Before I wish you a merry Xmas as is customary at this time of the year; I am asking myself if there is much to be merry about and yes there is. We have to thank God for the gift of life, living and good health. Even if the events of the past few months are not too good to be happy about, we have hope that we will still eat of the good fruit of the land. It is not time to despair or be pulled down, NO it is time to look forward and think ahead.

One of the things that will stand us apart for glory next year is the ability to plan forward. To think of the future in a proactive way; ensuring that our usual fire brigade approaches are not employed for the year 2010. As you might have noticed; pundits have already told us not to expect any miracle in 2010, some have even predicted a harder one than 2009. I pray and hope they are not right as I don’t think our dear country needs such times again.

2009 has broken all the records. Just last week, a record 5000 bank workers lost their jobs. What is distressing is that this huge number is shared only amongst 3 banks, a source of worry since there is a possibility that some other banks would join in this exercise. The banking sector established itself as the top recruiter of new graduates and many can testify that this industry ensured a steady source of employment to the lucky ones. If the same industry is now purging itself of workers and fails to inject new ones; the outlook is very bad.

The man at the helm of affairs at the CBN, Sanusi Lamido has been accused of being behind all things gone wrong in the banking sector including the sack of employees. There have been a lot of speculations and rumours about this being an ethnic war. But the questions remains if the banks were truly in trouble or not or how can a bank that declared Billions of Naira in profit last year suddenly declare a loss this year. This shows the rot has been eating deep and it only took one man to expose all the nonsense going on unabated in our financial institutions. You might ask why he should stir the hornet’s nest, but my friend that is what we really need.

What I don’t like about all these are that only one sector of the economy is being cleaned. That is a wrong way to fix Nigeria. The rot is in every sector of our dear nation. From education, infrastructures, health, sports to others. We have failed in all things and so it is unfair that an industry is taking all the hit. We need a leader who will clean all places; we don’t need just one sub-leader to clean his own side. That is the problem we are facing now. What is going to happen is very obvious. Jobs have been lost, share prices are rock bottom, and the economy is still comatose. We will have more people thinking of other ways to make money to continue their opulence lifestyle. Some will get it clean and some will resort to clandestine ways. The impact of job losses is very big because for every employed soul in Nigeria, there are about 20 dependants or more. So, when a man losses his job, it is not only him that takes the hit but many others around him.

My point is simple; it is unfair to precipitate change in one industry leading to a big Tsunami when a lot of things are still wrong with our polity. Imagine a country where there is no social security, where quality health care is almost non-existent. When major job cuts happen in serious countries; the governments have a way of cushioning the effects to help her citizens adjust to it. There are no such measures in Nigeria. Also, our labour laws are moribund and non-effective. It would be hard for companies to carry out mass sacking like these if we have good labour laws. But well, anything can happen in Nigeria and they get away with it. I wonder what Sanusi’s bosses think of all these now but the main boss is sick and can’t even care about the plight of ordinary Nigerians. If there are more Sanusis, with a bigger Sanusi on top of our affairs as President; I can positively tell you that we won’t be facing such major problems in our country at the moment.

It is worthy of note that job cuts were not the exclusive prerogative of the banking sector in 2009. Other industries had their major share of the pie. An obvious one was in the Telecommunication sector where a particular operator sacked about 600 and outsourced another 700. The smaller industries who act as allies providing services to the banking, Telecoms and Oil sectors have been hit too because everyone is cutting costs. So, in conclusion, it has not been a very rosy year for the employee.

But wait, in the midst of all these some people got promoted, got new jobs and some were sent abroad for lucrative assignments and trainings. That is the irony of life and you wonder why someone is crying and the neighbour is rejoicing at the same time. A lot of people have benefited from the meltdown in one way or the other. Entrepreneurial abilities of otherwise laid back persons have been woken up just because reality is now facing everyone. My next post; which will be up in a few hours will talk of ways to be a part of those who will laugh in 2010. I believe the word of God which says that when others are cast down, we will be lifted up. So, when we talk of outlooks and all that, we must talk about ways of beating the forecasts. Watch Out!

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Who Am I

It is a 3 worded question, but mostly answered inaccurately. Who are you? This innocently looking question is one of the hardest to get through not because of its complexity but as a result of our stereotype of not understanding the right way to present ourselves. Many due to years of brainwashing and bad history tend to use the wrong words and attributes to define who they are.

Most notable is the fallacy of thinking that who we are is measured by our financial state. Some refer to it as being pompous and I have seen a lot of it. You see a man asked to obey a queue in a bank and he looks at you defiantly either announcing to you vocally or by action – do you know who I am? And then he goes ahead to tell you how rich he is and how he can buy your whole family. Shame.

Some people also define themselves by the positions they hold. Hence, you see a lot of politicians misbehaving and causing chaos around because of who they think they are. The words that come out of their mouths in those forsaken periods are ignominious and reek of irresponsibility as far as I am concerned.

Another group cannot but let us know where they work as that is the definition of their lives. I used to know a lady who hung her id card on her neck even whilst driving to church on Sunday. I have also worked with colleagues in the past who cannot get over the fact that they work with a big company and use that as an assault material on young girls.

There are some who can’t wait to meet you before the horror stories begin. They describe themselves as poor, unemployed and other derogatory adjectives all in a bid to attract sympathy. Is that who you really are? I guess it is a time to start thinking and ensure a new mindset.

The above descriptions of different sets of people have one similar trait – their transient nature.
A rich man today does not neccessarily translate to riches in the future. One black swan event; he could go bankrupt. I guess a lot of examples abound of this grace to grass situations and should be a warning sign for all who gloat due to the wealth they have gathered. Those who just can’t wait to look down on the rest of God’s creations.

