My Testimony Part 6- Faith in the midst of Darkness

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.