We got this notice that there was a job interview for this conglomerate to open a branch in the northeast of Nigeria. Some of us got lucky to have the job, and we began training, after which work began fully.
It was a sales executive job (marketing). We sourced investors. This company had beautiful investment packages. We operated like the capital market even though we were not regulated by relevant bodies.
Staff welfare was poor. I don’t want to talk about structure and the fact that we had management that was full of eye service.
For the northeast branch, we didn’t get the needed support. We became billboards and signs. You won’t be wrong if you label yourself a hypomarketer (apologies to the brand). It wasn’t funny. I remember the HR saying life wasn’t expensive in the north when we complained about our salary (you won’t want to know what the pay was). This same person visited after a year and told us we were smelling. He’d have just called out the branch supervisor instead because the stench from his body wasn’t comfortable. Or is it the fact that we came to work to receive threats on a daily basis because we were on target?
I don’t want to talk about sleepless nights, the fact that you can’t call in sick, or the fact that you’d have to lie about certain things to get permission. Our mental health was tempered with.
We kept saying there were no jobs out there, so we held on and did our best. We had this particular colleague who sacrificed his car for the company. He became a premium customer for Kastelea. He always dodges them. This company created division amongst members of staff.
Now, activities were going smoothly until there was a disclaimer from the Securities Exchange Commission, which some of us learned about in January. However, management kept telling us everything was under control. The CEO himself sent a voice message to our WhatsApp group, telling us not to panic and that everything was under control.
This man earned the trust of many people, even though he used religion to deceive a lot of us. Now, there was nothing that pointed out that something was wrong.
Our lives literally became theirs, social media included. We signed in daily, and as if that were not enough, we took pictures daily and sent them to management.
Our world came crashing down in January when they told us everything was under control. Management asked for 45–60 days to rectify all the issues before payment would commence. unnecessarily high staffing levels.
The majority of us had just started building our lives, trying to build some networks, when Oga used his own to ruin everybody.
It was his audacity when he said he wanted to meet with people of substance when investors requested a meeting with him. To think that we had students as investors too, who put in as little a hundred thousand naira or two hundred thousand naira. They worked for their money.
I had a client who said he’d write a petition… Knowing the law doesn’t favor the common man, I went with a few of my colleagues to submit our own petition against the CEO and company at large.
Depression began to set in. just when I had high hopes for 2022. I had this constant headache for three months, and my blood pressure was low instead of high (funny, right?) Before then, my urine acid was high, I had a kidney stone, I lost unhealthy weight, etc as a result of stress. My test results were out, and my doctor asked me to resign before then. But I refused and continued with my medications because I wanted to break the record and resign after the first quarter. I wish!
Thank God I didn’t die on the job. Most of us battled with lots of things. Some were harassed in other branches in other states.
But then, we are stuck with this innocent guilt for life, no matter how hard we try to ignore it, even though so many investors were understanding. Our integrity has been tampered with. I lost hope, but then I learned about emotional disease. I was determined to fight depression with all the strength I had.
I actually cut off a lot of friends. They were kind enough to always reach out to me even when I wasn’t communicating as I should.
I still don’t know the backbone the CEO has. He’s yet to be apprehended. I won’t forget to mention the fact that a lot of terrible things happened to various investors…
I only wish they find the courage to keep moving on. It’s not easy. Sometimes, I wish they had lost their money to robbers instead of putting it in the hands of Redking. Also, before the total figure was announced on air, I got to know that 13.5 billion naira was hanging…
I just want these people to get justice.
And as for solace, please make your account public. I have some questions for you.
