“Mr Ken, why were you not on seat yesterday?” Adamu furiously queried
one of his junior staff.
Mr Adamu Danjuwa was the Human Resources
Manager (HRM) of Capricon manufacturing company.
Between late eighties (1980s) and early nineties (1990s), Capricon
manufacturing company was indeed a very notable one across the federation that
everyone even an imbecile that existed within the stated period could testify
to this fact. Even beyond the period in question, Capricon Nigeria Limited as
it was fondly called based on what was inscribed on its major signpost in line
with its incorporation, never relented in making the general public and the
society at large feel its impact to the extent that it was rated and widely
recognized as the best among its equals. To say the least, it never tolerated
any excuses from its staff when it called for business right from when it was
incorporated in 1985, June precisely.
The company which was into cosmetics production, particularly soap,
cream and perfume understood that the consumers comefirst before any other
person or thing; this is why their products which were popularly known as Danza
soap, Danza Cream, Danza perfume as well as Danza body spray remained cosmetics
that any rational being wanted to behold.
To say that Adamu was one of the brains behind the prospect of the
company is an understatement; Adamu who was one of the pioneer members of the
firm, was one of the best three personnel, if not the overall best the
companycould reckon with owing to his outstanding and brilliant contributions
toward its enviable growth.
On his part, Ken who joined the firm a year back was a staff of the
Marketing department. On that fateful day, he was being queried by Adamu due to
truancy – he couldn’t make it to the office the previous day as a result of
circumstances beyond his control and Mr Adamu Danjumawas really mad over the
attitude. Ken was actually ill on that day, so he decided to take a rest without
even making effort to notify the management.
“I was ill, Sir.” He responded
apprehensively.
He was standing directly opposite to
Adamu who was seated in his office.
“Ill…..?”Adamu ranted.
Mr Danjuma’s furious physiognomy was not really prompted by Mr Ken’s absence but owing to the fact that the
management was kept in the dark by the man in question; thus, he absorbed the
nonchalant act as a letdown which was tantamount to dismissal based on the
company’s rules.
“Yes Sir,” Ken continued. “I suddenly
fell ill and there was no way I could reach the company.”
Though there was nothing like GSM during the era but Ken was meant to
send a message across through someone, probably a relative or friend; the fact
was that he took everything for granted.
“You amuse me, Ken.”
Ken quickly adjusted himself. Stood still.
“To start with,” Adamu rode on. “Were
you not supposed to be treated by the company’s clinic?”
“Sir, I didn’t even have the strength to…”
“Will you stop amusing me.” Interrupted Adamu.
There was an unconditional silence for a few seconds.
“If our staff don’t use the clinic, then
what was the essence of establishing it?
Ken remained speechless and calm.
“When you came into this company twelve months ago, February 1994
precisely if I’m not mistaken, I painstakingly read the company’s Act to you.”
Ken became jitterier.
“And in that very Act, you were categorically
informed that this company doesn’t condone truancy or laxity.”
Ken who was dressed in corporate attire
felt like discharging urine on his boxers.
“And as I speak to you right now,” Adamu proceeded fiercely. “I want you
to know that you have abused that Act.”
At this juncture, Ken needed not a
prophet to disclose the fate that awaited him.
“The most confusing part is that,” He
said. Paused. “You’re yet to realize that you belong to one of the most
sensitive departments in this highly reputable firm.”
There was maximum silence.
“It will interest you to know that,” Adamu continued. “Since 1986 I
joined this company till date, I have never for once missed my duty post.”
Ken couldn’t believe his ears.
“The records are there,” Said Adamu.
“You can check for yourself.”
“I’m very sorry, Sir.” Ken hastily
dished out, lowering his head.
“There you go wrong,” Adamu chipped in. “In this company, you don’t rob
Peter to pay Paul.”
“Sir, it won’t repeat itself.” He assured fearfully.
“Mr Ken Okafor,” Adamu called ruthlessly in a high tone, hitting his
right hand on his table.
Ken became extremely attentive.
“Give me one reason you shouldn’t be
fired.”
