Dear young person, stay true to your values
‘Don’t worry about the cost of the training, we can poach you and reimburse the bank.'
Hi guys,
Hope you are well. I’m doing okay, Alhamdulillah.
To be honest, I’m doing better than okay. I’m great, Alhamdulillah. A few of you reached out to check in when my newsletter did not arrive on Sunday, which is the standard delivery date.
No, I did not die, lose my hands or feel terribly depressed.
** side note: Getting messages or emails from people who did not receive my newsletter on a particular date/time really is heartwarming. It is a much-needed reminder that there are one or two people for whom my writing is valuable. And sometimes it is all the motivation I need to continue.
You see, it was quite the opposite. I had a very engaging (yet very wholesome) weekend filled with discussions and interactions with family, mentors, and some of my favourite people on earth. And as much as I love my online community, nothing beats in-person interactions.
Now it is 1:21 am on Monday morning, and I am trying desperately to write something so I can say I still pushed out content this ‘weekend’. I also have a 3am meeting (team in another time zone) that I am trying to stay up for.
Let’s see how that goes. 🤡 🤡
Stay true to your values
Yesterday, I was fortunate to have a (long-awaited) meeting with a Nigerian banking executive. We spent perhaps 30 minutes catching up and then I got the opportunity to ask a few questions to get insight into 30+ years of experience in the corporate life.
When I sought for general life advice a young person should know, he started with ‘be true to your values’.
The story goes like this.
About two decades ago, he was sponsored by a Nigerian bank to go for a very valuable training in the United Kingdom. This training was best-in-class and he was specifically sent to acquire some expertise that was lacking in our banking ecosystem back then.
A few weeks after he arrived, he went for Jumah prayers and met a friend who worked for Standard Trust Bank. Their conversation went something like this.
‘Asalam alaykum Alhaji’
‘Wa alaykum salam my brother, how are you doing?’
‘I’m good o, how’s the family?’
‘We thank God.’
‘Oga you no even ask of us ehn…’
‘No vex, you know as things dey be.’
‘Yes o I sabi. We just moved to a new office sef, let’s walk together so I can show you around.’
‘Okay my brother, I still have some time.’
He went with his friend to the new office and spent a few minutes looking around and saying hello to people he knew.
Then Tony Elumelu walked in.
** side note: At this point, Tony Elumelu was the CEO of Standard Trust Bank, not long before the UBA merger. While Tony was not yet the billionaire businessman he is today, he was already a rising star and quite noteworthy.
‘You must be Ade (not real name).’
‘Hi Tony, nice to meet you.’
‘Nice to meet you Chief. Come and work for us now.’
‘Hahaha Tony what do you mean? I’m just here for a visit o, nothing like that.’
‘I know, but Oga we know you recently acquired xyz skills in xyz training. Why don’t you join us and implement them?’
‘Ah you know I was sponsored by ABC bank. I need to spend time in my job putting everything I learnt to use.’
‘Yeah you can do that here. We will create a new role for you, you can run xyz which is more than what you’re doing currently and you’ll still be able to utilize the training.’
‘Sounds interesting, but what do I tell the bank? I can’t just leave.’
‘Don’t worry about the cost of the training, we can poach you and reimburse the bank. Nothing at all to worry about.’
‘Okay let me get back to you.’
By the time Mr. Ade left the office, he had received an appointment letter for a new job.
But he never took the job. In fact, he never sent a response to Tony’s letter.
Why?
It just didn’t feel right. While he was not legally obliged to stay (or could have been bought out of his old contract), he did not feel comfortable leaving a company that had just invested a lot in him. Besides, he loved his job.
As fate will have it, his bank eventually became defunct and Tony Elumelu became one of the most successful African bankers of his generation. Had he accepted that job, he would likely have been a member of a very powerful inner circle that today has business dealings in financial services, power, real estate, oil & gas, hospitality, and healthcare across Africa.
Looking back, he has no regrets. He ultimately built a very successful career as well, but has gone through a route he feels a lot more comfortable with.
His advice to me, to you, to any young person who cares to listen - stay true to your values, things will work out fine in the end.
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This is the space where I remind you to subscribe and share.
Merci beaucoup,
Hameed
** jara content:
“The only thing worth investing in is your head, because it is the only thing that goes with you wherever you go. Everything else - properties, cars, material goods - can all be taken away from you, but your head will always remain. And if you have the misfortune of being separated from your head, then nothing else will matter very much.” - Tidjane Thiam
** Author’s note:
I am open to ideas to liven up this newsletter.
Please feel free to share potential topics you think I might find interesting and are worth devoting a newsletter to. Perhaps we may also introduce a Q&A section, so (anonymous) subscribers can ask questions and we can share answers with the community.
This is just me thinking out loud for now, but you may shoot me an email if you have any ideas.
Have a great week. 💫
Great content as usual, Abdulhameed. I think it's Raymond Reddington (Yess Blacklist >>>) that said "Value loyalty above all else." And while it's perfectly logical to argue for 'putting yourself first' and ignoring the organization, we should however not ignore our duty to those who put their faith in us, because in the end a good name >>..
Btw first comment on a Monday morning, where are my flowers??
Thanks Abdulhameed for this excellent article as usual! I agree with staying true to one’s value. However, I believe one must strike a balance between loyalty and personal/career growth. I have been in situations where, choosing employer’s loyalty over mine would perhaps have been detrimental to my career and missing out on the relevant skills which I should have acquired at that stage in my career. The peculiar scenario in this article is one I agree with as the current employer has also invested in the person and it makes sense to be loyal to them or at least repay the investment in kind.