By Tersoo Adagher
The recent news of the appointment of DCG Karebo Samson as the new Acting Controller General of the Federal Fire Service by President Muhammadu Buhari did not come to many as a surprise given his track record of patriotic and dedicated service to his fatherland.
Karebo succeeds the immediate past Controller General of the FFS, Dr Liman Ibrahim. And with his solid professional background, Nigerians could be assured that under DCG Karebo, the FFS as a critical agency of the government will be efficiently repositioned into a value-based and well-performing public institution, which will guarantee the safety standards of citizens with a vision towards the protection of lives and property of Nigerians.
DCG Karebo Samson comes to the job as the new helmsman of the FFS with a cognate background of public service where excellence has been the hallmark of his inspiring career over the years. No doubt, the FFS under his watch will become more vibrant, proactive, and innovative as his patriotic zeal, energetic burst and proven innovative capability to lead the country’s apex safety agency is glaring given his antecedents.
Born on August 11, 1965, Karebo joined the FFS as a recruit Fireman in 1987 emerging as the overall best recruit at passing out. He attended the Institute of Fire Engineering in Leicester, England where he passed the preliminary Certificate Examination.
DCG Karebo has had a distinguished and accomplished career that has seen him work and delivered sterling outcomes in virtually all units of the FFS. He was a Non-Commissioned Officer Instructor at the FFS Training School, Surulele from 1993-to 1995. Operations Apapa Fire Station between 1995 and 1997. He served as Protocol Officer to the Area Commander from 1997 to 2006.
From 2006 to 2009 Karebo served as the Public Relations Officer of the FFS Lagos Command from where he was posted to Abuja. Between 2009 and 2010, he was Area Commander of the Wuse and Garki Stations respectively. By 2014 Karebo was the Commandant of the National Fire Academy and was posted to other zones of the FFS and later appointed ACGF Federal Operations and DCG Operations in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
He holds a Bachelors of Arts (B.A) Degree in the English Language from the Lagos State University and a Masters Degree in Disaster Risk Management and Environmental Studies from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
DCG Karebo holds a fellowship of many professional bodies including, Fellow, Institute of Corporate Administration, Fellow, Institute of Disaster Management and Safety Science as well as distinguished Fellow, Emergency, Crisis, Risk Management Institute among others.
He has received several awards and honours in recognition of his outstanding national service among which are honorary Doctorate Degree in Professional Administration from the Institute of Career and Capacity Building of Nigeria as well as an icon of vision and excellence award of the Institute of Corporate Administration.
DCG Karebo has attended different career development courses nationally and internationally some of which include, Low-Intensity Conflict in Internal Security, Protection of Civilians Course and Disaster Management Course at Jaji and Bournemouth University, UK respectively.
The choice of President Muhammadu Buhari in appointing a forward-looking and futuristic thinking consummate professional in the mould of DCG Karebo to man the FFS will great deal of service to the nation as the new CG is an effective team player that will build on the successes of his predecessors and take the agency to greater heights for the safety of all Nigerians. The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola deserves commendation for his vision in ensuring that the FFS functions optimally in line with its core mandate of guaranteeing the safety of lives and property of Nigerians in line with international best practices.
Given that DCG Karebo’s career over years has been defined by a commitment to duty through effective collaboration, we call on the staff of the agency and all Nigerians to give the new FFS helmsman the desirable support and cooperation, so that he will succeed in the onerous task of keeping the lives and property of all Nigerian on the first line charge of safety which will ultimately lead to advancing the frontiers of socio-economic development of the nation.
Tersoo Adagher, a Public Affairs Analyst writes from Abuja