At this point, Ken was actually seeing a
totally different creature, which implied that the HRM had been speaking in a
friendly manner all those while he was revisiting the company’s Act. The
unexpected oral query wasn’t just confusing and devastating but threatening; it
was no doubt a rhetorical test no matter how clever Ken was.
There was an undiluted tranquility.
“You can leave.” He said, demonstrating
with his left arm.
Ken who was dumbfounded, stood still.
Appeared like an electrocuted gorilla.
“I said, leave my office.” Shouted Adamu
who was also clad in corporate attire.
First thing in the morning the following
two days (48 hours) being 15th of February 1995 – barely one year
after he received his employment letter, Ken got the sack having attended to
the written query issued to him on the day he left Adamu’s office; he received
the disengagement letter in his office from his Secretary. The Scenario yielded
a very painful mood, but all he could do was to move on with his life; after
all, life continues.
* * * * * *
“What’s the name?” Mr Steven verified as soon as one of the interviewees
assumed his seat.
Steven was a member of the 5-man
committee set up by the Management of Capricon Nigeria Limited to conduct an oral interview
for their prospective staff. The company’s Human Resources Manager, Mr Adamu Danjuma
was one of the members of the committee and he happened to be the leader.
That day being 2nd of March 1995 marked the commencement of
the assessment exercise.
“My name is Olatunji Seun.” The interviewee replied.
Seun who walked in with a plastic file
in his left hand happened to be the third applicant to be assessed by the team.
The team was already with a copy of his Curriculum Vitae prior to his entrance,
and they were perusing it right before him.
Something remarkable transpired on that
very day; the moment Seun walked into the complex room, he observed that Mr Danjuma’s
face was very familiar but on the contrary, the bearer of the familiar face
never recognized that of the applicant.
Adamu happened to be Seun’s course mate
in the University of Ibadan (U.I) nine years back but the fascinating part was
that Adamu was a dropout; he quit his studentship during his first year (100
Level) which was 1986 due to financial challenges. He secured his job same year
with a forged degree certificate but since his engagement with the company, he
had never been found wanting in any way because of his natural brilliance.
While the interview lasted, Seun continued to look at Adamu who was
dressed in the company’s white T-shirt, a pair of black jeans and a pair of
black plain shoes alongside his colleagues with a view that the man in question
would reciprocate to the gesture but to no avail. It became obvious to him that
Adamu didn’t recognize his face even a bit.
After he had been successfully interviewed, he waited behind all through
the day till the team was done for the day so he could have a one-on-one
conversation with Adamu.
Though Adamu couldn’t graduate with him alongside his set but he (Seun)
never had any intuition that he came into the companyin disguise; rather, he
was of the thought that he might had attended another university or polytechnic
after he left U.I.
He was preoccupied with the notion that if he familiarized himself with
Adamu, it would be an aid towards his job hunt. Since he completed his National
Youth Service programme in 1991, he had been managing with one of the small
scale firms in the neighbourhood until he got an invitation on February 17,
1995 to come for an interview with Capricon Limited where he had earlier
applied for a job.
“Good day Sir!”Seun greeted the moment
Mr Adamu Danjuma eventually walked out of the complex room in the company of
his co-interviewers.
It was about some minutes past five in
the afternoon – by this time, all the job seekers had already left the arena. Seun
had been seated at the entrance to the room amidst some of the company’s staff;
he had explained to them that he wanted to meet with one of the interviewers
whose face was familiar.
Prior to his greeting, he hurriedly stood up and stepped toward Adamu as
soon as they walked out from the room.
“Good day young man.” Responded Adamu as his colleagues departed for
their respective offices. “Were you not one of the applicants?”
“Yes I am, Sir.” Replied Seun who was putting on corporate attire.
Both of them were standing opposite to each other.
“So, how may I help you?” Adamu
enquired. “MrOlatunji, right?” He recollected.
He was able to remember Seun’s name because he performed marvelously
when he was interviewed.
“Yes Sir, you’re right.”Said Seun.
“OlatunjiSeun.” He added.
“I’m all ears.” Adamu said, anxiously waited for the response to the
first question – ‘how may I help you?’.
