CORPORATE TEARS

PROLOGUE

The young man sits on the plastic chair in front of the Newspaper vendor’s stand, he opens the “Daily Report” newspaper that he has just bought and flips through the pages. His eyes falls on a bold headline in page 5 which reads: “Federal government creates 1.2 million jobs in 2013 – Minister”. The young man frowns and his face becomes animated, he angrily exclaims; “barefaced liars! kleptomaniacs! Looters!” and quickly turns over to the sports column on the back page.

Angela Peters was a graduate of physics from the university of Benin. She graduated four years ago and ever since then she had been in search of a good job. Being the only graduate in a family of five children came with responsibilities, she was looked up on as a bread winner of the family. After two years of searching in the “favour market” and not being able to secure any good job, she decided to take up a temporal teaching job in a private secondary school. The job was offered to her by a church member. The school was “Gifts Academy”.

Her job description was teaching Mathematics and Physics at a salary of twenty thousand naira per month, it was the only option to take and was termed “hustling”. When she looked around, she saw that most of her colleagues were still roaming the streets. She was lucky to even have something to hold on to.

When she got her first paycheck she was excited but it didn’t take her long to discover that the money could barely keep body and soul together. With parents in the village to support and other family pressures mounting, the amount could barely sustain her. Two years on the job and she was tired.

“Angela don’t you think we should start looking around for a wealthy man to marry us?” Susan jokingly asked as she pared her long slender nails.

Susan Oko was Angela’s colleague, she shared the same table with her in the staff room and was also in the same situation with her. Susan taught Agricultural science.

It was a Friday afternoon and was getting close to 3pm, they had both stayed back in the staff room to take care of some unfinished work.

“Maybe, but you know no man wants to marry a liability these days, don’t you know that men are now gold diggers seeking for already made babes?” Angela countered.

They both laughed.

“Angela its true o, imagine Jude keeps on asking me what my father does for a living” Susan said shaking her head.

“Susan I am tired of this job, babe its just too stressful, look at the heap of test scripts i have to mark and record today”, I don’t even like this room!”.

 They both took a look at the room….a wide rectangular shaped room, with creamy tiles on the floor, tables and chairs placed close to each other, packets of chalk on each table, books piled on top of shelves, nine windows with three louvres missing, four rusty looking ceiling fans that blew hot air. They stared at the corner of the roof that leaks whenever it rains, a bucket was positioned underneath the hole to collect the rain water.

Not the ideal working environment huh? Susan asked.

“Yes babe, this is not what i envisaged when i was in school, this is not my dream corporate office….but will i ever work in such an environment with the present situation of things in this country? Angela sighed in resignation as she leaned back on her chair.

“You complain too much Angela, we will get there someday, we will get there, Susan patted her consolingly on the shoulder.

Home is where the heart is. Angela’s home was a one bedroom flat in Obonjo street, Benin, a 15 minutes walk from the school premises. She was lucky to have gotten the place two years ago when it was relatively cheap. The room was big and spacious with two windows which was one of the features that made her chose the room as she liked an airy environment. The white walls were crusty and needed repainting, hanging on the walls were her framed graduation picture, two landscape wall paintings, a tiny wall clock that nestled comfortably on the wall, a calendar which she sometimes forgot to turn over at the end of the month. A 21 inches television set, a gift from John her cousin was on the wooden tv stand, the small space underneath it occupied by a small dvd player and Cd plates of Nollywood movies. Her bed was basically a thick mattress lying on the thin plastic carpet on the floor in front of the wardrobe closet. The kitchen was a tiny room where kitchen utensils held sway.

Angela was rinsing some clothes and hanging them at the washing line at the backyard when she heard the message tone on her phone that Saturday afternoon.

“Oh no, another annoying etisalat sms” she sighed and wiped her wet hands on her skirt. She reluctantly picked up the Nokia C3 phone lying on the stool.

Her heart began racing and did a double take when she saw the name of the sender of the message; Pristine bank.

The message read;

“You are invited to an aptitude test with Pristine bank on Saturday 9^th Nov 2013 by 9am, Venue: Pristine bank conference hall, Williams street, Agege, Lagos. Come with your writing materials”.

Pristine bank!!! Pristine bank was one of the mega banks in the country, it was every graduate’s dream to work with them as they hired only from the pool of best available hands and the salaries of their staff were six digits figures. Three months ago she had applied at their online portal when they advertised for new intakes into their prestigious graduate trainee program, with her second class upper degree, she felt she had a good chance of getting a spot.

“Susan, I got an invite last weekend from Pristine bank for an aptitude test this Saturday” she shared the good news with Susan on Monday morning during lunch break.