The highly placed politician forgets that his term or that of his boss carries a set number of years. Their misbehavior is the reason they prefer to sit tight when the time comes to take a bow; because of their misdemeanors. But they have to leave one day and then get a dose of the treatment they meted out during their stay in office.

The proud worker of a multinational also forgets the fact that he is not a shareholder in the company and he sits tight, enjoying the largess and ensuring that girls in the neighborhood are in trouble because of his hallowed position. He even thinks the jobs is for life and so there is no plan of doing his own things. But he is shocked to the bones when the call came for downsizing or lets put it in a milder way – right sizing. Companies will always do this, but when it happens to those who don’t define themselves by the company, they handle it better as their lives were never tied to the organization in the first place.

This is good time to reflect on who we really are. What our purpose in life is. Our main reason for being in this world at this time must be assessed. Using ephemeral things to define our lives only end up in sorrow and gnashing of teeth. We are too wired and precious to think that our whole life is tied to the inconsequential things of this world.

Selfishness has to evaporate and a new wave of responsibility must set in. A lot of people start their life in a good stead but end it up very bad. The essence of a man’s life should lie in service to humanity, making the world a better place. A man must also have priorities. Relationships with our family and friends surprisingly come first before all the jobs we can think of. When the die is cast, we want to run back to the people who care for us but were abandoned when we thought we were the in-thing.

As we are gradually getting halfway into the year 2009; this is a great time to do soul searching and meditate on this words. There is an urgent need to define who we really her. That might be the needed antidote for a lot of things going wrong in our lives. It is not a very simple process, but it is not complicated either. It just requires stillness, a piece of paper and a pen. You will be surprised that the things you will learn about yourself can transform you into the true achiever you are.

Thank you and I know you are on the path to self discovery and a fulfilled life.

I have been away from this medium for about two weeks now. Those who are close to me should know the reason; our beautiful princess arrived on April 16 2009 to the glory of God. That is a post for another day, we thank God that my Queen n Princess are both doing very fine.
What I am writing about today is a topic that always surfaces every time something is triggered in me. I remember it when I think about the past and the many experiences I had to go through. It also comes to me when I see some things happening in the present.
This topic is not only going to help us in our business dealings but in our love life and other decisions we will have to take in life. It is the power of recognizing potentials and also the ability to resist writing people/ideas off. One thing I have noticed about a lot of people is their tendency to be very inflexible with a stiff stand on opinions. I am going to tell some stories to illustrate my points.
Growing up as I have said through this blog was a mixed feeling. It brings back fun memories but at a stage, it smelled of acute want which bordered on the line of poverty at a point. I remember some girls back in our neighborhood liked me because they thought I was brilliant while some detest me since my dad did not have much. There was even a day some of them including guys made me the subject of discussion saying it should take just 2 seconds to count the number of clothes in my wardrobe. That could be very disheartening for a 17 year old, University 200 level student. I kept my calm and kept on reassuring myself that it would be well. Today, I need to ask myself where they are today with the nothings they had that they thought was something.
Within the University was another experience. One thing I had going for me back then was my ability to understand vividly that I should not JUMP. I knew at that point that most babes on campus will probably not see the real me but the cover that was not glamorous. I must add at this point that some saw through me and I appreciate them for that. I also behaved myself very well in fellowship and not until my final year did I have the gut to ask a babe out (Not ready for that story o lol). I am not trying to be vain but I am sure that with present circumstances; some school colleagues (both male and female) are asking why they did not know the real Ayo Oladejo in OAU. I went to visit someone in a room in Awo Hall in my 100 level. I greeted everyone in the room and just this one guy came to me asking why a Sesewa should enter their room. The room mates told him he was being sarcastic and should know I am not one. I never forgot his face and I know how much of no impact he made on that campus.
A lot of people know ‘Gbenga Sesan today and they think he always had it good from childhood. But this same young man who speaks in front of Kings and Queens had to contend with a lot of putting down whilst growing up. Someone even told him computers were not meant for his kind. It takes men of vision to see into potentials. I am using personal stories not as a means of gratification but to drive home the point in a very practical way.
Now let us talk about business. How possible is it to know that a new business idea will fly? It is very hard but knowing how to discern and act is a virtue. I remember the Coca Cola story. The original owner of the recipe sold it at a very ridiculous price because he thought there was nothing much to it. Lets also look at the Google guys, Larry and Sergey. If Sergey did not have the spirit of discernment and the ability to read into potentials, he would not agree to the crazy plan of starting Google and same goes for Larry. A lot of people have missed out on the early stage of possessing stakes in later to be big corporations because they were blind to the inner strength exhibited by the ideas. These same people might come in later to buy stakes at a very high rate or maybe never would be able to do so again. The first Venture Capitalist firm that invested in Google are very happy people today.
Our society is even more guilty of this as it encourages get rich quick lifestyles where people are only interested in buying high yield shares instead of bringing companies up. We have seen the consequence of this as the stock exchange crash and some people are already contemplating suicide. My advice today is for us all to understand the virtue called patience and know how to practice it. Never be too hasty to write off a brother or sister. 5 years down the line you might regret ever talking down on her or him. Never be too hasty to condemn a business plan – that might be your gateway to joining the Millionaire league. Even if you are not willing to put down your money as a risk averse person; there are subtle ways of handling the situation which does not necessarily have to end up in acrimony.
And to those who have been on the receiving ends of the people we have been talking about. My philosophy is simple – whatever does not kill you can only make you stronger. Sometimes we need nasty people to talk us down to actually get out of our shell and do exploits. I have been turned down by a woman before but I bless God for that because I wouldn’t have married the best woman for me if that did not happen. So before you start killing yourself for being resented; think very well and look at all the opportunities for improvement. I know a guy who was turned down and 4 years later, he married the same lady.
If your business idea was shot down by an overzealous talker – remember, he might not even have money to bankroll the project and just looking for a way to destroy your drive. Forget him/her and move on, there are many fishes in the ocean lol. The greatness of a man is not in his ability to stand always but that when he falls; he knows how to get up. I will close this by saying that we are in funny days and we need every of our imaginations and will power to survive. There is more to you and the World is waiting to discover the gold in you. One day we will examine the factors to look out for in identifying potentials.

