This is something that happens everywhere in the world.
In NY, the Columbia, Yale or Harvard IB scions dominate the world of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan. Likewise for the Ivy League lawyers, they are usually set for a career at some of the most prestigious law firms in the US, mostly founded by some ex-alumni.
Most people know about Stanford/Caltech/UCB and the Silicon Valley connection. In fact, Sun Microsystems is basically owned by ex-Stanford comp sci grads.

My question is, do we have anything like that in Nigeria? Is there really an 'old boys network'? Do we have firms primarily dominated by ex-alumni of some certain institutions?  In my early job-seeking days, I came up a number of times against an 'Ife clique', in places like Telnet, Spar Aerospace (later GS Telecom), Philips Projects Center, and even Resourcery. These days, I hardly hear of such things among the fresh guys coming up. Though I hear Renaissance Capital is dominated by Ife people, that's just about it. All the places that I have worked, and indeed most organizations these days, people join from just about anywhere.

I think it's not so bad to have an old boys network. The only thing I have not seen in Nigeria, is what I consider to be the next level: old boys actually going on to set up their own outfit, and taking it up there. With all the Ife domination of Telnet and GS Telecom, I haven't still heard of any homegrown outfit founded by a bunch of Ife guys competing with those chaps. Pretty disappointing if you ask me.

What do you guys think?

AjanleKoko:

This is something that happens everywhere in the world.
In NY, the Columbia, Yale or Harvard IB scions dominate the world of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan. Likewise for the Ivy League lawyers, they are usually set for a career at some of the most prestigious law firms in the US, mostly founded by some ex-alumni.
Most people know about Stanford/Caltech/UCB and the Silicon Valley connection. In fact, Sun Microsystems is basically owned by ex-Stanford comp sci grads.

My question is, do we have anything like that in Nigeria? Is there really an 'old boys network'? Do we have firms primarily dominated by ex-alumni of some certain institutions? In my early job-seeking days, I came up a number of times against an 'Ife clique', in places like Telnet, Spar Aerospace (later GS Telecom), Philips Projects Center, and even Resourcery. These days, I hardly hear of such things among the fresh guys coming up. Though I hear Renaissance Capital is dominated by Ife people, that's just about it. All the places that I have worked, and indeed most organizations these days, people join from just about anywhere.

I think it's not so bad to have an old boys network. The only thing I have not seen in Nigeria, is what I consider to be the next level: old boys actually going on to set up their own outfit, and taking it up there. With all the Ife domination of Telnet and GS Telecom, I haven't still heard of any homegrown outfit founded by a bunch of Ife guys competing with those chaps. Pretty disappointing if you ask me.

What do you guys think?

ehn ehn?
didnt know o

so you worked with Resourcery? heard they are tryin to raise cash with IFC presently, do u have any idea how its going?

tkb417:

ehn ehn?
didnt know o

I said I heard o! I have absolutely no idea.

As per the IFC thingy, I don't have details, but may send you some offline info. Will ask my people there.

meanwhile, I need your comment. Do you think there is an Old Boys Network in Naija or not?

AjanleKoko:

I said I heard o! I have absolutely no idea.

As per the IFC thingy, I don't have details, but may send you some offline info. Will ask my people there.

ok, thanks

AjanleKoko:

I said I heard o! I have absolutely no idea.

meanwhile, I need your comment. Do you think there is an Old Boys Network in Naija or not?

i think i noticed the Ife and Unilag clique thing all the places ive worked. Im not sure its pronounced like the we have in the US. There are companies in Nigeria that tend to favour applicants from the old Universities ( UI, OAU, LAG, UNIBEN, NSUKKA and co). I have worked in places where OAU guys were 70% of the whole workforce. I dont think its deliberate but i know interviewers in Nigeria would probably wanna identify more with someone who passed through his or her school.

AjanleKoko:

This is something that happens everywhere in the world.
In NY, the Columbia, Yale or Harvard IB scions dominate the world of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan. Likewise for the Ivy League lawyers, they are usually set for a career at some of the most prestigious law firms in the US, mostly founded by some ex-alumni.
Most people know about Stanford/Caltech/UCB and the Silicon Valley connection. In fact, Sun Microsystems is basically owned by ex-Stanford comp sci grads.

My question is, do we have anything like that in Nigeria? Is there really an 'old boys network'? Do we have firms primarily dominated by ex-alumni of some certain institutions? In my early job-seeking days, I came up a number of times against an 'Ife clique', in places like Telnet, Spar Aerospace (later GS Telecom), Philips Projects Center, and even Resourcery. These days, I hardly hear of such things among the fresh guys coming up. Though I hear Renaissance Capital is dominated by Ife people, that's just about it. All the places that I have worked, and indeed most organizations these days, people join from just about anywhere.

