JENNIE IFEATU

One of the places that you should never judge people by the way they look is in Lagos and Onitsha. In the former, a stray looking guy might be a military officer and in the latter, a guy looking like a pauper might just be your unknown landlord. Fridays are my happiest. I just let myself get lost in my daydreaming and indulge myself in the luxury of waiting for the long-expected weekend. Today, the road is free. We ride in calmness except for the sound from the engine that depicts acceleration in our pace. A man dressed in Ankara is seated by my right and a lady holding her umbrella and looking lost is seated by my left. We approach Costain and just as the bus tends to swerve a careless bike rider attempts a rough overtaking. Our infuriated driver is yelling at him as well as the passengers. In Nigeria, some questions don't pose as questions. "Are you mad? Are you crazy?" Our driver is hurling at the indeed crazy biker. The bike rider is obviously the obstin...

Over the week, I had a conversation with a friend who was being skeptical about demanding her worth from a gig because a senior colleague in the same industry tried to talk her out of it. When asked about my opinion.  I had two questions for her.  "What have you done to get you to where you are? (I wasn't concerned about if she had movement pace so far had been an inch) How bad do you want to get what you deserve? She looked at me with intent eyes and told me about the efforts, time and discomfort she had invested to get her where she was. As for how much she wanted what she deserved, she wanted it just as much as a drowning man will need a lifeguard.  Sometimes, in life, business, career, relationships or even pursuing an education, we are going to be talked out of reaching out to what we truly deserve. These suggestions and lame excuses often come with whispers of " You are not good enough," You need more experience," or  Wait a ...

What's that one street lingo that you grew up hearing about Lagos? "Shine your eyes" resonates in my head like the large bell from the catholic church that was located few poles from my home as a teenager. As hilarious as that may sound, not all who look, see. Shine your eyes in Lagos is a street lingo to remind you to be ever vigilant about your immediate surrounding but some people just never play by the rules. Mondays are crazy. Infact, I have been feeling crazy for a while. Being an adult is enough to make you go crazy, there are always responsibilities; at home, at work, circle of friends, social groups; but what can a woman born of a man do? Nothing! You signed up for this voluntarily or involuntarily when you stuck out your pink head from that contracting fetal path screaming out your lungs out to a group of nurses urging your mother to 'push.' Today, I am standing at the bus stop waiting for a bus heading to Victoria Island. There are many ot...

A country, community or organisation without youths is one without a future. Youths in this context refer to those whose minds, talents and creativity bring a fountain of life to everyone and everything they come in contact with.  When you do this, you have truly defeated age. The human body can be young for a short for a period of time while the spirit can be young forever.  According to the United Nations, 226 million youth aged 15-24 lived in Africa in 2015 representing nearly 20% of Africa’s population, making up one- fifth of the world’s youth population. If one includes all people aged below 35, this number increases to a staggering three-quarter of Africa’s population.  It is important to note that people who often fall prey to the learn but don't remove the 'L' are often young people. The good book saw this coming and admonished, " Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduc...

The popular saying when you go to Rome you behave like the Romans does not apply at Lagos Bus Stops when you are new in town. Opting to ask another responsible looking passenger on the routes a bus conductor is calling out is more advisable than rushing with the mad throng of passengers with the hope that you heard him clearly. This is also what led a friend of mine who had been new in town to board the wrong bus. The young man was standing enthusiastically for the first time at the popular Iyana-Iba axis as the bus conductor yelled, "Seme! Seme!" He could bet on his life that he had heard 'CMS!' The rest of the story is being told in our family jokes of how this fellow ended up at Seme, just thirty minutes from Badagry on the coastal road between Lagos and Cotonou. The bus conductors are rapping the routes they are headed to as usual. I am aboard the 'yellow bus' heading to CMS. I am engrossed with replying messages. Having a long list of messages...

If I were in need of a pharmacist in my startup and two people showed up with almost same performing ability with one bagging a degree and masters in pharmacy while the other had a first degree plus other qualifications such as marketing, being multilingual and other non-related qualifications. I will pick the latter over the former.  I remember my mentor once saying she would prefer to employ someone who had diverse skills or qualification as against one who had just one skill or qualification set. I didn't totally understand this at first.   However, looking at the rise and fall of careers and businesses. It is obvious that the trend of activities change on a daily basis. This paves a way for diversification.  Diversification is an act of branching out, expanding or broadening one's resources. This is also applicable in investment. However, my focus is on how it applies to human resource.  Gone are the days when you can rely on ...

It's been raining Elephants and Hippopotamus since last week in Lagos. Today is not a different day either. I take my seat between two big men. One of the things you should never do during the raining season is to sit by the window of the bus. Chances are if the window has a malfunctioning slide, water will drip on you (If you didn't know this before, drop me a thank you note😏). Our ride is smooth and cold. Everyone is minding their business and obviously trying to get warm. The Bus Conductor is abnormally hyperactive. His hoarse voice and prancing about like a mini giant is a sight to behold. I am amused but I am too cold to really observe him well. The bus pulls up at Coker for a passenger to alight and another one boards. The driver's stereo is playing gospel songs. This guy must be heavenly, he definitely knows how to start the week. We pull up at Orile again and the hyperactive conductor prances to the driver's window to hand him some naira notes tha...

What did you just read?  Standalonation? Is that English, French, Spanish or Swahili? Accept my apologies because I don't have an answer.  The above word is my coined word for the opposite of collaboration. I grew up to hear the phrase 'One man show.' Anyone who was termed a 'One man show' was perceived to be some kind of genius, a Superman of his kind.  Collaboration  is known to be the act of working together to achieve a common goal.  Effective  collaboration  is achieved when the results of the team's efforts are greater than those which individual members could achieve on their own.  Over the weekend, I was opportuned to work with an amazing team on a short film project. We were to write, shoot, produce and edit a short film within twenty hours.   20 Hours?  😳 As soon as I got the call from a childhood friend who was the producer, my eyes popped out. That's a mission impossible! We decided to lay anxiety aside and at...