Growing up in Nigeria, I knew I was going to become a medical doctor. It was not a hard decision and I know that a lot of people especially Africans would understand. Back home, science students blessed with good grades are expected to end up as Doctors or Engineers and social-science/art students would become Lawyers and Accountants. Well, I could not really stand Physics so Engineering was out of it for me pretty early on. For students who ended up becoming medical doctors, the route taken to reach that goal was quite straight forward: finish secondary school with high grades, write Jamb and get admitted to study medicine and they were very much on their way. This isn’t the route for everyone but in my environment back then it was the most common route.

Compared with a few people that I know, I actually had a little driving force: I did not want to be a Nurse! Before you crucify me, my dad is a Nurse. A really good and passionate nurse if I must say and I admire him a lot. So my reasons? Well, I must have been about 9 years old when I got admitted into hospital because I had typhoid (“the lollies being sold outside the school gates are bad for you, you don’t know where the water’s from” my mum warned, but Payme had to find out the hard way :|. The things we put our parents through ey!). Back to business, there is one thing I hate about hierarchy and that is the ‘rudeness’ that people with no professionalism bring with it. And I am sure Nigerians can testify to it that right from primary school to places of work, ‘SENIORITY’ is the order of the day. I saw how some of the doctors talked to the nurses like the nurses were less important and I did not like it – there goes my first reason. Also, while on my hospital bed, I was being pampered and treated nicely and I would like to think that this was because the nurses liked my dad who was their colleague at the time plus he was also a unionist. He was not a paediatric nurse, but even in his absence, the nurses were really nice. But there was a stark difference between the way I was treated and the way the other kids in the ward were treated even with their parents present. They got their drugs, injections etc. on time but there was a distinct lack of empathy and the nurses/doctors were sometimes impatient when it came to reassuring the worried parents. I knew this difference was because they regarded my dad as one of their own and being his child, it was simply natural for them to be nice. Right there and then, as a child, I decided I was going to work in a hospital (albeit for selfish reasons) – there’s my second reason. So, I was going to work in a hospital and not as a nurse but as a doctor. Simple!

However, as a child, I never thought of the implications of those seemingly insignificant thoughts that led to my decisions. What would happen if I fell sick in a part of the country where none of my family members worked? Would I need to also train as a banker so that I can be treated nicely in banks? Would I build schools and employ teachers so that my own children will not be ignored while other teachers mainly focused on their colleagues’ children? Would I need to become a police officer or marry a policeman so that whenever my car gets stopped by officers who are mainly interested in my N20, I can just get myself out of the situation by presenting my ID card or simply placing a phone call?...


Read the concluding part here [http://paymes2cents..co.uk/2012/02/nigerian-dream.html]


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Good post but too long.
Passion and aspiration are both good career determinants, but most, especially nigerians are victims of norms and circumstances. The ever increasing challenges faced in Nigeria has led to a 'normal' and 'no choice' thing. Thats why you see graduates and undergraduates with the wrong notion imparted on them by nature and drive to survive (and not to succeed) always forgetting their goals and opting for what will 'just put food on their table'.

Payme_My2Cents: This is my own way of #OccupyingNigeria. Are you with me?

Well, you certainly 'occupied' this thread. Hardly any space left to post anything.
And the post itself? A long winding journey that eventually led to nowhere.

unfortunately, it was not easy going through this post. I tried cherry picking the content but still could not stand the length of the piece.

Op, next time try make it short so that we can grasp the message easily.

AjanleKoko:

Well, you certainly 'occupied' this thread. Hardly any space left to post anything.
And the post itself? A long winding journey that eventually led to nowhere.

AJ too dey yab people these days.


Pemi, here on NL, people dont have the time to read long posts. Write your points and put the link to ur blog.

I was seriously looking for the Go Down hyperlink.





Had to scroll down in the end.

Seems i've seen the article on this board before.

nitrogen: Good post but too long.
Passion and aspiration are both good career determinants, but most, especially nigerians are victims of norms and circumstances. The ever increasing challenges faced in Nigeria has led to a 'normal' and 'no choice' thing. Thats why you see graduates and undergraduates with the wrong notion imparted on them by nature and drive to survive (and not to succeed) always forgetting their goals and opting for what will 'just put food on their table'.

True, it is a long article but I did not have NL in mind when I wrote it . Tryna use this medium to share the contents of my blog with folks on here. Praying for the day that majority of Nigerians will no longer have to settle when it comes to pursuing their goals. Thanks for taking the time to read through.

yamakuza: I was seriously looking for the Go Down hyperlink.

Had to scroll down in the end.

Seems i've seen the article on this board before.

Hiya, a friend once shared the article on here before I opened my own account. I am pretty new on here and do not understand what you mean by 'Go Down' link. Please explain and thanks for reading

ayox2003:

AJ too dey yab people these days.


Pemi, here on NL, people dont have the time to read long posts. Write your points and put the link to ur blog.

Thanks, I'll consider that. NL people might wanna slow down though lol

AjanleKoko:

Well, you certainly 'occupied' this thread. Hardly any space left to post anything.
And the post itself? A long winding journey that eventually led to nowhere.

wow, thank God you were finally able to squeeze in ur lil comment then ey? Each to their own, there are others who would gain from it. Thanks

Payme_My2Cents:

wow, thank God you were finally able to squeeze in ur lil comment then ey? Each to their own, there are others who would gain from it. Thanks

Hey. Don't sweat it. Just keep the narratives short, and get to the point quickly. We don't have all day.

Being passionate about the career one wants to pursue is really important. It the passion that would sustain one at those times when every thing seems to be going wrong in ones pursuit. Hence a career worth pursuing should be what I can do all day enjoying it. Therein lies ob satisfaction. The absence of the role passion is meant to play in the career choice of Nigerians accounts for the care free attitude of some workers at workplace. You see employees literally waiting to be pushed to carry out the duties of the role they fill.

This impacts workforce distribution negatively. If everyone becomes a doctor, who will play the role of a nurse, and who will be the pharmacist? Also pursuing career with seemingly higher monetary rewards will inevitably bring about cutting corners to get into these proffessions. This in turn brings about a lower standard of delivery on the job than should be cos the best hands don't have the jobs.

^ Thanks for the summary!

yamakuza: ^ Thanks for the summary!

Lol