The months that followed were very trying. As the days went by and I attended a couple of job interviews. The results were almost always the same, "we would get back to you".
I got several counsels to alter my CV and remove the fact I ever worked at my last bank. Also never talk about it in interviews if asked. My refusal to do this cost me a few job offers but I couldn't see myself doing that and then claiming that God came through for me! That would have been no different from what brought down "here" in the first place. I was done trying to help myself.
I don't know how to capture all the emotions I felt and all I learnt in such a way that you would understand while still following my story but I would try. (You may choose to read through the other blogs to find out some of what I learnt because this blog is based on everything I learnt during this time)
When I left Yola (Adamawa State, Nigeria) after the loss of my job, I came down to Lagos to live with my family members. I stayed for brief periods in the homes of my siblings wondering how to pick up the pieces of my scattered life (I had some unpleasant experiences with them, I think some of these experiences were due to how sore I felt about being out of a job while others just underlined that my siblings were imperfect and still very much human).
I remembered what I had been told over and again while I still worked in the banking industry, that when you leave the banking industry getting another job would be difficult.
I was trained as an industrial biochemist but did not continue my studies in that field. In the banking industry I was also at a disadvantage as I had not added to my experience and would have had it difficult securing a bank job based on the circumstances under which I left my former Bank.
I took to applying for any kind of job I could find, no matter how much I was to be paid. I even worked as a "manager" of a small cybercafe for a while, a job that promised to pay below the minimum wage compared to someone that works at the lowest level in government, just so I could tell my fiance's family that I had a job. Why was it important to tell them I had a job you may ask? Well, I had started the process to marry their daughter and I DIDN'T have any job or money to go through with it. The money that I had saved I used to build a fence around 2 plots of land I bought while i was working and also register the land with the land registrar.
I fixed a date for my traditional marriage without a penny in my account and just trusted that God will come through for me.
When my parents-in-laws heard I had no job( Yes, I got married to their daughter), they still accepted me and agreed that I inform my people to come with me for the traditional rites. Infact i encountered more resistance from my relatives than I did for my in-laws!
I had set a date for our traditional marriage and still no job offers that I could take. I got a few offers though, I had an offer to pay a bribe to someone that works at an oil firm. The bribe (which i could pay) will ensure that my name is added to the names of those being recruited by the firm but i rejected the offer.
After this my parents in law also called with a similar offer for me to join the Nigerian Customs. I turned this down also as politely as i could. Knowing full well, they might not understand my reason for doing so and might even think I had no ambition.
You see, I had learnt to trust that God could come through for me and I reasoned that if he will not do so then I rather be without a job. I would not get help outside of God any longer nor would I help God.
I remember telling God that I know he was the Almighty and if it could not be done by Him then let it not be done. For with God nothing shall be impossible I resolved!
To be continued.......
Ps: Sorry It took me this long to write again, I have been so busy with work but I promise I will complete this series next week.
After submitting all of the bank's property in my possession, I got home that day, pulled off my tie and sank to my knees.
All the way home I kept thinking of a way to react to the news I had just received,.I would have thought it was all a dream if not for the very real copy of the letter of termination of appointment in my hand.
I honestly didn't know what to do. The scripture of what Job did after he had lost everything he owned came to my mind and I decided I would just do the same even though I did not feel like doing that.
I started by telling God I was grateful for the job and the opportunity I was given,.I thanked Him for keeping me, His strength through these tough times, prayed that He help me not to hold a grudge against Mrs Foxy or Mrs Pity and see me through the months ahead...I did not know when tears started flowing and my heart seemed to break. This experience was a very painful one ( I found out firsthand that it isn't easy to praise God in your pain).
After this, I was able to gain some control and soon fell asleep.
I woke up to the sound of a knock on my door, a few of my colleagues who had heard what happened came to empathize with me. I would like to say that some of these people were neither Christians or from my tribe a typical example was the Chief driver of the branch. I have kept in touch with him through the years because he kept calling and asking after my welfare all through my ordeal. A lot of people I considered friends, never called me again ( its funny but as i sit by my computer writing this piece, I just discovered one of them on linkedIn and sent him an invite).