I think it's not so bad to have an old boys network. The only thing I have not seen in Nigeria, is what I consider to be the next level: old boys actually going on to set up their own outfit, and taking it up there. With all the Ife domination of Telnet and GS Telecom, I haven't still heard of any homegrown outfit founded by a bunch of Ife guys competing with those chaps. Pretty disappointing if you ask me.

What do you guys think?

Sounds like you just want to take pot shots at OAU guys.

Although it is nostalgic when interviewing and you see someone from your old university, even more nostalgic if the person finished from your department, I don’t think there is anything like old boys network in Nigeria. Maybe a pocket of places like GS Telecoms, Telnet and Resourcery but these companies are a drop in the ocean and they don’t go out of there way to recruit people from a specific university. I’ve worked what seemed like an OAU ‘old boys’ network before but it was a coincidence. It wasn’t like HR was told only ex-OAU has to pass tests and be presented for interviews! Most likely vacancy information flowed more freely in OAU ‘old boys network’.

Commenting on your assertion that ‘old boys’ should join hand for entrepreneurial ventures, you ought to know that businesses in Nigeria is not for the faint hearted and enabling environment (competition laws, legal system, fair trading, infrastructure, venture financing, equal opportunity procurement/contracting, etc) has not been created to encourage entrepreneurship. The odds are stacked up against the would-be entrepreneur in Nigeria and most people would not take the risk to break away from their employers to start competing business if they are already comfortable working as employees.

Avenir:

Sounds like you just want to take pot shots at OAU guys.

On the contrary. Back then I had admiration for the informal flow of information, and the support system created by the pseudo-network, which by the way was built on reputation and not nepotism. These guys always felt that they needed to 'rep' their school, and they mostly did it to the max
Remember, these were all forward-looking, outstanding students from Ife. I have never minded competition, so it didn't really matter to me. I am just wondering how these support systems have not been more pronounced in other sectors, or have even developed beyond what I saw in those days.

For example, I am thinking: What of the guys finishing from Babcock and CU? The alumni who have experienced moderate success, should they not be establishing such support structures, in order to reinforce confidence in these schools in Corporate Nigeria? In the US, that is mostly what the network is all about. It sells programs at Harvard and Yale, since people will want to go to the schools that guarantee a listening ear from the likes of Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan. It also reinforces collaboration between industry and academia, like in the Silicon Valley example I cited earlier. For me, I think the Old Boys Network is not a bad thing at all. Maybe that's why the US educational system is much more interesting and competitive than its peers worldwide.

Avenir:

Commenting on your assertion that ‘old boys’ should join hand for entrepreneurial ventures, you ought to know that businesses in Nigeria is not for the faint hearted and enabling environment (competition laws, legal system, fair trading, infrastructure, venture financing, equal opportunity procurement/contracting, etc) has not been created to encourage entrepreneurship. The odds are stacked up against the would-be entrepreneur in Nigeria and most people would not take the risk to break away from their employers to start competing business if they are already comfortable working as employees.

I think there is nothing bad in an Old Boys Network supplying the economic and political system with credible hands that can influence the system positively. Sorry I have to use Ife as an example again. The NCC EVC, Ernest Ndukwe, a government functionary, is an ex-Ife chap. What if the NCC enables an opportunity in the telecom industry, that may immediately favour an entrepreneural effort by some other ex-Ife guys?Is there really anything bad in that?

I have seen the way Europeans in Nigerian MNCs surreptiously band together and somehow establish an informal network. Hire a South African chap to head up an MNC in Nigeria, and all of a sudden you begin to see a silent proliferation of South African personnel in key positions, as well as South African service providers/vendors. Sometimes, it is even maybe a bunch of ex-alumni of a certain MNC that show up to head a company in Nigeria, and they begin to summon their old colleagues and service providers. This happens all the time in Nigeria, and all of a sudden you begin to see Nigerians marginalized in their own country.

If the Ife informal network that was developing back then had taken firmer route, maybe in the ICT industry we would have seen more local content emerge. And at the end of the day, Nigerians would benefit, irrespective of whether they went to Ife or not. I didn't attend Ife, but still worked in some of the places where the 'Ife network' were prominent. Maybe that's why I saw an opportunity in that sort of bonding, given the tribal and religious complexities we seem to have in Nigeria. At least something else exists to bind Nigerians together.

Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward. It does not have to be a particular school affair. Notwithstanding, we cant shy away from the opportunity such networks offer.

Are talking you only about the OBN that comes from school cliques or also including the It's Who You Knows in general? I didn't go to school in Nigeria but before I even graduated, I had family and family friends offering me jobs in Nigeria. Cronyism exists and I know a lot of people back home (and even here in the US) that have their jobs solely because of connections they have or have made. Play the game or get left behind I guess.