I came in contact recently with a story that fascinated me some years ago. That story made me re-evaluate my life and the kind of stuff that I allow to pass through my mind. It also taught me about the concept of fear and the way it paralyzes one’s dreams, ambition and even in the extreme cases – LIFE. Let’s look at the story:

There was a man named Nick – a strong and hardworking rail yardman. His fellow workers liked him and he was very easy to relate with. But he has a nemesis in the working place – Nick had a deep and disturbing fear that he would be locked in an isolated, refrigerated boxcar.
One day, the train crew were told they could close an hour early. As they left, Nick was accidentally locked in a refrigerated boxcar, which was in a yard for repairs. He panicked, shouted and banged on the walls until his voice went hoarse and his fists were bloody. He believed the temperature in the car was zero degrees. He thought, If I don’t get out of here I’ll freeze to death.
Shivering uncontrollably, he scrawled a message to his wife. “So cold, body’s getting numb. If I could just go to sleep…. These may be my last words.”
The next morning the crew slid open the boxcar’s heavy doors and found Nick’s body. An autopsy revealed that every physical sign indicated he had frozen to death. But the car’s refrigeration unit was broken. The temperature inside was never lower than 61 degrees. Nick’s fear became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Note: This account of the story was taken from John Hagee’s book – The Seven Secrets.

I have a reason for using this story to illustrate my point. It is so relevant to many of us especially those who think negatively all the time. These are people I try not to relate with as their unbelief and their wacked believes are detrimental to progressive growth. The bible says that “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is”. Nothing can be truer and I find this very liberating. Rich people first became rich from their mind and thinking. Same applies to poor people.

The rich people believed first that they can do it, put their minds to it and achieve the goals. Most of the battles we fight to become relevant in this world happens right inside of us. The manifestation of what we see is a product of our thought process and believe/disbelieve in our abilities. In this unique time in history, a time of bleak message being preached all over the World – we need now more than ever to control our thoughts in preparation for a glorious future. Otherwise, the story would not be too palatable. I have the following points which might help.

The emotion of fear can save our lives in the event of responding to the effects of Adrenaline when we see a Lion approaching us. But the spirit of fear can only do one thing – destroy us. In all we do – we must learn to exercise faith and be positive. God bless you as you march forward and conquer.

My last post was focused on the need for organizations to commit more into evolving great organizations by ensuring the development of a great workforce. It is obvious that great people make great organizations. Today, I am going to play the devil’s advocate by bringing another side to this very important matter. We are going to be looking at the second part which is personal performance.

I have come to the conclusion that one must never allow his/her destiny to be put into the hands of an employer of labor. It is very important to take one’s destiny as a personal responsibility. I am going to use the following points to expand my thoughts.

1. Personal Development
Most small companies are very guilty of not providing training opportunities for their staff. Some of them are afraid they might lose the staff to bigger organizations after having trained them and they are not totally wrong for these assumptions. In my opinion; one will only stay in a small company if there is a strong sense of growth for the company and a reasonable career progression for the staff. But one thing that cannot be wrong is the case of personal development. I always use a simple analogy for this. Imagine a company that recruited 5 young people at the same time, it is sure that they cannot be in the same level after 10 years. Some might attribute the growth of the top guy to having a god-father but the simple fact is that organizations respect those who take out time to develop themselves. Bigger organizations recruit from smaller ones and only those who stand out in those places get the juicier jobs. Reading good books, writing certification exams, etc are sure ways of getting a good career growth.

2. Growing in a slow environment
There are organizations people work for that look to me like a death sentence to their careers. These are places where the skills gained are so one-sided and gives no room for continuous improvement (Not Kaizen’s ).
Some people will have no choice than to start their careers in such environments and it is so important for them to start thinking of a way out. The simple way again is to think out of the box. Most organizations can actually do with a lot of innovations to the way they perform their duties. Individuals who work in such organizations owe themselves a favor to take on extra duties aimed at developing their resumes. Imagine a bank worker who after 4 years of meritorious duties can boast of only a 2-paged CV which highlights his/her duty of being a Teller – it can be catastrophic. Now imagine another banker who developed a new system of bringing effectiveness into his branch’s handling of customers; they are miles apart.

3. Learn To Volunteer
Getting that next move might not be a function of the skills u pick from your regular 9-5 but can come about from strange sources. Imagine if you are interested in Project Management but your role in the office is far from it; there is a chance to do same for NGOs and even your church on a volunteer basis. Think about it.

4. Success is everyone’s friend
I am not talking about Master Success, your next door happy-go-lucky guy. I am talking about the situation when you reach great milestones repeatedly. Have you ever wondered why some people resign and their bosses call an emergency meeting to try and stop them and some resign and everybody feels happy? It is most likely because the first set of people add values to the organization while the latter just come to mark the register. Redundant staff think nobody notices their ineffectiveness but the contrary is the truth. Before you complain about your organization’s behavior to you, please review your own ways.

