Things dey occur at work!
Imagine successfully scaling the walls of unemployment, only to meet the monsters in a suit.
Four Nigerians gist us on their experiences with bad bosses, a.k.a the monsters in a suit.
Hauwa*, 28
When I was 25, I got a secretarial job with the Ministry of justice in a Southwestern state. It felt like an answered prayer after three solid years of job hunting.
Anyways, the State attorney general, who was the oga patapata at the top, took a liking to me, as he did every other thing in a skirt (except the princesses of africow sha). That man chased me aggressively.
When he realized he wasn’t going to get lucky with me, he started showing his Bin Laden side. This man would go home at 2 pm to refresh, come back around 4 pm, and stay till 8 pm. He did this every workday. This thing was not a joke o.
Being a secretary meant I couldn’t leave work before him and this devil milked that knowledge in every way possible. The only times I got to close for the day by 7 pm were the few times he had official assignments.
After several prayers, I received a letter where he requested my transfer to another department. I was so happy!!
Bassey*, 27
My boss delayed my promotion for 4 years. Till this day, I don’t know my offense.
Normally, his position qualified him for at least two sabbaticals in a year but my oga never went on any. The man no get any joy. All of his employees used to nag him about never taking breaks and he’d just give one excuse or another.
While working for him, my colleagues and I were taking numerous professional exams. The bummer was they were moving to their next levels but, I was the only stagnant one. Even though I passed those exams.
Little did I know that the genesis of my problem was my oga. Let me tell you how I discovered it. The insurance company we worked for had a standby budget for renovations twice a year. All of us employees used to rush that offer, except my oga. He never allowed anyone to touch his workspace. Like I said, he has no joy.
One time he was absent because he was very ill, so we decided to surprise him by revamping his office. But we were the ones who got the biggest suprise. Right under my Oga’s ancient rug were all my promotion letters.
The story cast him o. He had to clear his desk in shame. A new boss resumed and I got my promotion six months later.
Ife*, 27
My education had a lot of patch-patch, so I could only get blue-collar jobs. When I first started work at this cooperative firm, it was as a cleaner. My boss was all these overbearing ‘spirikoko’ people with a rotten mind. One time, this man saw me freshening up after cleaning all day only to go tell his junior colleagues he wondered how I could afford a Vaseline with my cleaner salary. In his words, “What happened to heated palm oil and onions?”
He decided to turn the heat up for me shortly after. First, he made it compulsory for me to clean his house before going to the office every weekday. Later, he added a free salesgirl for his supermarket to the list. He opened the mart opposite the office so my silly self would go from his house, to the office and cap it with a 3-hour shift at his supermarket.
That was my life for three good years before I lost it. I sat down outside the office and was just crying, then clarity came. I called a friend, explained my plight and she advised me to start doing part-time courses in accounting. She sponsored me, I took my ICAN and have started working with a nicer boss with a fat pay.
Ade*, 24
My parents are late. My dad died in the line of duty while my mom died while giving birth to our last born. My life became a typical Nollywood movie as I had no family members willing to help. I got a job as a salesgirl with all these mama alaye selling corporate wears but anything I did for my madam was rarely appreciated. I was treated like a thief in disguise.
As God would have it, my brother got a job and started working on my admission into a higher institution. Six months later, everything clicked into place and it was time to bid the house of gold bye. Thus, my real tribulations started.
My boss started traveling for a stretch and refused to come to get her key even after giving her a notice of 50 days. Secondly, she asked me to do an account of what I had sold since I started work.
Anyways,, the numbers did not tally as she had younger brother who reguarly stole clothes. Like I lost count of the clothes he took without my boss knowing. But who else to bear the brunt, than the orphan girl? My boss arrested me, and the Po-po tortured my life. They asked me to confess to what I didn’t do. My brother got to know and brought our father’s military documents along when he wanted to make bail.
Apparently, more than five of the officers knew my dad and that’s what saved me.
#PeopleTalk is a submissions segment for everyday people to talk straight about the twists and turns of everyday life. This edition highlights the pepper bad bosses have shown four Nigerians.
