Ify's Story
- Posted on:
- February 11, 2005 at midnight
- Trackback:
- http://es-africa.com/articles/trackback/ifys-story/
- Posted in:
- MBCstories
I worked for a small sized project management consultancy firm in the UK as a strategic and financial consultant. I worked there for three years post my second degree and I enjoyed it; well at least up until January 2002. During those three years I acquired an innumerable amount of skills and I knew I was an asset to my colleagues and the organization at large. I had put in time and considerable effort and in January 2002 I decided it was time to receive my dues in the way of an attractive pay rise commensurate to my growth and contributions to the firm. I was 25, with two degrees from highly prestigious universities (University of Bristol and Kings College London), intelligent, sociable, yes I was black but I did not perceive this latter attribute as a barrier. The reality though was that it was, as long as I remained in the UK I was considered a second-class citizen. My requests and contributions were appreciated but not considered as important as the next first class citizen. It would take me longer to achieve as much as the next person who possessed lesser skills than I did. Ultimately there was a ceiling on my achievements and I could not run away from that. I came to realise bitterly that I could only go so far in the UK. I could have decided of course to play the race card and fight for racial equality and affirmative action. I mean I had seen many Indian individuals do it and succeed but alas it went against my moral upbringing! If I was to be recognized it could not be on the race card for race was not a skill. This realization led me to look further a field for other job opportunities. My siblings were in the United States and I toyed with that idea briefly but discarded it soon after. America was not for me I decided. Instead I started looking at Nigeria, Africa, my home. I convinced myself that it was only in this continent that the sky would be my true limit. I went for a job fair where a number of multinationals came to the UK yearly specifically to look for interested African employees (both graduates and young professionals) to work in their home countries. After a series of interviews I had two job offers, one from a Brewing company and the second from an Oil and Gas company. On my application form, I actually specified November 2003 as the period I would be available for employment, however the offers that came through were for immediate start that is in 2002. One thing led to another and I made the move back home in November 2002. I resigned from my small consultancy firm, had my farewell parties, did my Lagos shopping, relocated on a Saturday and started work on a Monday (My second mistake - I jumped right into my new life without giving myself time to adjust and transit). It was a total and utter culture and professional shock. On starting my new job, I realized I had been foolhardy in trying to negotiate and clarify the terms of my employment from the UK (My first mistake). I did not ask the right questions nor did I make sufficient enquiries. I accepted the offer from the Brewing company, after one trip to Lagos to see the Human Resource Director. They actually employed three of us, three girls, under a programme referred to as Young African Talents. We were employed on a platform of change, change agents bringing a breath of fresh air into the company with our different professional and academic backgrounds with vast opportunities for international exposure and growth. Sounds great hey! Well when we arrived we were astounded when we realized that the programme was actually a graduate programme that did not take into consideration the fact that I was nowhere near graduate status. I was confused and angry, I felt as though I was moving backwards not forward as I had expected. In addition to this there was the dreaded NYSC debate. I left Nigeria at the age of 16, after my stint at Queens College, I obviously had not served so I was in effect a corper to be paid by law a meager corpers allowance. Not only was I mentally fraught, my new employer had an induction programme the first two weeks which attached you to the customer service department and the guys who actually go out into the field to sell their products. Now the company’s products are beer and the field comprises of market places and beer parlours. On one sunny day I made my third mistake, I ate with one of the sales rep in a dodgy looking canteen out of sheer hunger. The next morning my body was also fraught. I spent the whole morning in the bathroom suffering from the pains of bad food. It was until I familiarized myself with Immoduim, (now a trustworthy friend) that I got better and felt I could face the world. After a series of battles and long drawn out discussions, a compromise position was offered to me on my two issues but as far I was concerned it was not good enough. I started looking at other companies and I managed to get an offer from a small consultancy firm that reminded me of my old firm. This time round I asked all the right Nigerian questions. I was happy, I resigned. Now a lot of people within the company did not believe we (that is the three girls employed) would stay. The Young African Talent programme had not been a very successful one in the past and they perceived us as brats. We complained too much, were not willing to blend into the system. What they did not realize was that we were employed on a platform of difference so blending in was not an option. My resignation letter thus went into the details of my actions. It was a one-page attestation of what I believed was wrong with the system. I gave them 2 weeks notice (the contractual period) and circulated it around to the necessary people. The MD/CEO received a copy of my letter and called me to his office for a meeting. At my first meeting with this formidable man, he grilled me about my actions and the letter and I responded. I shared my past (education professional exposure) with him, my aspirations and the reasons I left the UK. After a 2-hour session, he explained to me how he could not let me resign and how he would personally do everything he could to address my issues. He re-emphasized the notion of change and asked me to work with him to implement change in the company where necessary. He said that if the system could frustrate someone like myself (with my professional and academic background) out after only two months that there had to be something wrong with the system. After 2 weeks of negotiations and considerable to-ing and fro-ing, I decided to stay. I am still with them today. I still fight battles every day, I am working for a big bureaucratic organization where each man guards each process in order for him to be king of one procedure, with powers to delay and frustrate. I have become more assertive and aggressive. I remind people of my intelligence and I demonstrate it whenever I can. I work hard but am not political about it. I do not stay in the office longer than I have to in order for people to recognize my work. I demonstrate my skills through the work I am given to do, the discussions I have with top management and the contributions I make. It’s been a year since I made the decision to move back and I do not regret it. Working and living in Nigeria is an existence that is real and injects you with a newness of life every day. As you’re battling with okadas, traffic, LASTMA and the heat you feel alive here in a way you do not feel anywhere else in the world. Everything is possible here both the good and the bad, but it gives you hope because there is so much room for improvement. If you fight hard enough you can attain everything you want. It is a sea of endless opportunities. It’s worthwhile and I’m happy. Our generation are cursed (bear in mind though that by cursed I mean in the Chinese sense, where to lead an interesting life is a curse) we are impatient and in a hurry, we
Comments are closed for this Post.