5. The more you think entrepreneurship, the more you are sought after
One thing that has been recurring in the labor market is the tendency for the entrepreneurial in spirit to get the best jobs. They actually want to leave normal employment and start out on their own but keep getting better offers to stay on working for corporations. The reason is simple; it is a matter of giving from those who don’t have to those who have. Some people have as much as 6 offers in a year while some still don’t have jobs, is that not a cause for concerns. The answer is simple and can be gotten from one of my favorite parables – the parable of talents. When you have the spirit of excellence and use your talents well, people will notice and keep needing you. Take a cue.

6. Work Smart
I find myself hating the term hardwork these days because it is highly subjective, A lot of hard work does not necessarily bring the required results. Working smart does that for you and that is why those who find ways of completing their tasks to time and quality get the accolades. The Nigerian work environment most times can lead to a lot of passiveness which makes people lose tough with their smart sides; hence reducing them to a not so quality workforce. It is time to start thinking of improvement not only to benefit the organization but bring personal fulfillment.

7. The word retirement
Many dread this word a lot because they did not prepare for what is going to happen after leaving their comfort zone. Those who had fulfilling careers where they were selfless and got great skills don’t only retire early but retire well into affluence. I have seen former teachers who left government service to start schools that are doing well today because of good vision. No matter what pension scheme you subscribe to; you still need think of what you can do after retirement and that starts from the way you handle your duties at the workplace today. How you handle other people’s business is a good pointer to how your own will operate.

8. Take Charge
If your career is at standstill now or you don’t like your job, you need to act on your own. Do not think anyone will help you out but know that you are the one that can make a change. Start thinking of things you can do for a career change. Be more useful to your present organizations and take the volunteer point to heart. Some of the decisions you will make might be hard but if you don’t do it now; it will never fly.

We will meet at the top.

I personally detest mediocrity and celebrate smart workers who I refer to as entrepreneurs even whilst working for organizations that do not belong to them. These people give their best and are constantly renewing their skill sets and their conscience is linked to the fact that as you do to another man’s business; so shall men do unto you too. The Nigerian labor pool is filled with a mixture of flavors of workers.

Government establishments have their big share of redundant workers whose aim for working is to collect their pay cheques at the end of every month. When you have business with most of these people, they do it as if you are asking for a favor and some of them actually act as tin gods in their respective cubicles. To sign a document, you will be surprised to hear that it takes 4 weeks for the file to pass from Office Assistant A to B before it goes to the table of Mama Typist who types the memo attached to it. This then goes to the Secretary’s table where it spends weeks depending on the level of settlement by the subject in concern. The journey to the big Oga’s table is a matter of miracle sometimes because the almighty office boasts of a high record of lost files.

I am not going to commit a fallacy of hasty generalization, hence I must mention that some government workers still understand the meaning of dignity in labor and carry out their duties conscientiously. These are the exceptions to the rule. Sometimes; I try to imagine where it all went wrong but I guess it dates back to periods before my conception though the erosion is a continuous one which gets worse with each generation.

This problem is not limited to government establishments but also in private organizations. When you see an under-performing business, you need to check the people in the organization. When an office is filled with people who do not even understand the reason they are working apart from the need to eke out a living – then the sun is about to set on such organizations. Sadly, most establishment run into this problems sooner or later no matter how well they started.
I wish to share some insights into some factors causing this.

1. Morale
I mentioned that mediocrity in staff behavior is not an exclusive property of government establishments. Mostly, it is linked to low morale of the workers. When people don’t have goals or visions, it is always very hard for them to perform as every day is like the last one. Morale is not necessarily bought by big salaries but can be tied to challenging duties and other incentive to want to work smarter.

2. Monotonous Duties
It is hard to find people who don’t like varieties in the food they eat, activities and even most importantly – their job. Companies make the mistake of keeping a man for years doing the same thing over and over again. Rotating duties seems a sensible way of keeping workers alive to their duties.

3. Unclear Career Path
Most employers are selfish and not really interested in their workers’ career plans and progressions. Those who have such plans are not truthful to the implementation. The few companies where these plans work testify to the effectiveness of such practices and have stood for ages. Wonder why there are not many old Nigerian institutions? It would be sensible to make this an important part of the company policies such that each employee knows what is expected of him and where he will be in years to come if he keeps to it.

4. Hazy Performance Measurements
Organizations have different ways of measuring their employee performance using different terms like KPI, IPF, etc. The bad news is employees think they are very subjective ways of measuring their performance and that their managers cheat them. I bet HR practitioners are yet to understand this part of their job very well and it continues to be a big problem. A situation where companies decide from the start that only a certain percentage must score A and B even before carrying out the assessment does not make any sense and the smart workers of last year who were not favored will definitely have a rethink for the next year.

5. Compensation
This is a big issue especially in the public sector where we have civil servants and teachers. Teachers are the worst hit by this as they have no one to give them any ‘encouragement’ compared to their civil service counterparts who regularly have someone ‘thanking’ them for expediting their files lol. That is corruption and a matter for another day but it all starts from bad compensation packages aka salaries and allowances. Those of us with teaching parents would testify that our first salaries were most likely fatter than theirs after working for decades. Why would you expect so much from them. Sometimes, I wonder how they even managed to take care of us.

6. Motivation Theory
Some of the major motivation theories point out to the fact that some workers would be happy if simple things like understanding the need for self-actualization, responsibility, recognition etc and not only by the salary they are paid. Organizations who learned this secret reaps from it massively because their employees have the feeling of being a part of the growth and are proud of their achievements.

7. Leadership
This is a very important factor. If a permanent secretary resumes in the office at 8.00 am each morning, woe betides any staff who come late. A smart working leader also passes on a good work culture to his subordinates and they tend to follow in his footsteps. The greatest factor to a paradigm shift in the Nigerian work culture and many other problems is leadership.

