I was born and raised in the suburb area of Ajegunle, Lagos. My father, a retired police officer had seven of us and as you can imagine, it was not a pleasant experience. Many a times, we took turns at several things including food ration, sleeping ( there wasn’t enough space in our one-room apartment) and even schooling. I was the last of the seven children but that did not bring me any favour, as is usually the case in several homes, instead, it doubled my portion of the house chores. Once I was eight years old, I joined my older siblings to hawk on the street. We would toil for hours running to and fro the hot roads of Lagos selling different items, most times bare foot.
But I didn’t let all of these bother me. Instead, I took the challenge and did all I could to ensure I had a better life. I saved up to buy books, saw myself through school, graduated with a 1stclass in Mass Communication and got a job with one of the biggest financial servicing companies in Lagos. After over five years of working as an executive at the firm and helping it win countless of big pitches, I knew I could do better. I craved for a promotion, to a managerial position, at least. I took up relevant courses in management and even went for training but it just didn’t happen. My boss, whom we all feared, for some reasons I don’t know, was bent on keeping me in that spot.
Then one fateful weekend, during one of my regular evening strolls, I began to reflect on my past and how despite my poor background, I had managed to achieve all that I have. I soon realized that none of what I had would have been if I have given in to fear. If the street didn’t kill me while growing up, my boss won’t.
With this resolve, I headed to work the next day. I shared my plans with some of my colleagues who had the same desire as me but they wouldn’t budge. Actually, they thought I had gone crazy, ‘You better let us continue like this. What if he gets angry and fires us? one of them told me. I was battle ready. I dusted my suit’s lapel (Harvey Specter style) and headed for my boss’ office. By the time, I opened the door..
Watch the video below to see what happened next
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