Our Mumu Don Do

Nigeria has become an object of ridicule for many foreigners. Everyone seems to quickly point an accusing finger against us whenever they feel treated poorly in the country or by her citizens.

I stumbled on an article by a Canadian, J. Buorgeois that says,

”Effective immediately, we will be closing our operations in Nigeria. Over the last year, we have faced numerous examples of employees and contractors extorting the company.

While we kept giving Nigerians a chance to gain skills and employment, we cannot run a company when we can’t trust the people who work for us. Any company interested in conducting business in Nigeria can reach out to us to learn how to avoid being scammed by technical resources.

It is a kick in our face that we spent so much time trying to give Nigerians the benefit of the doubt to have this happen. Customers who wish to outsource, are well-advised  to seek an India-owned company for the best results.”

As much as I empathize with you, I will quickly draw attention to this fact – company culture says it all.

Gone are those era you take workers for granted. No worker will want to leave an enabling environment. Often times, business owners accused workers of being dishonest. But the truth is, you can’t hire great talent and pay peanuts. You’ll get a monkey business in the end.

Do I support bad attitude at work? Capital no!

I am a man of integrity. Being a freelance writer who works with many foreign companies, I can attest to the fact that some of them want to pay peanuts to Africans for quality work in return. I can’t remember the countless offers I had to turn down because the valuation was ridiculous. This type of mentality is being transferred into the African work environment by some foreign companies. Africans are being used as a machine with very low compensation.

Mind you, there’s no health insurance, no house loan, no retirement package and no job security. These terms are not acceptable in your country (i.e. the Western world).

The main reason behind this is – ”exploitation”. Many see African countries as land with great opportunities and resources with cheap labour.

Enough is enough. Before you lay accusing fingers on Africans, Nigerians and employees as a whole, look into the mirror. It is a game between two thieves, the smarter thief won.

• Have you done the needful?
• Do you operate a fair system?
• And what culture are you practicing?

You can’t buy employees trust by mere employment, you earn their trust by leading by example. Respect is reciprocal. Remember, who you determine who you attract.