Nothing like dat in naija

Old boys' network also exists in Nigeria. Many MNCs and companies in Lagos employ a lot of people from certain Universities. There is nothing bad in networking and assisting each other, but I must tell you that certain people take it too far and way out of proportion. If you did not graduate from their secondary school or Uni, you are treated as an outsider and an enemy. People from their secondary school or Uni are surreptitiously given positions of advantage or prominence so that they can take over management positions later. Even the eggheads back in the unis collaborate closely with the top management from their alumni, they supply them with oestrogens and errand boys or loyal while in return the names they forward get good positions in industry.
Many cults on campuses also operate on similar principles, collaborating with the powers in society to inflict hurt and harm on non-members, competitors or those who are perceived to be threats to their existence.
The truth is that many old boys' association exist not to improve society but to feather inordinate ambitions of godfathers and the likes. Consider that many schools( secondary and Unis) are in states of dilapidation while the old boys' watch and indulge in mundane activities, some of which cannot be mentioned here. Many of them have forgotten that the institutions were founded on religious principles which are diametrically opposite to what they practice now.
May God help our country

tkb417:

ok, thanks

i think i noticed the Ife and Unilag clique thing all the places ive worked. Im not sure its pronounced like the we have in the US. There are companies in Nigeria that tend to favour applicants from the old Universities ( UI, OAU, LAG, UNIBEN, NSUKKA and co). I have worked in places where OAU guys were 70% of the whole workforce. I dont think its deliberate but i know interviewers in Nigeria would probably wanna identify more with someone who passed through his or her school.

Chei!!! 

No hope for me if I wan come Naija then. 

hope ke? u wey be say d person intervewing u go fear for his job after having employed u . lol

The Old Boys Network exists in Nigeria. It has been in existence for a long time. My father attended a Technical School in Abeokuta, Ogun State, called Blaize Memorial Technical School in the 60's. Those were the days when Technical Schools and Colleges were functioning properly in Nigeria My father and a good number of his school mates founded a Social Club called THE BRIGHT FUTURE CLUB after they graduated. They helped themselves and awarded jobs to each other's companies. The club also organized yearly Christmas Parties and we the children of the members got to know each other as time went on. I discovered that the members had a hand in each other's building of houses and other life events. My father's bestman during his wedding was a member of the club. The club had both Yoruba, Edo and one or two Igbo members. Though the Club has fewer events these days and some members have died, the surviving members still see one another from time to time.

My alma mater, University of Ibadan, has a active old boys association that cuts across various sets. Members network with one another and help each other out. However, I also believe that regardless of cliques, one can make progress in life. Eagles soar alone. Cheers.


www.vibes-extra..com

Sagamite:

Chei!!!

No hope for me if I wan come Naija then.

hehehehe
for someone like you wey don go Tanaka?

u get more than hope sef

jay bee:

hope ke? u wey be say d person intervewing u go fear for his job after having employed u . lol

tkb417:

hehehehe
for someone like you wey don go Tanaka?

u get more than hope sef

lol 

My thinking is that the OBN is at secondary school level. Probably the KC and Barewa college boys.

Sagamite:


My thinking is that the OBN is at secondary school level. Probably the KC and Barewa college boys.

exactly.

Some secondary schools in 9ja has got a thing with moving 2geda decades after school. Abeokuta Grammar school Abeokuta (AGSOBA), Military schools, Kings and Queens Colleges, St Finbarrs, Loyola Jesuit Ibadan, GCI, Christ School Ado, some military schools in 9ja and some schools are good at rolling 2geda many years after graduating from school.

tkb417:

exactly.

Some secondary schools in 9ja has got a thing with moving 2geda decades after school. Abeokuta Grammar school Abeokuta (AGSOBA), Military schools, Kings and Queens Colleges, St Finbarrs, Loyola Jesuit Ibadan, GCI, Christ School Ado, some military schools in 9ja and some schools are good at rolling 2geda many years after graduating from school.

Queen's College? I purposely did not include them because my perception is that it is most likely they would be bitching on each other and only have superficial close friendships.

St Finbarrs? Are we talking about old generations or recent generations. I would never have thought the recents were of enough academic flair to achieve industrial domination to be able to form a Network. Abi I no know anything ni with my Jandee ignorance? 

Sagamite:

Queen's College? I purposely did not include them because my perception is that it is most likely they would be bitching on each other and only have superficial close friendships.

St Finbarrs? Are we talking about old generations or recent generations. I would never have thought the recents were of enough academic flair to achieve industrial domination to be able to form a Network. Abi I no know anything ni with my Jandee ignorance?

