FROM A READER:
I believe I was taught by the best lecturers, most of whom were
first class graduates, and I studied in a university that focused on
excellence. But despite the best efforts of my university, I was not
well-equipped for life after school. I was taught to look for a job, not
to create jobs. The society then taught me that if I wanted to move
ahead in life, I needed degrees and more degrees.
I lived with my friend, Nonso Onuba, in Lagos during my one-year
National Youth Service Corps scheme. I started searching for a job
during my NYSC. As the one-year programme drew to an end, my fear about
getting a job heightened. Graduating and still begging for money from
parents and friends is not good for anybody with a sense of worth.
If a job did not come fast, I had no Plan B. The only plan was to get a
job and earn a salary to take care of my needs. I desperately searched
for vacancies in the newspapers. My university result was good, and at
24-25 years, my age was still within what many companies required for
their management trainees. I photocopied my credentials, wrote many
applications, both solicited and unsolicited, and went from office to
office and from post office to post office posting them.
As the months rolled by, I began to despair. Finally, I received a
letter from a company that had tested and interviewed me. When I opened
the envelope and saw that it was an employment letter, I danced and sang
in jubilation, kneeling down and raising my hands skywards in
thanksgiving.
But I was luckier than many of my classmates, for I got the job six
months after my NYSC, when many of my colleagues were still writing
application letters. I went to work in a suit and a tie. I am sure some neighbors who saw me go out in the morning and return in the evening
envied me. To top it up, once in a while, the company’s branded car
brought me home to take something, or I just took the driver home on our
way from a client’s office just for the neighbors to see that life was
rosy for me. But was it? Not really. My salary just kept me away from
hunger from month to month. It could not solve any other problem except
feeding and clothing me. By the goodwill of my friend, I did not pay
rent in Lagos until two years after I began to work.
Meanwhile, there was a young man in