I Will Build On The Legacy Of My Husband, Says Late Ona Ekhomu’s Wife

By Frank Oshanugor

Wife of Nigeria’s celebrated security professional, Dr. Ona Ekhomu who died August, 2021 has vowed to improve on the achievements of her late husband particularly in the security space where he made his mark as a global personality.

In an exclusive interview with AtlanticNewsonline in her office on Wednesday, Dr.(Mrs) Victoria Ekhomu who spoke on a wide range of security related issues, said all the structures put in place by her late husband to advance Nigeria’s security industry would continue to be maintained and transformed to move to the next level.

Some of such structures according to her, include the Transworld Security System Limited and the School of Management and Security (SMS) where about 1000 Nigerians have so far obtained their international certifications in security as Certified Protection Officers, Certified Protection Professionals and so on.

Speaking about the legacy of late Ona Ekhomu who founded both Transworld and SMS among other entities, Mrs. Ekhomu who maintained the positions of Managing Director of Transworld and Vice President of SMS while the husband lived; emphasised that he did so much to build the structures which had tremendously impacted the lives of many people and would therefore not be allowed to die with him.

While mourning the untimely passage of her husband at a time Nigeria needed his services most, Mrs. Ekhomu took consolation in the fact that Ona literally put a succession plan in place by bringing her to work with him over the years.

“With what happened which is just like a thunder bolt; I would say that he planned his succession. He had a succussion plan in place because at the beginning, I never wanted to work with my husband but he insisted I must work with him. Over time, he made me the Managing Director of the company while he was the Chairman. For the School of Management and Security, while he was the President, he made me the Vice President.

“So with this type of arrangement, I have been working together with him. We were working together in the United States and when we returned, we continued working together to build what we now have as different entities. So with his passing, what I am committed to; is that since he found me worthy not just to be his wife, but also Managing Director, Vice President, I will do everything in my power to continue the legacy and even transform same.

“I will not just maintain what we have, but transform what we have to the next level, while working with our children who though are residing in different places but are connected easily through technology.”

While extolling the virtues of her late husband, the Transworld Security boss said; “Dr. Ona Ekhomu helped tremendously to change the negative perception ascribed to the security profession in the past. As a cerebral scholar with Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in his kitty, Ona brought some finesse into Nigeria’s security space and hugely attracted respect for practitioners such that the security profession has now become the envy of many people in the corporate world.”