After I lost my job, I stayed in Yola till the month ended. Sold the house hold furnishings I had, after my house rent had expired and traveled to Lagos where I started staying with my brothers and sister (I will spare you the details of my experience with my relations).I soon settled to my new life and after a while I started job hunting. Explaining the circumstances under which I lost my job during job interviews did not endear me to any new employers and it was a very difficult time.
I was advised by friends and family who meant well, to alter my resume and not mention Fidelity Bank at all. They suggested and even offered stories that could cover up for the one year plus that would be unaccounted for on my CV if I followed their advise. I thanked them for their concern but did not feel at liberty to do that, I had tried to get myself out of a mess by my own design in the past and see where it had got me. I decided to trust God and not alter anything on my resume. I resolved that if God could not help me secure a job without my compromising or lying then let me be without a job.
I spent almost four months in Lagos before i started attending any particular church. I connected again with a lady friend of mine whom I had proposed to in the past but we had been apart because some issues (by the way,I am happily married to her today).
We started our relationship from were we had left off, though she was in Abuja and I was in Lagos. After a while, I restated my intentions to marry her as soon as I found my feet again. She came to Lagos and stayed with a Pastor she had known for a long time. He was pastoring a church just close to where I lived with my brother, so I decided to attend. I enjoyed the service and decided to get committed there. I decided I was going to draw closer to God and build my relationship with God.
Within this period I learnt a lot lessons that I initially sent out to my friends by email. I was later advised to start a blog,so that all my write-ups would be in one location. This gave birth to this blog.
I also had to fight the temptation of falling into a pit of depression or discouragement.
I would like to end this piece with a scripture:
All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us-
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 New Living translation version
to be continued....
The day passed without event and my friend came through with the funds needed to tidy our books. No one else knew about what had transpired the day before and there was no way of finding out except Mrs. Foxy said anything about what happened. I believed that it was all behind me and that Mrs Foxy had my back,on that front, as she was the one that proposed the cover up in the first place.
There was no financial loss to the bank and the branch auditor would return in two days time. Our books were fine and there was absolutely no trace of what had occurred. I was much relieved to say the least but not for too long.
Within this period I had a nagging impression to pray against hidden agenda (that's the best way I can explain what I felt). I prayed for a couple of weeks and soon went on with my life.
About a month after, my reference letter had been received and my confirmation was being processed. I was so glad that finally it was all behind me and I was soon going to be paid.
I got a shocking mail!
It was a mail , a query rather, from my immediate supervisor asking me what part I played with regards to our books being out for one day. He also asked about issues of dry-posting (a term that spoke of asking for transfer of funds without making the money available immediately) in the branch. This mail was a rude shock to me and I was scared to my marrow. I called him to inquire as to why he sent me the mail but he did not say anything to me but to instruct me to answer the mail.
I dropped the phone more confused about what he knew, and immediately called Mrs. Foxy to know if she knew anything about the mail. she denied any knowledge of the mails or who might have informed him.
Anyway to cut the Long story short, I later found out that Mrs. Foxy and Mrs Pity were the brains behind all that. Mrs Foxy,with Mrs Pity collaborating her story, had told the Auditor, who had informed his boss and I was being investigated without knowing it or rather I was just the last to know about it.
I initially denied it, cause I was scared of admitting what I had done and I trusted that Mrs Foxy did not sell me out. I found out that she did actual sell me out, when I needed to work with her computer and by chance clicked on an email she sent to my supervisor. That email told me that she had told the auditor after he returned of what happened in his absence and that she felt it was her professional responsibility to do so. That she needed to 'blow the whistle' on me as she said in her mail. Her account was supported by Mrs. Pity. I couldn't finish reading the email as I saw that my coffin had longed been nailed shut and the query I received was not out of the blues but based on several mails that had gone on behind my back.
I wrote a mail to my boss detailing everything that had happened and ended by blaming everything on me cause I could not be the cause for which Mrs Foxy or Mrs Pity lost their jobs. My supervisor promised to help me but when I think about it now, I remember he never stood up for me when anything went bad during the normal course of business in the branch, he always left me to face any heat from the Head office. That should have told me, not to trust his statements.