Organizations are at a defining moment in their existence because they need to keep a dedicated workforce of not many people but efficient ones. Today’s post talks about the role of employers. In my next post, I am going to point to the fact that employees have more to lose by being mediocre in their daily duties.

Once upon a time in the land of Ikesere; it was a mixed fortune for all. Some were very rich, some can’t complain while some lived below comfort and others in abject poverty. Ikesere was layered into divisions according to the collective perception of its people’s wealth. Hence; we had such divisions as developed, developing and under-developed.

It did not imply prosperity for all in the developed division, neither did it mean that everyone in the under-developed parts were poor. The only constant factor in all the lands was that the rich seems to be getting richer while the poor were getting poorer. Only a few of the lower strata through dints of hard work and perseverance were able to move up and take charge of their lives.

The developed parts were more forward looking and did a good job in providing amenities for their citizens while also maximizing their hold on the economy of the other divisions. Most of the economic policies in the part is geared towards a free economy which made a lot of sense until greed set in. The suit and tie professionals who formulated these policies and ran big corporations forgot decorum and the leaders were not wise enough to provide a lot of oversight functions.

Some parts of the developing divisions started noticing the trend in the developed parts which include their citizens asking for too much wages for jobs perceived to attract less remuneration and did something about it. In conjunction with some big corporations; they got some jobs outsourced to their developing divisions at lower rates and faced the task of developing a vast pool of skilled resources. This improved their economy a great deal. Note that some of the developing parts did not key into this as they relied on their natural resources.

And then a giant rose up in the far east. This giant is blessed with a huge population and hence cheap labor. Production companies in the developed west got into trouble as most goods were now coming from this giant. Jobs were lost, positive financial indices turned to negative and the problem started.
The developed west did not learn but still continued paying huge salaries for redundant ideas and were granting credit without sense. The bubble started bursting and the developed west is in big debt in favor of the giant from the east.

Back to the developing parts – some of them were wise enough to take care of their affairs. But sincerely, when there is a problem in the developed parts; everyone would suffer from it. Trading reduced as less cash were available and those who were used to aids from the developed parts were in big problems. The whole of Ikesere is in turmoil!

The giant from the east was also thought to be insulated from the problems but alas they were also hit hard. Their factories started closing as the developed west could not afford its past flashy lifestyle of buying a lot of things from them. It thus became a case of producing without selling in the same proportions. This confirms that everyone is in trouble.

I am sure you know the story I am trying to tell in a very simple form. The present economic crunch which is proving to be the biggest in the history of humanity. Jobs are being lost at an alarming rate and hope is dimming on a lot of people by the second. I am not interested in painting the gloomy picture any darker than it already is but talk about an unobvious chance that is starring us all in the face at the moment.

I will put it in a very simple way. Corporations, medium sized businesses and even small enterprises are all looking at ways of cutting cost. That is the reason a lot of companies are retrenching their work force and finding ways of reducing costs. A lot of these companies are used to the big times and their lifestyles stink of wastefulness. It is very hard for them to adjust to the present realities and it might actually be too late for them to balance.

An example is a company that provides IT services. Most of them start on a good note but become too big and complacent. A lot of the companies they offer their services might be contemplating finding better deals now that they realize they have been paying too much for bad service. There was no problem before because the money was enough to go round but now it is a case of Egypt where the prime minister – Joseph, stored food for 7 years and managed the proceedings for another 7 years of prosperity for Egypt. I am sure he was sharp enough to ration things very well to ensure huge productivity. I am sure he won’t go for big consulting companies to get their strategies but young brilliant guys who are ready to work. This applies to any industry.

I think this is time to make impact. This is time to take over from complacent big boys. This however is not for everyone. It is for those who have enough skills and confidence to tackle challenges and not for the faint hearted. It is for those who have prepared and are ready to conquer. If you have a very comfortable job at the moment; don’t rejoice too much because things can turn at any time. Better start looking at how you can provide the same services you offer to your employers as a solo business. That is the future of world enterprise.

If I need a website now; I can either give the job to a very big company with a very big overhead which does not necessarily translate to efficiency or a good design or look for a small set up with talented young men and women. Such companies exist now and they are getting the jobs and churning out good stuff. My advise for them is to be careful about how they grow big. It is good to grow big but it must be done in a way that increases efficiency and not over head.

The post is getting too long. I will stop now and continue later.

PS: My one and only celebrates her birthday tomorrow. Please join me in wishing her a very happy birthday. Love you baby!

Over the weekend, I did some soul searching on some of the principles that are shaping my life and some I would love to do more. The list goes on and on but I will share some of them with you. I would also love to learn some of yours. Happy reading.

Be Happy For Your Friends When They Succeed
Everyone will say yes, it is a normal thing to be happy for friends when they are on top. But many find it very difficult to practice same and I have seen a lot of it. The mistake such people make is that they think they are being left out of the race when in reality, there is no race. Each person’s life, dream and ambition is personal and taking part in a rat race often leads to trouble. When I went back to Great Ife to see out my extra year; most of my friends were already working for big companies and were doing their NYSC. Some bought cars when I was still struggling with a moral justification for taking taxis instead of buses . But one thing I learned from my father shaped my life – he doesn’t envy people and I keyed into that mentality. None of my friends could say I beefed them, in fact I am always praying for them to succeed more and the prayer usually rubs off on me because when my friends succeed, I also succeed. How? you might ask. My first job in Lagos was in 2003 and the person who gave me a note to the MD is none other than my brother and friend, ‘Gbenga Sesan. GS got a job in Lagos even before his official graduation and he met a lot of top shots. It was one of those big boys who gave me the job first due to GS’ note and then listening to what I could do. Now imagine if I am one of those who envy their friends – I won’t be helped by my friend. I also remember that I practically dragged my brother from another mother – Niyi Oladeji to Lagos after his NYSC. He came down and got a job the first day he started looking for one. Niyi went on to work for Vmobile Nigeria whilst I was still struggling in an IT company (My second job, where they usually owed us 3 1/2 months salary ). Was I happy for him? YES. And the happiness paid off as he submitted my resume and I got a job in my dream industry in 2005. I can count a lot of these encounters as the list is endless. God has a way of blessing us when we have a clean heart towards people, whether they are our friends, families or even enemies (For those who have such). I hope we all understand the gains behind this principle and obtain grace from it.

