But having gone through school with a lot of counselling, I had my mind elsewhere. I was in Primary Three when I encountered the police women. Even at that time, I was no longer interested because I thought I had grown and should be able to decide for myself. In fact, when I had forgotten about it, he was the one that came to tell me about a recruitment exercise that was going on in Eleyele (Ibadan), and he asked me to go there the next day. Later, my father, of blessed memory, probably he prayed over it, encouraged me to join the police.

When I got back home, I mentioned it to my father. At that time, I went on an errand to somewhere in Mokola, and I found myself looking at them and dreaming that I would like to be like them one day. I was motivated by a group of police women I saw years back in Ibadan, wearing black and white uniform and looking very smart. With all modesty, I think God gave it to me because I deserved it. But God saw all that I had put into the job, and He knew that I was doing it without holding anything back. Because when you look at where I was coming from, I would not exactly say that I could get it. I want to say that through the grace of God Almighty, He rewarded me. I want to say with modesty that God knows that I deserved it. Would you say your own case was different? Many people believe that a woman can earn promotion to your level in the police only on merit.

That day, I was shouting hallelujah all over the place. Then, I was serving with the State CID, Panti, and I was in charge of administration. I didn't take it seriously until I got the letter and discovered that I had actually been promoted to that rank. Even when I was told that my name was one of those shortlisted for promotion to the rank of assistant commissioner of police, I said I would not believe until I had seen the letter. I didn't know that God would elevate me to that stage. Did you really plan to become a police officer? She tells ADEOLA BALOGUN and AYODELE ALE the kind of interaction he had with the late musician and how she rose through the ranks to become a highly visible face in the police. She came into the limelight when the late highlife maestro, Orlando Owoh, sang her praise as 'Aunty Ayo in Alagbon' in an album he waxed to reflect his ordeal in detention. Ayodele Fadairo was, until last week, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration in the Lagos State Command.

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