I worked in the branch for a further 3 months in which they sent auditors to review our books to determine if I had stolen any money from the bank or any customer while being told to await a call from Lagos to face a disciplinary committee. I was redeployed to marketing and my supervisor assured me that I would not be sacked but sent to another branch.
This 3 months period was a difficult time and I lost a lot of weight within that time. I had to work every day with the very people who I felt betrayed me (well looking back, I wouldn't have done what they did, I think she should not have covered even for a day but I can't blame them). It was within this time, I learnt to let go the bitterness in my heart and forgive even when neither Mrs Foxy nor Mrs Pity asked for my forgiveness.
Finally my pride was gone and I had a lot of secret tears. Going to work was a huge burden and tested my endurance. I thought of resigning but no one would accept a resignation in the middle of an investigation. I endured it if only to clear my name that I had not stolen from the bank.
After all the investigations, It was determined that I had not taken any money from the bank but I was sacked for compelling my subordinates to go outside of the banks policy.
I had no inclination that I had been sacked a day after I was sacked. I just went to work one morning and was unable log on to my system. I informed the auditor of this development when he came and he checked his system and found my sack letter dated 13th October 2010. I dropped my identity card, my lapel pin and worked out of the branch with my head bowed on Thursday, 14th of October 2010.
My dream had turned into a nightmare....
I went about my duties at the branch and was happy with the new career choice I had made. For a six month period it seemed like everything was looking up for me.
I also decided that I would be the best I could be as a Christian, I made out time to pray more and study my bible more. I had very few friends in my new location and I could spend time at home on my own. Not only was my life better but I was shaping up in my Christian life.
As I drew closer to God, I was confronted with my pride and attitude of putting down my colleagues, I must confess I cant say exactly how I reacted but I thought I was making some corrections in that direction.
As I neared the conclusion of my probation period, upon which I was due to be confirmed as a permanent staff and was expecting a huge allowance with a promotion.
Almost everything was ready, I had received information that my school had written a reference letter confirming my results, my personal reference had responded. The only reference left was from my former employers and with this last reference I could be appraised and my appointment confirmed. I had gotten very good verbal appraisals from my immediate supervisors and was seemed on my way to receive a huge ''settlement''.
I contacted my former bank's HR and was informed that I would not be getting my reference letter until I paid back the amount given to me as upfront (You see banks give you a substantial portion of your annual salary in advance so that you would remain with the organization, you are required to pay back the unearned portion if you leave the bank and require their reference).
So here I was, saddled with a debt I needed to pay that was the only stumbling block to my promotion and allowance. I needed this issue settled immediately so I could move to a new level. So I took a loan from a 30 day period from a friend A to make up the money needed for the loan payment. This solution was easy but proved costly later on.
When the time came to pay back the loan, I didn't have it because the bank had calculated that I owed more than I had already paid and needed to pay more. I paid using my salary and had a promise from a friend B to give me the money needed to pay up the first loan collected. I was digging one hole to fill another hole.
On the strength of the above promise and in my impatience, I gave an instruction for money to be paid to my friend with the hope that I would have the money to pay back before the end of the day as promised.
As the day drew to a close, friend B said he could not pay in the money I needed and that it would be have to be the next day.
At that point I was now in trouble.
I had just given an instruction for money to be transferred without making the money available, my account was not funded to pay for what was transferred. This would stick out of the branch's books for at least one day if friend B is to be taken at his word and the amount was a sizable sum that could not easily be replaced.
I made every effort to see if I could pay back the money but failed. As the Teller who was Mrs Pity (remember her from the last blog) started asking for the money which she needed to tidy up for the day. I had to swallow my pride and in my desperation told Mrs Foxy the situation I had put myself in.
Mrs Foxy who was a custodian of the cash books suggested that she could cover for me for one day since the branch auditor was not around to inspect the books. To this I agreed and was much relieved, looking back now I know that was a very big mistake and a poor choice I made.
Here began my downfall.....
As I went about my duties, proud of my place and influence in the branch, I would like to introduce two individuals who had a huge part to play in my life. I would also give a few snapshots of the good I did for them this would in a small way help you to understand the emotions I later felt for their betrayal.