“Wow! Shebi the one you applied for 3 months ago? Congrats!”

“Susan abeg I need to prepare, show me the way, i am a very rusty”

Susan was a veteran of aptitude tests.

“You have to revise Gmat questions, all the  quantitative, qualitative, verbal reasoning and logic stuff, come to the house this evening and pick up some of my past questions & answers.

“Thanks babe”.

“Angela before you leave for Lagos, you should attend prayer meeting in my church and take the blessings of God for the exams. You know the spiritual world controls the physical world”…that was Susan inviting Angela to church on the eve of her departure to Lagos for the test.

“No, I’ve prayed to God in my room and I am sure he has heard me”, Angela countered.  

Susan was a veteran of churches, she was fond of moving from one church to the other seeking help for her numerous/imagined problems. However due to Susan’s insistence, Angela reluctantly followed her. She suspected that it was probably a white garment church that they were going to.

Angela had an eerie feeling as soon as they stepped inside the church’s building. It was a small building constructed with bamboo rafters. The room was crowded with the worshippers, Angela and Susan managed to find a seat at the back. The pastor had a thickset body physique with a face that radiated spirituality, he dangled a bell in his hands which he occasionally rang to silence the crowd. It was a white garment church. Prayers were at high pitch and threatened to pierce through the flimsy ceiling to heaven but came to an instantaneous end whenever the pastor rang the bell. The songs were shrill and the worshippers danced vigorously to the beats of the drumsets manned by two rough looking boys.

“What is he doing? Angela nudged Susan as she watched the pastor move towards the front row holding a bowl n his hands.

“Oh that is holy water, it is gotten from river Ganges in India, he is going to sprinkle it on us, it is very powerful!”. Susan whispered enthusiastically.

“India? Jesus! this is a fetish place…I am leaving” Angela declared.

“Come on gir,l the water is harmless, it carries blessings!”

“No”, Angela said as she backed out and walked out of the building.

Angela found it difficult to concentrate on the Gmat textbook she held in her hand while waiting for “God is good” bus which she had boarded to take off from the motor park. Susan had seen her off  at the park although she was not still pleased with her abrupt departure from the church. The park was a beehive of activities; Hawkers milling around calling out and cajoling passengers to buy their wares, beggars begging with their bowls, “men of God preaching & praying with megaphonic voices and afterwards asking for donations to support the “work of God’, loud music blaring from the music records sales shops. She bought a wrap of Gala and a bottle of lacasera from a young girl with sad looking eyes. She had made arrangements to spend the night in Lagos at Efe’s place. Efe was a family friend and would accommodate her. As the driver started the car, she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer, her journey into the corporate world was underway.

Pristine bank conference hall the venue of the test was located opposite the corporate headquarters of the bank at Williams street, Agege, Lagos. It was a multi-purpose hall with a seating capacity of 2000. Angela alighted from the taxi and walked towards the venue, it was 8:30 am. From a distance she could see the massive crowd of fellow aptitude test invitees, “is this a bazaar or a carnival?” she asked herself because it looked like every available space was filled up with people.

“Excuse me bro are you for the test?” she tapped a young man standing in front of her.

“Yes” everybody you see here are for the test. He slowly replied with a quizzical look on his face.

Angela took a close look at the crowd, some were poring over their books doing last minute revisions, she saw nervous faces, the overly confident look of those with connections, the “can we get this done with” enthusiastic faces of the fresh faced graduates just out from university, the cautious “I have been through this before” disposition of the veterans and shook her head, the unemployment statistics in the country was very high.

Pristine bank prides itself for efficiency and timeliness, right on the dot of 9 am, the bank officials conducting the test started the process of calling the candidates into the hall, they read the names from a masterlist. Curiously there were more gatecrashers than invited candidates and the gatecrashers were all turned away.

The seating arrangement was two candidates per table, each seated on the opposite side.

The guy Angela tapped earlier was coincidentally seated with her.

“Hi I am Tayo” he introduced himself.

“Im Angela” she replied.

“Feeling nervous?” he asked.

“I guess a little”.

“Look its going to be okay”.

The questions were just what she expected: Gmat, 50 questions 40 minutes.

“How was it” Tayo asked her as they walked out of the hall on completion of the test.

“It was okay, although the logic questions got me puzzled.”

“Same thing with me, logic questions are always tricky” Tayo said…..”is this your first test with Pristine bank?

“Yes, what about you?” she asked.

“No, this is my second time”.

They exchanged numbers. Tayo wanted to know if she stayed within Lagos, Angela wanted to get back to Benin the same day.

“Safe journey’ a whatsapp message from Tayo. He had added her on whatsapp already. Fast guy.

