See me see wahala!?!

Oh my...today has been one of the most trying days since my return to Nigeria. For anyone thinking of coming to work in Nigeria, please really think long and hard. When I post these things online, it's not that i'm trying to be overly dramatic, or unnecessarily negative, but I just want people to know the real of what I myself is going through. On top of that, I think i've said many times that coming to Nigeria for the time i've been here, has been an invaluable experience for me. I'd never take back the year. It's allowed me to learn more about myself and my personal and career goals than I would have if I had never moved here. There have been fun times, amazing times, but today is not one of them.

Many times, a lot of people in Nigeria, can not understand how a young person can be driven, ambitious, and successful in the workplace, based on hardwork and dedication, pure luck, and the right opportunities. I've been lucky in the sense that I found someone to guide me and whom I could look up to professionally without really searching for one. Right opportunities because they've been available and i've taken full advantage of them, and hardwork and dedication because I really poured myself into whatever project I've been working on. However as a young professional person in Nigeria, people expect you to be docile and quiet, to be a sort of shrinking violent, you know, the kind of thing that you are to be seen but not heard. And even as a woman, I can imagine that you certainly shouldn't be aggressive. I've essentially been told ALL of these today.

My problem is I don't know how to be ALL of that. And more importantly for me, I want my work to be what's important about me, not my accent, or my cultural attitudes, or gender, or even age. A friend of mine once said to me, "I can't work in Nigeria because I can't work in a country where you can never move ahead on merit." It's not a sort of glass ceiling issue oh, or even that you don't need some sort of "office politics" high IQ, but the fact that what you do almost always counts for nothing or can count for nothing at the drop of a dime. I never really understood how right that statement was until today.

However sha, I believe in the end, once you are confident about who you are, where you stand, what you've said, and your actions, the true story will always make way for you. You will always have the last laugh. Truly as I'm writing this i'm already feeling victorious because at the end of the day, I wasn't blown away by all the jealousy, envy, and maliciousness that was unleashed on me today. People can't understand why God continues to bless you so they try to cut you down. But sometimes God wants to show you just how great his promises in your life are and I'll leave it at that!

A lot of this may seem weird or disjointed, but shoo.........i saw that Tyra episode, I ain't about to give anyone an excuse to shut me down!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lollllaaaaa .... I need to call you. I saw your pretty self on TV today, some "Future Nigerians" award thingy. How are you doing?? We shall talk soon, I trust you know Naija like the palm of your hand now ...

~Yvonne~

Anonymous said...

Okay, just read the piece ... you'll be fine. Naija has always had that backward mentality thing about them, so it must be a shock to have a young'un like you come in and try to blow past them so fast. But in all, don't be fazed, you'll be just fine!!!

Confused Naija Girl said...

As anon 2 said, you wil do fine if you continue adopting your optimistic attitude. keep your haed up girl.

Anonymous said...

As they try to pull you down...continue to strive to get to the top.

They will all fail. Its that simple.

Sometimes folks (male and female) cant handle a smart driven woman. It makes them insecure and thats their bloody problem.

Keep on being you and keep on shining and dont you let no cot damn person steal your shine.

Bukky George-Taylor

Lola said...

Thanks All for your comments, was having a rough week last week so its good to hear from the blogville family!

Yvonnieeeee........wats up girl! how's "da city" (u know this is internet, i don't want nobody stalking ya!) lol. tank ya jare, i try for studio 53 she? a whole 5secs!!! lol lol. i still dey there sha.....

Unknown said...

It's interesting reading your blog because after I came home for the second year running this christmas, I started to consider moving back ... I'm still not sure if I can do it!

Good luck oh, you seem to be coping well and you have a sense of humour which I think you definitely need if you're to live in Lagos and not go crazy!

Daddy's Girl said...

I love your attitude, keep it up and just keep doing your thing.