Shem Obafiaye, recently promoted officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), who made the viral ‘Oga At The Top’ remark, says the reactions at the time, affected him psychologically.

According to him, his wife has patented (an exclusive right granted for an invention or intellectual property trademark) the phrase.

Recall that in 2013, Obafiaye, who was then the Lagos commandant of the NSCDC, was a guest on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television breakfast programme, when he was asked to provide the website of the NSCDC.

As he stuttered before producing the wrong web address, he said, “The website is… excuse me… wait… it can only be made known by my Oga at the top,” he said.

Raising an index finger, he added, “I cannot categorically tell you one now, and my Oga at the top would give you another one,” he added.

“Okay, the website is ww.nscdc…that’s all…”

The ‘Oga At The Top’ phrase further went viral, was picked up by the streets, became a meme, morphed into danceable tunes for parties.It was emblazoned on T-shirts, complete with a caricature of the man behind it all.

Skit makers also could not get enough of it.

Obafiaye who spoke in a chat with Channels Television on Tuesday, said he was handed a month’s leave by his boss after the clip went viral.

He jokingly added that he would charge anyone using the phrase henceforth as he obtained the patent certificate

“We have the certificate [of patent]. My wife did it.

“We have the certificate at home. So from now, anywhere I hear ‘my Oga at the top’ na money oo,” Obafiaye said.

Admitting that trend was a lot of mental stress, he said, “It has to [affect you psychologically], but I had never gone through such a thing in my life.

“But the words of my cousin that: ‘I know you have a future. If you are ready for national recognition, you should also be ready for national embarrassment, harassment and insult’, comforted me.”

Last week, Obafiaye was promoted to the rank of deputy commandant-general and was retired almost immediately.