As a corper I never knew how difficult life is not until I passed out of service. Coupled with the fact that I passed this year April. The period Nigerian economy is shrinking. Workers are being retrenched rather than being hired. Everything come tire me sef. Hiring managers are just using me to play Ludo.
I had been thinking of relocating out of the Asaba city to some big cities that will boast my chances of landing a mouthwatering job. But am yet to make up my mind on the town to relocate to.
On the 11th of August 2016, I was sitting on my home at home when a friend called me that he saw an advert pasted on the wall of a building close to his streets. The advert said they were looking for someone who studied any medical related course for a job. As my friend told me, I wasn’t interested most especially all those adverts on papers pasted on fences, walls.
Na so my friend say make I just try and see if I can apply. We talked on phone and he said he would come pick me up to see the advert. He was pretty convinced it was genuine. Na so i begin wait till he came.
My friend came with his car and picked me to the place he saw the advert. We got there, it was not too far from where he stays which is Okpanam road, close to Akpu junction in Asaba. The advert was on white paper pasted on a fence surrounding a very beautiful white building. As we were looking closely at the advert, the gate of the compound opened and a young man walked out. The advert clearly stated that the vacancy was in that compound. We (I and my friend) called the guy that walked out of the building and asked he said it was true. That his boss who is the owner of the house was currently and seriously in need of a special assistant. “Assistant keh,” I thought they said someone who is into medical field. Which one be special assistant. “Abi na political affairs,” I thought to myself. The guy saw the look on our faces. He went inside to call another man. I was becoming confused and I sensed “scam.” The man began explaining that he was indeed the son of the house owner who is looking for a special assistant on medical related field. He said they were looking for someone that would assist their dad who is a doctor and the building is his office. So the person would be a special assistant and studied any medical or health related course. He said himself is an engineer.
I asked about the salary but he said they can only tell me when I am recruited. “for now they can’t tell me.” I was happy, feeling fly and confident that I was going to get the job. I gave them my CV and they said they will get in touch with me. Na so me and my friend leave.
You need to see the way I was jubilating when I got home. As if I had landed a million dollar contract. Considering the fact the white building of the so called hospital was a beauty to behold so I felt the job was mine and the pay would be great.
Two weeks later, I got a call from the white building asking me to come for a special interview. I was asked to come with some bunch of coconut leaves and two candles. And I began wondering, why “coconut leaves and candles?” I have never heard that any job applicant for any health related field was asked to get coconut leave or candles. When I told my friend, he said I shouldn’t just have any negative thought or ulterior motive about it. I should just do as was said. Maybe the coconut leaves would be used to prepare liquid concussion. “But how about the candle?” I thought to myself.
The interview day came, you need to see the way I was carrying coconut leaves like shepherd going to feed his goats. As I was walking with the eves on my shoulders, n so people just dey look me. The white shirt I was wearing was turning coloured.
I had to chatter a taxi with the last N300 I have to take me to the white building. The taxi driver even refused to take me into the street. He said he wasn’t going in, and I began wondering why. He dropped me Akpu junction. He said he couldn’t go farther than that. “Why the man no come tell me.” And I had already given him money.
After much dragging with the driver, and the special interview was schedule by 9am. I had to get down from the car just to meet up with the interview.
As I passed by the street going to the white building. The way I was dressed in cooperate wear carrying leaves on my shoulders. When I got there, my body had started smelling coconut leaves.
The engineer son brought me into their sitting room. That would be the first time I will be coming into the compound. The compound was quite beauty to behold, with moulded sculpture of cat, lion and rat in front of the main entrance. The images look real that I was almost scared. Imagine a pregnant woman with typhoid fever coming into this compound for treatment. Those moulded images can scare that typhoid fever away. Them no born typhoid well.
As I got to the sitting room, no one even collected the leaves and candle sticks I was carrying. I finally met the Doctor himself. The owner of the house and the man seeking for a special assistant. He was wearing a white agbada with white shoe, holding a walking stick with the head of a cat.
As I looked at the man(owner of the house), he was pretty aged. And I wondered why he was yet to retire from service to go rest. “Shey this man fit see microorganism for micro scope?” I thought to myself. The doctor asked me to sit. I sat. As I looked behind the chair I was seated, I saw scull of human head, and some other creatures. I was tensed. I guess the doctor saw it on my face, he asked me to relax and not to panic. He started asking couple of questions like “if I know how the blood of a snake tasted. If I have seen dead people before.” And how am I supposed to know when am not a weirdo! The questions were weird. I told him I hadn’t done all those things. He stood up and asked me to follow him. Everything was just looking strange to me. I was just scared and not convinced about the whole thing anymore.
The Doctor walked but I still stood looking as he walked. His son stood looking at me. He could see the fear in me. “Are you scared? Don’t you want the job?” the son said to me. Doctor turned back and looked at me. “My friend come with me joor. Are you not a man?” The doctor shouted at me. Na so fear enter my body I come follow him. We entered a room. Every were in the room was dark before he (Doctor) switched on the Light and I saw the shock of my life. I plenty calabashes, red cloths on the wall, tortoise crawling around and so many strange things, like the house of a native doctor. As at time, I was so scared. I felt I was going to die. I felt my life will end there with what I was seeing. Like I will be used for ritual. I didn’t know how to tell them I was no longer interested in the job, everything. I even felt my friend was even part of all the game to use me for ritual. I was just praying in my heart that God should just forgive my sins and accept my soul.
The Doctor started explaining why he was looking for someone like me. That he wants to move and repackage his traditional herbalist work. Before I knew what was happening, he brought out a knife and asked me to kneel. I immediately told him I wasn’t interested. I was saying it in a fearful tone. “Why,” he shouted. I didn’t just know what came over me, I turned my back and worked out of the room and out of the compound. Immediately I got outside the gate. Na so I begin run leave that environment. I ran towards akpu junction. I saw one keke coming towards my direction. Na so I stop it. I jumped in breathing heavily. With my countenance, he asked me what was going. I narrated what happened. He said I should thank my God I came out of that place alive.
When I got home, I called my friend that pressurized me to go for the job. I told him what I experienced. I even started by cursing him out, feeling he was part of the plan. I was so angry. Thank God. What of if I had continued the process with the doctor, maybe I would have turned to native doctor. After my parents had spent huge money on my education, after my years in the university, na native doctor I see to become! That’s impossible.


http://www.hovabuzz.com/frontline/1225-how-unempioyment-led-me-to-mistakenly-got-me-a-job-in-the-house-of-a-native-doctor

Bravo.. good fiction

Lol.

What a funny piece.
Do try to use paragraphs as it was a little cumbersome reading it all.

lwkmd