Lets start with Mrs. Foxy (Not her real name), she was newly married and as at the time I took over at the branch she was on vacation. She visited the branch a couple of times when I was still being briefed as to my duties at the branch. She was a Funds transfer officer and was accused of a few of knowledge gap issues and mistakes at the Funds transfer desk (though I didn't believe any of that at first). She was the next most experienced staff in terms of years spent in banking and was a candidate to replace the Cash officer(who deputized for the Head of Operations) who would shortly be transferred to Kano .
However because she was on vacation, I choose to recommend the staff (a guy) that had in my opinion the best experience for the job and when she resumed I moved her into the position since she had the most experience. This upset my relationship with the guy as he felt had been demoted after being given the power he had enjoyed. i explained my decision to him and tried to get him to concentrate on his job giving him less work to see if his attitude would improve. I was later left with no choice than to recommend that he be transferred as a Cash Officer to another branch. This seemed to solve the problem and Mrs. Foxy had no contender for her position.
Mrs Foxy was passionate, to some extent I would say emotional, dedicated to her job and seemed to enjoy her new position but when she resumed she made so many mistakes that I began to doubt her credentials of having previous bank operations experience. For instance imagine paying an unsigned cheque by a customer? The customer filled every information but did not sign the cheque. This cheque was received by a teller who did not notice that the signature, which was the authorization to pay, was not there and verified an imaginary signature (I kid you not). This teller then sent this to Mrs Foxy who was to give a second and final level authorization for payment while spotting any thing that was missed by the teller. She gave her approval and the cheque was paid. This was spotted upon review the next day and we had to seek out the customer and ask that he sign.
Next she paid a cheque of N250,000 to a third party (not the owner of the account) for an account that had only N10,000 as its balance.
These were some of the mistakes she made that kept recurring even after several talks, training, threats of escalation of these mistakes (not following through with these threats though hoping it would soon end) and covering for her mistakes sometimes putting my neck on the chopping board for her. I think that is enough about Mrs Foxy.
The next act, I will call Mrs Pity. hers was a peculiar case. She was offered employment by my new bank but did not resume because she had recently given birth. she also failed to inform her interviewers that she was pregnant and did not apply to defer the offer of employment extended to her. So when she came to resume at the branch, having resigned her former job at a bank, there was no information from Human resources about her. i wrote to the HR representative and he informed me that the bank assumed that since she did not resume at the date specified on her offer letter that the offer had expired and she needed a re-validation of the offer if a space was open for her in the branch.
So there she was at the branch, having left the job she had before, rejected at the new job she was going to for a mistake on her part, with a new baby to take care of and a husband,who I thought, may not have been doing so well financially.
I spoke with the former head of operations about her case but he didn't seem bothered saying to send her home as advised by Human Resources Department as it was her fault for not resuming when she should have. I did send her home because I had no document of employment to keep her at the branch, i wrote an extensive mail to my superiors explaining her situation and appealing for their recommendation as the branch still had space available to take her in.
I felt pity for her and took up her case so passionately that at a time my regional manager accused me of sleeping with her hence my interest in her case.
Well after all said and done, I was able to convince them to re-validate her offer letter and she resumed at the branch one day before an embargo on employment was placed by the MD of the bank!
I never knew the huge part these two women would play in my fall from grace.......
Friends in these posts I have shared with you messages that affected my life in a great way.
Some I still struggle to have them formed in my life but in the coming days i hope to share with you the journey,I believe, that started this all. I hope to tell it as a story and capture as much details as possible.
I hope that this testimony series would help you believe that God remains faithful even through our storms and trials.
Our story ends only when we appear in eternity bearing his nature.
So keep changing!
Here Goes My Story.....
I had just made a career move that seemed to have all the makings of a great future ahead.
I resigned my position as a Relationship manager in a bank, with all the attendant stress of meeting targets, marketing etc and had got a job as an Operations Manager with another bank. While I know that some people love the challenge that the marketing job poses, I seemed to have run out of zeal for it; considering the constant threat that hung over our heads as we did our job. It was an unending circle of which the finish line always was extended beyond our reach it seemed. You meet one target only to have new ones assigned.
