@OP:

I'm a soldier in the British Army. I have served both in the UK and Germany, and also deployed on an operational tour of Afghanistan..only just returned last month. If you need any guidance on how to join and also information regarding life as a British soldier, you can contact me on naureaga@yahoo.co.uk

Cheers

I've followed this issue of "Dangote Graduate Drivers" with very keen interest, and I've seen some really interesting comments from several people on different internet forums. Its funny how many people who criticized the scheme initially, seem to be the same people who are expecting emails for the interview..lol

I usually don't comment on Nairaland (I just read), but I thought I should say a thing or two about this topic, based on my own personal experience:

I'm currently serving in the British Army as a Logistic Supply Specialist, and as part of my training, I had to learn to drive trucks. I currently have a car licence and 2 truck licences all paid for by the Army. Acquiring a truck licence in the UK costs between £2,000 - £3,000. A lot of you might be wondering how easy it is to drive those massive things, I'll tell you honestly, its easy. There are girls in the Army who are about 5ft and quite tiny who drive these trucks with relative ease...how much more a Naija guy..lol. In the Army, we were taught with MAN trucks, these trucks are manual transmission trucks with 8 gears. Obviously, you need to already know how to drive a car before you can drive trucks, so all you have to do is be aware of the differences between a truck and a car (e.g weight, length, width etc) while driving and also with manouvres.

Regarding the relevance of having truck driving experience, let me tell you a little about myself..

I come from an IT background (Web development to be precise), I graduated here in the UK with a degree in IT & Business Information Systems (where I was introduced to Logistics & Supply Chain Management Processes and Systems). After university, I worked as an e-commerce developer with an electronics equipment supplier. I was responsible for all the online e-commerce stuff, payment integration etc..but I also learned a lot about order processing, shipping etc. I had always been fascinated by the retail industry in the UK (both online and offline), and this job exposed me to all the things that went on in the background before an item got to your front door or got on the shelves (e.g Tesco, ASDA, New Look, Asos, H&M etc)

Anyway, so I joined the Army to get my hands dirty in "Logistics & Supply"..and I'm enjoying it so far. I had to constantly tell myself "forget the fact that you have a 2:1 degree from a British university, humble yourself and learn!". Sometimes, my colleagues and even my superiors ask me why I'm here when I could easily be sat in an office. But I tell them I was sat in an office in London, I resigned and chose to do this.

My simple point is this, no knowledge is lost. Do not be put off by the fact that you're a graduate and now you're gonna be driving trucks for Dangote. The Nigerian retail market is gradually developing. Imagine what will happen when we start having more retail outlets, and you start having big retail giants from abroad setting up shop in Nigeria. Imagine that you've gained some experience in Logistics, Distribution and Haulage and managed to set up your own logistics company..think about how much money you'll make. Driving trucks is just a small part of Logistics, do not focus on the driving, think logistics!..

Hope I've been able to help someone out there. Make the best of whatever opportunity comes your way...and always be grateful.

Off to Germany tomorrow to resume my new posting...whoop whoop!!

@Osisi

Its a pity u had to do those jobs u did in the UK, but i bet u learnt a lot from them.

There's a way life teaches us certain lessons we NEED to learn in order to become more HUMAN in the way we see and treat other people. I've actually parted ways with a number of people because of the kind of unbringing they had (The Silverspoon type), not that they're bad people or anything, but by virtue of the way they were brought up, the seemed to believe they were better than other people, and that is against my principles.

Although i never had to hawk anything when i was young, i had my own fair share of hardship, and that has helped me appreciate life better, and also to know that u're not better than the next man, u're just fortunate to have the kind of life u have.

We are not responsible for where we are coming from, but we are responsible for where we are headed.

A slave was conceived in the same way as a free-born, every man is EQUAL in the sight of God.



Cheers

As far as i'm concerned, power is the only important thing in this country, u don ever hear say LASTMA catch Army/Navy/Airforce Officer or even their useless cousins (Police)?, e no possible

My simple advice is: If you dont want common criminals like LASTMA/Police to keep harrasing you in this country, just go and do Short Service Commision in the Military for just 3 years, then we'll know who has more power. If LASTMA tries stopping you, you have the POWER to put the LASTMA Official in your car booth and drive them to the nearest Barracks,

E be like say 3rd class graduates plenty for this Nairaland!, see as all of them dey vex, Na who say make una no serious when una dey school?

Awon olodo oshi!!!

This is a very wonderful innovation, I believe women in their 60s will be interested, LMFAO