Be Careful Who You Roll With
The popular saying goes thus – Birds of a feather flock together. Nothing can be truer than this. The people you surround yourself with will eventually determine where you reach in life. If you are one of those who hanged out with back benchers in primary and secondary schools, you will know what I am talking about. If you also hanged out with the best students in class, you understand me very well. The people you discuss with also determine the level of your thought and how articulate you can be. The kind of books you read and your choice of music most likely also come from these interactions. For me, I will say the friends I made especially in Secondary and in a bigger way University helped me in a very big way. Being a first born most times can be very challenging as there is no elder sibling to learn from. I developed a lot of confidence and believe in my abilities mostly due to the caliber of friends I kept in Great Ife. Those guys are big thinkers and looking at them today, I am so proud of them and their achievements. I am also proud of their convictions and moral even though we are not saints but we know when we err and seek to correct such. None of my friends will do a bad thing and come out to boast about it to us. He will rather be ashamed of it and make corrections. Those are the kind of people to walk with, people with integrity, willing to admit it when they are wrong (cos we are humans) and who understand the importance of finishing strong. They also know that they are not in this world to just pass through but that an impact must be felt by their coming. Those are the kind of people I love to roll with. You won’t adore these people until you have friends who boast to you about the number of mistresses he keeps and he is not ashamed of it. I don’t condone hypocrisy but I love people who understand some things are wrong, some people just don’t have a clue.

Never, Never Look Down On Anyone
The end of that sentence is – ‘cos you don’t know the heights they will reach. Yeah right. We tend to look down on people we meet without giving them a chance to prove themselves. Africans are very guilty of judging people by their appearance and hence, shutting doors on future help. That is why I try to relate with people on a good basis notwithstanding their age, color, where they work or status in the society. Most times, I get things done easily in government institutions just because of the way I relate with the man that is the messenger in the office. I also learned that the man you meet on the street might be the same guy who will take your file up to be treated. As usual, I have a story to back up my claim. In my undergraduate days in Ife, I was popular with the non-academic staff in my department. When I went back to collect my transcript, one of them was so selfless that I got my transcript in one day (A big record if you know Ife). Recently, I went to collect my certificate and 7 years after, it was still not ready but I met a woman who was a typist in my department and she recognized me immediately. She took me to meet her boss (A top gun in Great Ife Administration) who turned out to be my former Guidance and Counselor in Secondary school and also GS’ aunt. She personally went to see if the VC was around so they could treat my case individually (Another first) but he was not around. I left the country afterward and guess what, the madam (Former typist in my dept) gave me a call few days ago to tell me I can send someone to collect the certificate for me. If you have the habit of looking down on people, they might come back to haunt you later.

Even When The End Is Known To Be Rosy, We Must Still Be Prepared For Pain

Mark 15:34
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Jesus knew from the start that he was going to die for the sake of saving humanity. He also knew that he would resurrect in 3 days to be forever glorified. But that did not stop him from cringing at the 9th hour though he did not plan to give up on saving us. If this can happen to Jesus Christ, I guess we all have a right to be afraid sometimes. But the lesson to learn from it all is that after the cloud – there is a silver lining and great light. Many times we come to crossroads where we have to make decisions that would affect our destinies and those of others. We can either go for the short term gain or decide to do what is right. I reckon that one word from Jesus, and his killers would have been struck dead but he forgot the pains because he saw the higher glory in view and that is why even those who don’t believe in him can’t but talk about him till date. His death and resurrection has been a subject for many philosophers and scholars and will continue to be until the end of the world. If you have not thought of this angle to the crucifixion, I guess you will agree with me now that there are more lessons to be learned from that sacrifice. Knowing that the end of something will bring joy does not mean we won’t be discouraged to do same, but our Lord has taught us how to endure to the end.

Execute The Vision Before It Gets Cold

Most of us are guilty of having visions and not carrying them out. We are also very fond of bouncing the ideas around the wrong people and those are vision killers who only have bad news to tell us. Thus, we start getting cold feet and fail to execute our plans. Many great businesses would have started and empires built but the story keeps repeating itself in our lives. I understand the need to brainstorm and decide if our visions are real enough but we also tend to forget that the best person to discuss with is God. God then points us in the direction of those who can help us nurture our dreams and not vision killers. That same idea that they ruled on as nonsense has now turned another man to a star. Why not close your eyes to pessimists and register that company today? Write that business plan and proposal and distribute such now? Why must you procrastinate and end up losing out? I guess this is a time to act fast, else that inspiration from God where those ideas come to your mind will dry up! Forget those who keep telling you only the connected ones are making it in business, rubbish – it is a lie from the pit of hell to keep shackled. We will talk more on this later.

Today, we continue our mentoring session with Uche Adaigbe. Meeting with him was a turning point for me as he struck me immediately as a young man who knew where he was going. An extremely focused individual with a huge drive; Uche did a lot to instill confidence in me when I joined Vmobile Nigeria in 2005 from an IT background. If you are looking for a man who understands his job to the minutest of details – then he is your man. He converses with you up to protocol levels and he is truly an Engineer. With guys like him; the future of Nigeria in Internet Protocol and new generation Telecommunication is very secured.
Uche is presently a consultant to the leading Telecoms vendor in the World and has deployed solutions in 11 countries already.
Happy reading.

