Everyday Heroes: Josephine Isioma Okeme

“What a man can do, a woman can do better.”  For everyone who believes this maxim, it perfectly describes Inspector Josephine Isioma Okeme, fondly referred to as “Queen of the road” by commuters. She is currently regarded as the most popular traffic warden in Lagos State, Nigeria. Born in the 1980s, Josephine hails from Ukwala in Delta State albeit she was born and brought up at Apapa, Lagos, having both primary and secondary education at Ladylac Primary School and United Christian Secondary School respectively. Afterwards, she attended a computer institute, to further her education.

Nature must have been throwing hints at Josephine, growing up, with her tomboyish outlook and hairstyle, which earned her the name, ‘Grace Jones’. However, because destiny has its way of running its course, her career would start out with her being a sportswoman. Fate, eventually, paved the way for Josephine when, during the late Moshood Abiola era, a sports competition that involved The Navy, The Police, and The Army was organized. The tenet of the sport was such that, skilled sportsmen and women were sought out to represent each of these arms of the Forces, and getting a push from the dexterous Chioma Ajunwa, Josephine signed up for the competition. She subsequently won gold and silver medals, and was enlisted into the Police Force. Inspector Josephine has been in active service for 25 years. In 2011, she was posted to the traffic section, a role she has fitted into and managed really seamlessly. She mans the traffic post at Herbert Macaulay, Yaba axis in Lagos State. Although she is resident in Ogun State, she ensures that she reports at her duty post seven days a week, working 6 hours every day.

The mother of five does her job dedicatedly and with a deep sense of fulfillment. Even after being hit by a bullion van in September 2017, she expressed that her loyalty to her job has not flinched one bit. She constantly wears a cheerful countenance – masking her displeasure in the face of dealing with belligerent motorists – and infects motorists with her ever- pleasant demeanour. In 7 years of doing an excellent job, the Inspector has received over 15 awards, including Our Lady of Apostle School “Icon of the Community” Award (2015), GTBank Nominate a Champ 2017 Award, JCI-Lagos Award, Metropolitan-2017 Toppa Award, as well as from other organizations such as Guinness, AIT, Women Society of Nigeria, Saint Dominic Church, Confraternity of Christian Mothers, Yaba, and Ndigbo, amongst others. In a bid to honour her for her hard work, she was featured on the cover page of the commemorative edition of Media Room Hub Magazine, dedicated to the celebration of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day in January 2018. She is also continually showered with praises by both residents in the axis she works and motorists too.   References: Linda Ikeji’s Blog, FabWoman, Bounce, TheElitesNG

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This article was first published on 21st November 2018

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