Ure right there Saga
i dont think the present crop of chaps from schools (Finbarrs; St Gregory) like dt can really pull any influence.

hehehe, dont let QC gurls catch u o, they are doing well but i doubt if their is any conscious effort to really pull stuffs 2geda

QC? lemme share s secret, if u aint a QC ex, i cant date you

tkb417:

Ure right there Saga
i dont think the present crop of chaps from schools (Finbarrs; St Gregory) like dt can really pull any influence.

hehehe, dont let QC gurls  catch u o, they are doing well but i doubt if their is any conscious effort to really pull stuffs 2geda

QC? lemme share s secret, if u aint a QC ex, i cant date you

So na so you dey fall for QC girls.

I remember the ones I used to meet back in the days, very pompous and arrogant bunch. I remember I used to have to give the ones I meet a good rap to put them in their place. 

I really doubt there would be that altruistic generousity between them to help each other out intentionally.

@Saga,
You go Tanaka?
After you don abuse all dem Ivy League schools finish? You suppose chop cane o

Sagamite:

Queen's College? I purposely did not include them because my perception is that it is most likely they would be bitching on each other and only have superficial close friendships.

St Finbarrs? Are we talking about old generations or recent generations. I would never have thought the recents were of enough academic flair to achieve industrial domination to be able to form a Network. Abi I no know anything ni with my Jandee ignorance? 

St Finbarrs is now a school for rascals and scallywags jare . . .

Redman44:


My alma mater, University of Ibadan, has a active old boys association that cuts across various sets. Members network with one another and help each other out. However, I also believe that regardless of cliques, one can make progress in life. Eagles soar alone. Cheers.

Y'hello, can you give more info on the UI Old Boys thing, I happen to be one ! Though I very much agree with you that one can make progress irrespective of cliques

AjanleKoko:

@Saga,
You go Tanaka?
After you don abuse all dem Ivy League schools finish? You suppose chop cane o

St Finbarrs is now a school for rascals and scallywags jare . . .

I no go Tanaka business school o.

I suspect tkb only used it as a figure of speech for qualities and prowess.

I still stand by my MBA arguments. https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-313588.0.html#msg4443234

The need and returns for me (others might benefit) does not justify the criminal expense, so keep your koboko back in your bag.  

^^ I no fit keep the koboko yet.
I just waka pass Exhibition road now, and I saw one Nigerian-looking chap peering suspiciously at me. You sure say no be you?

^^^ Me? No. I don run tay tay.

You no fit see me, you no fit catch me. Dem dey catch breeze. 

My papa go tell you stories of how I used to run from the cane. 

Finbarr's is not a school for scallywags as you mentioned Ajanlekoko. It has been returned to the Catholic church like some other missionary schools. The head of the OBN used to be an Ajanlekoko too( I think Segun). The school has produced many great Nigerians: in sports Stephen Keshi, Samson Siasia, Chris Anigala, Paul Okoku, Henry Nwosu, and many others. Ofcourse the founder Rev Dennis Slattery was an active an founding member of the Nigeria Football association and the Nigerian Referees Association. The gounds on which the University of Lagos stands was part of the land acquired by Rev Slattery when he arrived the bushes of Akoka many years ago.
The school was established to provide a mixture of Grammarian and technical education for its students, a reason why its graduates were very good at technical subjects like woodwork, metalwork, Tecnical Drawing etc, and the sciences like Physics, Chemistry, Biology as all these subjects were taught to students from class one unlike other schools which started them in class 3.
Finbarr's also has many distinguished professionals in other spheres of life which are too numerous to mention.

jay bee:

hope ke? u wey be say d person intervewing u go fear for his job after having employed u . lol

A very valid concern, actually. I can relate to that.
Reason is, if you have more paper qualifications than me, you would probably angle for my job eventually. Not that you can necesarily do it better, but your many acquired 'palis' would make you feel entitled to more, if you come back to Naija.

I've seen many scenarios like that play out here. So I would never hire you if that was the case

interesting post. and yes the OBN still exist in naija up till this very present moment. and also infulence also. i know a friend who got a job wth skyebank jst based on OBN and inluential person levesl. anyway me sef wan use OBN get jpb for naija now sha but all the same i dey also run things on my own wthout depending solely on my network.

axeman85:

interesting post.  and yes the OBN still exist in naija up till this very present moment. and also infulence also. i know a friend who got a job wth skyebank jst based on OBN and inluential person levesl. anyway me sef wan use OBN get jpb for naija now sha but all the same i dey also run things on my own wthout depending solely on my network.

What network do you plan yo use? And which did your friend use? Uni or Sec School?

Nice thread.

Why don't we form a Nairaland network?

What of Federal Govt Colleges? I know Ik has a strong network in the UK and Naija.