“Please Sir,” Seun rode on. “Don’t be
offended, did you pass through UI?”
It was unarguably a shocking question to
Adamu. He couldn’t believe his ears.
“UI…?” He asked under false pretences.
“Yes, University of Ibadan.”Said
Seun.“Public Administration department to be precise.” He added, looking at his
eyes submissively.
“No.” He said. “Are you mistaking me for someone else?”
“Yes,” Seun replied. “Your face looks very familiar.”
“I’m sorry,” Responded Adamu. “I’m not
the one.” He said, quickly walked towards his office leaving Seun behind.
Seun couldn’t believe it; it was not
unlike a dream to him though he never sensed any foul play. Consequently, he
left the company’s premises within a couple of minutes disappointedly.
As a result of the above scenario, Adamu being the leader of the
assessment team ensured that Seun wasn’t employed by the company in order to
avoid any future havoc. He thought it wise that bringing Seun into the company
would be at the detriment of his person.
Adamu who was in his early forties and
was happily married with three kids wouldn’t want any iota of saga to befall
him especially at that point he had succeeded in proving his unalloyed
competence and integrity to the company; hence he saw Seun as a serpent.
After the incident, Seun employed every
tactics towards ascertaining the full detail about Adamu. In consequence to the
quest, Seun who hardly knew Adamu’s name succeeded in coming up with his full
name, position in the company as well as when he was employed. At the long run,
he understood that Adamu must had forged his certificate for him to had gotten
to the position of HRM; and considering the time frame, there was no how he
could have risen to that enviable height if he was not employed as a graduate
or with a degree/HND certificate or any equivalent certificate.
Two months on, the company’s Management
received the unthinkable report on Mr Adamu Danjuma via Seun who had patiently
waited to receive his employment letter from the company in regard to his
remarkable performance during the interview, all to no avail.
Two weeks after the report was received and it was confirmed that Adamu
came into the company with the aid of a criminal mechanism having conducted all
the needed investigations, the company’s Board of Directors set up a 7-man
panel to query Adamu.
“Mr Danjuma,” The leader of the panel
called unfriendly after all the consequential introductions were made having
read outthe sole agenda for the gathering. “Give us one reason you shouldn’t be
fired.”
They were seated in a round table in the company’s conference room.
It appeared such striking statement –
‘Give one reason you shouldn’t be fired’ was one of the standard and acceptable
ways of querying any of the company’s staff found wanting. That was exactly the
language same Adamu used for Ken prior to his (Ken’s) dismissal.
Adamu who was taken unawares hastily stood up confidently as if he
anticipated for the meeting as well as the question. “Greetings to you all” He
said. “I shouldn’t be fired because…” The dark, plump and average in height
young man who was clad in ash suit proceeded in a meek but confident manner.
All eyes were on him.
“(1) I forged the certificate out of frustration and because I was
financially handicapped, and not because I was a criminal. (2) I forged what I
could defend…”
He took a breath.
“(3) As I speak to you now,” He
continued. “I speak as a Master’s degree holder in Public Administration…”
Everyone was marvelled on hearing the revelation; they felt like
clapping for him.Each of them wondered what kind of man Adamu was.
Adamu had enrolled for a part-time
degree programme in a nearby university the moment he secured an employment.
And he proceeded for his Master’s degree programme as soon as he obtained his Bachelor
of Science (B.Sc).
“And finally,” He rode on. “Because I
have given Capricon Nigeria Limited far more than what it expected from my
person.” He concluded succinctly, though tentatively.
“You may have your seat.” The panel Chairman urged.
“Thank you Sir.” Adamu said. Sat down.
After all said and done within an hour’s
time, the meeting ended.
Subsequently, Adamu was filled with
mixed feelings accompanied with premonitory anxiety, not knowing what would
become his fate.
One week later, rather than laying him
off from the company or demoting him, surprisingly the smart genius was
promoted to the rank of the General Manager (GM) of Capricon Limited owing to
his academic accomplishmentsas revealed by him coupled with his outstanding
qualities.
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