Anyway the Operations job suited me better, I even did not mind the fact it was in the Northern part of Nigeria, where there was the likelihood of religious crisis springing up and all.
So Having completed my training, I was sent to Head Operations of a Branch of my new Bank in Yola, Adamawa State(North-Eastern Part of Nigeria). This was a great opportunity and the pay package was better, Also upon confirmation of my appointment, i was to be promoted and paid a huge bonus. I had a car given me by the bank and I was in charge of all the operations in the branch. Just below the Branch Manager in the scheme of things. I had staff reporting to me and my work was quite interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. At last I had a Job I truly enjoyed and I was being paid well for doing it.
At my new Job, I was in charge of managing people and in some ways I felt I was good at my job and was soon proud about it. I have a skill for providing solutions when I noticed problems, worked well under pressure, learnt new things and taught my subordinates. To all i seemed invincible and I knew i was good at what I did.
My Archilles heel however was My pride!
May I interrupt this narrative to offer an advice.
Pride I have discovered or learnt by experience, can bring down a man from any height he may have attended in Life. Do not have an inappropriate opinion about yourself or your abilities. I don't advocate you have a low self esteem but I ask that you will be humble enough to acknowledge that God brought you to where you are in life and treat others with the respect they deserve. Be thankful to God for everything and don't snub others because of your position, power or possession in this life.
Going on. I had made it, I thought. I was in a position that I could exert influence and I soon lost my perspective on things, I was impatient with others when they didn't seem to understand or carry out my instructions, I was a perfectionist and a taskmaster of the worst kind. I soon became arrogant and constantly put down my colleagues when i pointed out their mistakes.
I seemed to have forgotten what it meant to be in their shoes
To be continued.......
2 kings6:24-33, 2 Kings 7:1-20
An Impossible situation...
Samaria has been surrounded by an enemy,The gates of the city have been locked and none of its merchants could trade. There was scarcity in the Land, The city was suffering from lack and poverty/famine was destroying the land.
An "Easy" but Costly Temporary Solution...
This state of affairs drove two Women to reach and unusual and a terrible agreement.Their agreement was to eat the children born from their own wombs!!! Note that these were not the sons of strangers they wanted to eat (Though that would have been strange enough) These were children they had nursed and raised all through the years.
Sometimes the circumstances we face can drive us to take terrible decisions. A woman who has been barren for a long time toys with the idea of visiting a native doctor. We are tempted to cut corners or to give bribe to get ahead in life.We are always tempted with an easy way out to a problem that seems too great for us to handle.
These women choose an "easy but costly solution".
How much are you willing to pay for that easy solution? When you go to the native doctor, the price tag is always hidden and always costs more than is advertised. You may be wondering if these women had any faith at all. You may question their spirituality but the truth is that no matter how much faith you have it takes God to keep you from taking that easy solution
For Example, Abraham, the father of faith, who did not have a son slept with a maid to get a seed.
This solution still affects all of Abraham's descendants till date.Elijah, after calling down fire from heaven and slaughtering 850 false prophets, wanted to die instead of face the threat Jezebel.
What are you willing to do anything to ensure your survival?
These women having reached their agreement took the first child and killed him. I wonder how it must have been for the woman who gave birth to this child.To look into your child's eyes and kill him! Did the child beg for mercy? Did he trust mummy not to do this?
All that does not matter as the evil deed has been done.
The first child is dead and digested.The women are hungry again and the time to kill the second child has
come. Sinful pleasures never truly satisfy.The second woman finds she can not do it and hides her child. The aggrieved former mother takes her case to the king.
Seeking Help from the Helpless... (When the Helper needs Help)
I think you need to hear her appeal to him, as the king was passing," Help, my lord, O King!"(2 Kings 6:26)People only seek help from others whom they assume have the solution to their problem. No one goes to a poor man for money; No one asks the blind to look after his property for him.The king in this case was being looked at to judge the issue and probably give a judgment in favor of the woman.While I would like to know how the king might have judged this case, of greater interest is his reply to the woman. Hear him:
"If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? ..."
