What am I thankful for exactly? The mere fact that I couldn’t drum up a string of thanksgiving-worthy events made me suddenly feel bad. What did I resort to? … Go to eat of course (because comfort food bangs!) and then to tell a story! Scratch that. There is always something to be thankful for… air is free.
Once upon a time, I walked into my new office, around the middle of this year, sleep-deprived and stress-filled because of a hypothetical “fire “on an architectural renovation project I was working on which had to be put out ASAP.
Prior to joining Afriland Properties, I had taken up a personal project and decided to handle it alone after all “it was just a small toilet”. Abasi! This project imploded right before me. I called almost every architect I knew and although I was eventually rescued, I ended up spending more money than I budgeted. If you see those people that say, “madam I be expert, na here we go put the blocks”, run for your dear life”. Pro Tip: Engage proper architects for your projects. P.S, there are lots of experienced ones at Afriland.
When I started at Afriland, I resumed on the same day with a veteran lawyer and that did NOT help me feel better because she seemed so composed. As in, even every strand of her hair was in order.
After a few hours of listening to different stories from Afriland staff and what they had achieved (I and the veteran lawyer were having our internal induction rounds) I saw the light. I was inspired rather than put down and overwhelmed at being a “greenhorn” in such an establishment (I mean who won’t feel intimidated by professionals who have amassed over 20 years of experience at the highest level). I suddenly looked forward with excitement to the pool of experienced mentors and the opportunities that lay ahead of me.
So far it has been a tsunami of incredible stories. For the 4 months I have been at Afriland, I have greatly benefited from the stories and conversations the staff have been willing to share with me on their ups and downs, successes, failures, ideas, theories, values, and more.
Although it hasn’t been easy to be around people fairly often because I am an introvert, it has been worth the discomfort of dragging myself into office banter (hehehe!).
I had specific goals for my faith, family, finance, career, and physical health at the start of the year and boy, have my colleagues been an immense catalyst to reaching them. Firstly, being in a large organisation led gracefully by Mrs Uzo Oshogwe… a woman who has become my mentor (please don’t spill my little secret), is enough inspiration on its own. I am more confident while talking to contractors because of tips received from my senior colleagues on commanding respect as a female in a ‘male-dominated industry’. I keep an eagle eye on my finances because my colleagues make very wise investments and are happy to share the information (real estate will teach you that).
I agreed to write this article (even though I struggled with English language as a subject in primary school) because my human resource manager advised me to be hardworking and visible in my field of endeavour. Now, calming fires is easier for me because my supervisor, Gbenga, can talk a volcano out of erupting. My voice is smooth enough and I think I have a lovely smile; this helps in putting out fires trust me. At this rate, with the confidence I’m building at Afriland Properties, I’ll soon be selling portions of water to fish in the sea.
These are the things I’m most grateful for. In particular, the fact that I get to work with incredible minds every day to make Nigeria (and Africa at large) a better place to live in. Regardless of position or gender, the people I have met have pushed me to try new positive ideas, helped me get out of my career comfort zones, and advised me when I’m about to enter gbese. I just hope my addition to their lives and the company at large is as positively influential as this short time has been to me.
Thanks to Afriland Properties Plc and all the people in it. From Uzo, Gbenga, James, all the guys and gals in the factory, Folu to Sala, I know that my future will be a *HOOGE* one. (I picked up the hooge from Sabinus the comedian. I kind of like the sound of it).
Go cover girl Jesam!