What book are you reading at the moment?

Just finished reading some certification book, won’t say I am a very good book reader, I mainly read technical materials.

Forgive my morals, please let’s meet you sir

Uche Chukwuemeke ADAIGBE

I know you read a lot and marvel at the ease with which you go even down to protocol level in Telco/IP world. Did you find your school books that interesting?

Interestingly YES, especially from SS1 – Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Further Mathematics up until this day.

Give us an insight into your formal educational journey from elementary to Tertiary?

Brother Pius Nursery School Benin City, Air Force Primary School Benin City, University of Benin Demonstration Secondary School Benin City and University of Benin

What was your career choice when you were in Secondary school?

I think I had decided on Electrical and Electronic Engineering from my SS1 or SS2

As a graduate of Electrical Electronics, most of your classmates’ first choice of industry would most likely be Oil n Gas; did you have the same sentiment?

Yeah, I did, especially haven graduated from the University of Benin where most of the guys who had graduated before me had been snapped by the likes of Shell, Schlumberger, Chevron with their then obscene salary offers, I seriously considered the Oil and Gas industry, just for the money though. I must confess it wasn’t easy sticking by what I knew I was cut out for especially when you hear of all those ‘stupid’ money your peers are earning in the Oil and Gas industry

So what attracted you into the Telecommunication industry?

Not too long after my project defense, while waiting for NYSC posting (that was delayed for one year), I decided to study a book on Digital Electronics as I noticed that it was an area I wasn’t very confident of after school, I also decided to hook up with a friend who was my computer lecturer before I got into the university and had started his own business/ computer training school. I was also studying IEEE Communications and Computer journals at the time, I think all these together, the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) journals especially made me discover the fact that I was cut out for telecoms, it really came like a knowing not just an attraction.

Most times, our first jobs determine our career path. Where did you cut your first teeth and share your experience with us?

Not sure which I would call my first job now, as I mentioned earlier, I was working with this computer lecturer of mine and he is someone I really credit for helping me discover myself as it were, he at the time was someone that believed in me much more than I believed in myself, I was working for him but was not earning a salary. My first job in which I was being paid was as a corper with Cellcom as an Admin Officer (I have interesting memories of those times), it obviously did not determine my career path but the little skills I picked from there have come a long way in helping my writing skills as per documentations and designs which could be a nightmare for many technical people. I afterwards was retained in the company as a Switching Engineer Trainee. But the job that really shaped my career was with GloMobile, just 6mths after I was retained by Cellcom, I was employed as GPRS O&M Engineer, that’s where my career practically began to unfold and in one year it was set and clear.

The data world in Telecoms is still relatively new and gradually becoming the cutting edge in the industry, what is your comment on this?

It sure is the future of telecommunications generally especially as ARPU from traditionally telecoms services (voice) is on a steady decline, data can help bring in untold revenue. As you know, its only humans that can talk, number of data capable agents are limitless.

In layman terms, what is SIGTRAN?

It is an acronym for SIGnaling TRANsport, it basically means transporting traditional Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) messages over using IP of course over an IP infrastructure.

Most Telecoms vendors now use TCP/IP as their preferred transport protocol even for traditional nodes like the MSCs in the form of SIGTRAN, why did that happen?

This has happened because the telecoms standards organization 3GPP/ETSI from its release 5 onwards decided to standardize the use of IP as network layer protocol because of its flexibility as a protocol and its success in its use in the internet, of course as you know, the transport layer for SIGTRAN does not use TCP but rater SCTP which was specifically built for SIGTRAN purposes to cater for short falls of TCP and UDP in carrying such delay sensitive protocols like SS7.

With the experience you have gathered, what do you think will be the next big technology in Telecoms?

Most advancements in the telecoms world is been done on the radio network as against the core network, this will make Long Term Evolution (LTE) that promises to offer up to 100Mbps per user the next big technology in telecoms, especially mobile telecoms. Mobile IP with the use of IPv6 could also be a technology that we should look out for in the future, it is a core network technology though.

Your first touch with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Mobile Packet Backbone Network (MBPN) was with Glo Nigeria, describe how it happened for us?

I had dropped off my CV with Glo Nigeria during the “mad rush” into Glo in 2003 after knowing I had no future in Cellcom about 6mths after being retained from NYSC, I was called for an interview as a Switching Engineer Trainee, honestly, I barely knew nothing about switching especially because I had been spending my time reading up CDMA and had just finished CCNA so I was practically all about IP and CDMA. During the interview, I was asked a number of switching related questions all of which I think I answered wrongly. Interestingly, one of the guys in the panel was the GPRS/WAP and MMS Manager; he looked at my CV and saw I had written that I had knowledge of CDMA, the interview then turned to be a two way question and answer session between me and him (he told me later that I had given him the exact answers he had wanted), he finally then asked if I knew the meaning of GPRS, I then smiled as though, “what a question?” and then answered. He then decided to take me from the switching position I was been interviewed for to the GPRS O&M position he had under him that was the first stage of the interview that day, I had one more technical interview and two HR interviews afterwards. I got the job a couple of months after.

I am privy to the knowledge that you have never attended any Computer school and that your development was mostly self-taught and through hardwork, any advice on how to tow that route?

I actually did attend a Computer school after SSCE and by the time I had graduated from the university, I could not remember anything about computers, it was Windows 3.1, DOS, BASIC, DBASE and the likes that I had learnt for just 3mths though. As for advising, I’d say its all about interest, for me, reading is out of interest, I have been reading since I left the university and I have been able to sustain it because I kept up and am keeping up my interest in telecommunications and technology as a whole.

