necklace in the purse is valued at N1.8m. She also said, I just removed a heavy burden from her neck because life would have been miserable for her missing her international passport, international and local drivers licence including other documents. She kept thanking me and almost knelling down. She was awed and she told me that she least expected a Police officer to recover a missing item containing cash and still return that missing item intact without removing a dime out of it mostly in this harsh economy. She kept staring at me like am a God.
To cut the long story short, she gave me some cash which I rejected. I told her am doing my job and taking money from her for recovering her missing purse is wrong on my part. I also made her to understand that we can become friends and maybe in the future she can appreciate my nice gesture to her but I won’t take anything from her for doing my job at the moment.
She became speechless and asked me which church am i attending? I smiled and told her “am irreligious. In fact, am a freethinker” that’s the exact words I told her.
She stood their for minutes without knowing the next word to say.
Anyway, we are now friends and she just introduced me to her husband this morning on phone. Her husband was so excited and has invited me and my family to join them on a dinner in any of my off days.
Is good to do the right thing not because of any reward that comes with it but because its the right thing to do.
NOTE: IF ANY OF YOU ARE IN DOUBT OF THIS STORY, THE ADDRESS WHERE THIS INCIDENCE TOOK PLACE IS IKEJA SHOPPING MALL ALAUSA LAGOS. GO THERE AND INVESTIGATE RIGHT FROM THE ENTRANCE GATE AND THE SECURITY STAND.
Good morning.
As Edward says,
Your being in uniform is to protect the lives of civilians while the civilians are to pay you via tax to the government that employed you.
You don’t disrespect those that pay you so, respect the civilians and they’d respect you in return.
Edward and his family has made two friends for life.
We hope that Edward will serve as a poster boy for police officers everywhere.
