I was privileged to work as a typist/data processing officer in the Ministry of Health of a particular oil-rich state in Nigeria during my NYSC days. Luckily for me, the directorate I worked with was one of the few directorates that worked directly with the office of the honorable commissioner, so I became a popular face in his office because of my unlimited access. I remember that I would unrestrictedly go to his fully air-conditioned office to watch the TV and even charge my phone as it was the only office in the whole building with constant electricity. At that office, I would usually engage visitors in the waiting room on politics and other social issues. Some of these visitors were mostly struggling contractors trying to seek favor from the honorable commissioner, self-anointed prophets from nowhere churches seeking donations, and some other persons who came with proposals for the commissioner's kind consideration.

So there was this particular secretary of the honorable commissioner who was not even the main secretary but mostly engaged directly with visitors in the waiting room and most of the time, she unilaterally decided who would eventually see the commissioner or who would not. This powerful position made her like an emperor feared by everyone. And like Judas, she used her position to help herself as some desperate persons were ready to tip her any amount just to get a life-changing moment with the honorable commissioner.

So it came to pass one early morning as I was resuming work for the new year, decked in a black kaftan, a pair of well-polished office shoes, and a black “Awo-cap” to match. All black everything. I suddenly took notice of a young woman approaching me as I entered the main gate to the civil service secretariat but I couldn’t place her familiar face in my memory until she greeted me, “Happy new year, Corper”, then I looked closely at her only to discover that it was this same secretary. Immediately, I knew something drastic had happened to her as she looked diminished. I asked her if she had been on leave during the last days of the previous year because I didn’t see her in her office. She looked at me with sorrowful eyes and said in a shaky voice, “I am no longer in that office”. Really? Gadamnit! “What could have happened?" I asked myself in my mind. Then I noticed that she was actually a young woman around my age bracket who only augmented herself by a now-vanished-proud demeanor. No thanks to the shoulder-padded suits she wore during her glory days.

I later got to know that the honorable commissioner had been complaining about her incessant lateness and he had warned her severally without a visible change in her work ethic. Her lateness even got worse and he couldn't condone such indolence anymore. So he directed that she should be transferred to another directorate in the ministry.

Lateness in the Nigerian civil service is almost a normal thing. Workers would casually stroll in around 10:00 am and leave in the next 30 minutes only to resume again the next day. That's how they roll. In fact, ministries are run in ways that justifiably render workers unproductive. Sometimes, there won’t be a single electricity supply for weeks and that means no work. So imagine her leaving a well-furnished office with constant electricity for another office where the ceiling fan has not worked since the last “World Cup year”. Imagine the daily tips and gifts that won't be coming anymore because another had taken her place. As of then, working at the commissioner's office was a great privilege. Workers there sometimes make their monthly salary in a single day in gifts. So they usually don’t look tattered like their colleagues who basically live on cooperative contributions and loans. It was surely a depressing moment for her!

Then to my question, what is the foundation of your confidence? Many people today feel confident because of their position or possession(s). Take that position or possession from them and see how fast they shrink into their shells. A friend of mine once told me that his confidence is based on the luxury brands he wears. That means that he would work the street like a bird beaten by the rain the day he can’t afford those brands. Some people's confidence is built on the money they have in the bank, their flashy cars, social media followings and engagements, etc. Just like the woman in this article, her overblown figure deflated the day she was shown the door out of the commissioner's office.

Now you may ask, what should a man's confidence be built on? The foundation of a man’s confidence should be built on what he has in him, not on him. Your confidence should be formed on what can not be taken away from you, not your position or what you have materially.

Life will surely happen to everyone and you might get your fair share sooner than you can ever expect. You may lose your job or be demoted at any time. Such is life! That beautiful car of yours that you cruise around with could be written off tomorrow or even today. What will happen if you lose all your life savings like people do? But you see, that which can’t be taken from you like your talents, skills, knowledge, education, insights, creativity, innovation, etc should be the basis for your confidence because come what may, what you know, you know. Nothing can displace a man from these things. Nothing!


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I totally agree with you.