Most people tend to think that techies like you don’t have business skills. Can you disprove them?

Well, they won’t be wrong in thinking so seeing how techies have always turned out. I, on the contrary think you can develop business skills and even build a business around your technical abilities. I guess the only way I can disprove anyone who does not agree is to build a viable and profitable business based on my technical abilities myself.

When was the first time you realized you can become an expatriate at what you do?

After I had worked with an expatriate who was employed by Ericsson Nigeria and more so after the same guy had asked me what I was still doing in Nigeria as a local. Before then, I had only thought of working abroad like guys do in the UK et al now.

Describe your first shot at consultancy abroad and how it succeeded or failed? Lessons from the experience?

I declined the very first interview I was to have as a consultant because I was not mentally ready to leave home then. By the time I was ready, I had 2 job offers – 1 in Haiti for Digicel Haiti which used Ericsson equipments and the other with Siemens in Cote ‘d Ivoire which used Cisco equipments, I turned down the Siemens guys because I really wanted to work with Ericsson equipments and also because they didn’t seem very straight – I’m sure you know of the very many problems Siemens have been having lately, especially about bribery. The Haiti one did not work out as well because I had a problem securing a transit visa from the French embassy so the contract was eventually canceled after a number of visa trials. In all of it, I think I would say perhaps God wanted me in Kenya which was the next opportunity that came and it greatly helped my skill set, actually in ways I can’t even begin to express here. As for the lessons I learnt in all of it, I was happy I knew all what I said I knew; the image of the Nigerian Youth is so so bad and its something I think we all as Nigerian Youths should go the extra mile in trying to better in our conducts and lifestyles as individuals so I wasn’t just going to be another Nigerian guy with some twisted story, claiming to be who he is not.

You are GPRS/MPBN Expert/Consultant providing service for the leading Telecoms vendor in the World. How many countries have you provided these services in?

11 Countries all in Africa including Nigeria

Can you try to describe what your job entails for us?

In a brief, it involves Design and Implementation of Mobile Packet Backbone Networks – IP Backbones for Telecoms Operators that use Ericsson as their Telecom Equipment vendor. I also integrate GPRS Nodes, SGSNs and GGSNs.

If you think deeply, what is the greatest factor in getting to the point you are today and why?

Well, I would say God just answered my wishes. Other than that, I decided to pursue my interests and was blessed to have had the avenues and opportunities to have expressed myself. So the greatest factor would be my desires and drive all based on my interest, again I guess I was a bit daring in following my interests through and through.

Who is/are your role models?

Not sure I can say I have role models because I believe we all are in this world for different purposes and to achieve different goals this should not be mistaken for being conceit as I have people whose work and excellence in their endeavors have greatly inspired me as a person and as an engineer and these people have come in different stages of my life and career and there are some now and I guess many more to come. For those inspiring my future (which I believe would best fit the profile of role models as you have asked) are the likes of Jim Ovia whose community development efforts and selflessness is profound, not to talk of his being able to mastermind one of the most respected financial institutions in Nigeria today; Aliko Dangote and Mike Adenuga for having the courage to invest in Nigeria and providing jobs for very many Nigerian youths of which I was one. Many of us might have our reservations about the personalities of these people but their achievements are outstanding. If we were in their shoes, chances are that we might have been worse. I also am seriously inspired by my pastor Kingsley Okonkwo who was able to grow a church of young school leavers and fresh university graduates who had absolutely nothing into a church of young entrepreneurs and by simply believing in God and in their abilities, he really was not about the money he could but about the people. The common thing with all of these people I have mentioned is that they believe in Nigeria and the Nigerian human resource and trust me, haven travelled a bit around Africa and worked with peoples from around the globe, I know how valuable that human resource is.

Many think that the color of their skin shuts doors on them; do you have any advice for them?

Its only God that can shut a door and nothing will be able to open it, otherwise a man’s skill can make a way for him and his diligence can make him stand before kings.

Someone might be intimidated by your profile, how can they also start working towards their goal?

First know what you are truly cut out for, it is always something around that positive thing you are interested in, then begin to genuinely pursue it and trust me, nature will respond to you and then of course I won’t rule out the God factor as HE is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all you can ever ask or imagine.

If I present a young graduate interested in a Telecoms career to you – what are the steps you will recommend for the young person?

Same as in the last question

What are your long term career/business goals?

As for career, doing what I enjoy doing, which is providing solutions especially in the field of IP based telecommunications – using the available technology to better lives. As for business, building of businesses that would be able to generally better the lives of Nigerians and Africans such that the parts of the money made can be put back in the community and other parts used for furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ here on earth as everything is HIS and we are just custodians.

There is still a lot of skills gap in Africa especially in IT and Telecommunication. How can we bridge the gap?

First is by taking up the challenge being posed by the youths of the far east – Indians and Chinese especially, next is for those of us who have being blessed to be able to give back our knowledge, resources and time to the youths who are willing to take up the challenge and then of course pray and participate positively in politics so that we are able to get the right people that will create enabling environments for the development and operation of businesses and standardization of our educational systems so that we can tackle unemployment and idleness which are the strongest drivers of vices amongst the Nigerian and African youths.

What values do you hold tight in life?

Do unto others as you would want them to do to you which in others words are Love your neighbor as yourself, also honesty, fairness, equity. All of these for me are based on the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What do you do to relax?

Watching movies on the big screen, small screen series, TV channels like Discovery, History also E! and then of course reading.

It’s been a pleasure talking to you. Thanks for the time and the insights.