Susan fussed over Angela when she arrived from Lagos, she wanted to know all the details of the test.

“It was okay Susan, I am hoping for the best’. Angela kept on telling her.

Mr Biodun James the personnel manager, Pristine bank corporate headquaters took another look at the list of names submitted to him by the It department on his computer monitor. Out of 1,000 candidates that took the test, only 200 had the required score of 70 marks. The bank only needed 50 new staff  to man the new branches in Port harcourt, Uyo and Abeokuta. The problem now was how to choose 80 names to invite for the next stage of the recruitment process. He shook his head wearily, he was fatigued and had been running a google search on the names on the list, hoping to get red flags on some of the names to enable him eliminate them from the list. This was one aspect of his job that he hated. He closed the program window. He will continue tomorrow.

New text message: “You were successful in the aptitude test. You are invited to an oral interview with Pristine bank ltd on Saturday 23 november 2013, come with the originals and four photocopies of your credentials.

“Thank you Jesus!! Angela screamed, I made it to stage 2!!

Another trip to Lagos was underway, Angela was pleased that Gift’s academy was on break for the renovation of some facilities, giving her time to pursue this job runs.

The crowd had been drastically whittled down at this stage. The successful candidates all looked sauve and dapper in their suits and corporate wear. Angela was glad to meet Tayo who was also shortlisted.

“Tayo with this your dressing they’ll just make you a manager straight away!” she teased him, he gave her a weak smile that betrayed his nervousness.

Angela’s interview was straight forward. There were 5 members of the panel. The head of human resources, two women and two stern looking men who gave her unfriendly looks.

One of the men with beady eyes took a hard and long stare at her degree certificate, he flipped it casually in his hands and tossed it onto the table.

In her mind Angela was screaming “Treat my certificate with a little respect you jerk! I spent 5 long years to acquire it!!”.

“Miss Angela Odion you are a physicist, why do you want to work with Pristine bank? The Hhr asked her, his face looked warm and encouraging and she launched into an answer.

Two quick follow up questions  came from two female panelists and her time was up.

Thank you miss Angela you’ll hear from us.

As she walked out of the room she glanced at the well polished mahogany tables and chairs, the smooth and shining tiles, she knew her entry into the corporate world was just a matter of days.

All the candidates were interviewed and they all waited nervously in anticipation for the final result of the interview, they had been informed that the list of successful candidates were to be pasted same day.

“Let’s celebrate!” Tayo said to her, “there’s a joint somewhere down the street where we can eat barbecued fish garnished with shrimps, tomato and onion rings”.

“Tayo you have a high taste for good things, are you sure you are only an applicant?”

“Its nothing!!! I am just feeling good”.

The list of successful candidates was out, she and Tayo had made it. Stage 2 was over!

Angela was however a little sober as she felt the pain of the unsuccessful candidates, she had tried to hold back tears as one of the rejected female applicants had created a scene weeping profusely begging the manager to employ her as a cleaner in the bank as the bank job was her last hope.

Her mood got uplifted when they got to Bakem’s place, the bubbly atmosphere made her carefree and in no time she was nodding her head and swaying her body to the beat of the music blaring on the sound system…

“For this dance you go do shakara

oya wind your waist like this

like that, to the back

to the front

Skelewu…skelewu…skelewu!”

“Ladies and gentlemen I congratulate you on your success at the interview stage”….Mr Biodun James the personnel manger was addressing the 50 successful candidates a day after the interview in the conference room. The would be trainees were all eager to hit the ground running.

“Management has reviewed the recruitment process this year, before you get to the prestigious Pristine bank training school, you will have to demonstrate that you are capable of withstanding the rigors and responsibilities that comes with modern day banking operations. Basically you will have to source for customers to open 10 accounts with at least 100,000 naira in each account. Your target is 1 million naira and you have two weeks starting from today”.

They all let out gasps and gave each other uneasy looks.

“Sir does this mean we are now auxillary staff  of Pristine bank pending when we will go into the training school?” a tall bespectacled fellow seated at the back asked.

“No my good man you are all still in the recruitment process, this is stage three. Remember you have two weeks to raise one million naira, you will be given the 10 account forms as soon as I leave this room, remember its one million naira or nothing! Have a nice day people”. he walked out of the hall with a sly smile on his face.

“This is exploitation! They are crazy! They should have told us this right from the beginning! The displeasure rang out from all the 50 candidates, their cool and debonair looks were now replaced by frightened and looks of uncertainty.

Angela was in a daze, one million naira! Where in the world was she going to find that kind of money in two weeks? Heck! raising 50 thousand naira was almost an impossible task right now. Her dream of working in a corporate organization was about to be snatched away from her….

(To be continued)