After he heard the problem, he rents his Kingly robes to reveal that the King Himself needed help too! Under the facade of kingly robes and bearing was a sackcloth! When your supposed help needs help what can you do? When the one you consider to be the solution to your problem has a few questions that require answers.
What do you do? The idols that Goliath trusted in could not help him.That's what Satan does; he leads one to a battle only to abandon him on the battlefield.In Egypt the bible says God judged not only the people but the gods of Egypt that was supposed to be their source of help.
What is your source of confidence? Trust God He has never lost a battle.
The King got so upset and cancelled his fast. He had been waiting on the Lord with sack cloth but when he heard this cry he became dissatisfied. He was in desperate need of a solution and he faced off with the man of God.
And God Stepped in
The solution to their problem can by the word of the Lord.Can you imagine how the woman that ate her child would have felt when she heard that by the next day the famine would be over?
Can you imagine when the next day the word of God came to pass?
"At this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria"
Praise God!! No matter how bad the situation may be it takes the word of God to turn it around.He can speak to that situation and change it.
He can raise your Lazarus;Heal your issue of blood;Calm your storms;Slay your Goliath;Divide your red sea;Make fruitful Barren Sarah.The beauty of this is that he can do it in an instant!!
A famine that had lasted for a while was dealt with by the next day by God.God did not only provide a solution but he made it easy to access.It is at the gate of Samaria that the solution will be at. Your situation will not be an exception.
He can deal with that mountain,He can handle that situation if only you would trust him. Don't be impatient, Wait on God. He would do it. It is well. God will show up for your sake!
"And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent." (Genesis 9:20-21).
When we have been struck by a tragic event or have experienced a storm or set back in our lives, starting afresh could be a difficult task.
We wonder how we will build what has broken down, where we will find the strength to pick up the pieces of our lives and move on.
Some keep on recounting what has been lost and hold regrets for what failed to happen, so much so, that the strength to move on is spent on dealing with all the generated ill-feeling from the past experience.
Noah was an example of a man struck with tragedy. He lost his neighbours in the flood, he lost some of his personal belongings, he heard the cries of his neighbours calling out to him as they drowned in the flood, such voices must have echoed in his memory and haunted his dreams. could that be why Noah took to drinking? to suppress the voices and the memory of drowning neighbours and friends? Just asking but these are not the issue I seek for us to discuss today.
The point is that after his tragedy and loss of friends, neighbours property(whatever could not enter the ark), Noah began to be something! He started picking up the pieces of his life and building again. He took up the challenge and started a career. Despite his age he could start over!
Friend no matter the pain life throws at you its not enough an excuse to curl up and give up. Your life can begin again! You can still make something out of that experience.
Rise up and begin again. You were something before the tragedy and you can still become something after it. Don't give up on your dreams!
Dare to begin again.
I really don’t know how to start this and my heart is so overwhelmed that I can’t stop the tears from failing down my face.
I am fine on the outside, I have got a job, I’m doing ok at, My wife isn’t the problem, I thank you for those blessings you have brought to my life but I know all isn’t well on the inside of me.
I want to serve you and I would love to love you with all my heart but God I would be lying if I told you I have done that. I want to know you, I need you in my life and I can’t carry on with this religious façade for one moment longer. I’m tired of the mask I wear to church, that mask that makes everyone think, that I am such a wonderful brother but you know me.
You know the pride that lives within my heart, you know my struggle with thoughts that no one else knows. You know my pray less condition even when I shout so much in church at prayer times.
So please step into the darkness that is in my soul and save me from myself. Thank you for dealing with the power of the enemy but help me with my self!
Help me to know you more! Help me worship you in spirit and in truth, Jesus speak to me cause it has been a while we shared fellowship together. Help me deal with the darkness in my own Heart and Change me.
Can I know you for real? That is my cry today. If this bible is real then God let it work for me! I’m not asking for a new job, car or things but Let me know you as your word has said is possible to. Let me walk with you today and for the rest of my existence. Let me know the peace that comes from an inner change into the image of your dear son.
Let me know this Love of yours that passes Knowledge.
In Jesus Name. Amen
