Oyibookaa

 Although an Igbo name, Oyibookaa is also used as a slang to describe someone who speaks much accented English. The literal translation is ‘English is supreme.’ The accented English referred to, is the type with a British or American intonation/interference – the very one reminiscent of returnees. By returnees, one refers to the group of people who stirred the work scenes in the late 90s to mid 2000s, rattling the market with unbelievable salaries and service fees they commanded.

These returnees some argue were responsible for the sudden boom in the foreign education sector in Nigeria. Others argue, one was paying for the boldness to challenge status quo alongside the presentation skills on offer. I found a recent experience quite intriguing, hence I’m stopping to share.

It was a reaction from an older friend who is a Senior Executive in a multinational. While chatting with another friend a few weeks back, he mentioned that he was looking to fill a role within his team. This other friend whom I’d call Ms. X is often eager to help, having a dossier of friends and being a returnee herself. She quickly offered that she had two resumes of returnees. Our Senior Exec friend gave a vehement shake of his head, muttering, “no, no, no, please, no returnee for me, I’m done.”

When we pushed for reasons, he said to us “look I’m looking for someone to bend down and work, not produce power point and talk me to death.” Ms X, a holder of a bachelor of science degree in argument, engaged this Senior Exec friend in a big argument, accusing him of having a mindset about returnees. Our friend Mr. John stood his ground, putting forward examples of three returnees he had employed – one he said he recruited from a job fair in the US. He said he was mortified at the dissonance between the person’s output and promise made at the interview.

I chipped in to ask if the person was provided with the right support and a full understanding of his/her work scope. He reported that having managed teams in a multinational for over 30 years, surely he must have a strong sense of what is required to deliver on a role.

He narrated that what worried him was that this person consistently gave the best presentation with the best use of words, and anything thereafter was a struggle. He was confident execution was missing in their studies – he said to us, that with the first recruit he blamed himself for over expecting, cut his expectations, resized the role and still more ‘jumping power points’ was all he got. Then he hired another one for sales and he kept dealing with bad attitude and cultural issues. Despite this, he tried the third one and it was at that point that he said he had had it with them. He wasn’t sure if it was him, but if he had run through all three then something was wrong.

I left him wondering if perhaps he was just unlucky with recruitment as he was the first person I had ever heard such views from. I do know though that boldness to speak up at any level; question and challenge is one thing that returnees easily possess – I mean in that way that challenges the status quo.

While in a marketing communication agency, we used to discuss how lucky we were to be able to do this freely. Marcoms is that small corner of the world, where there was no boss in the brain storming sessions, where only the superior argument won. Where you were almost killed for not having a view (you must have a view, you just must!); cleaners passing by, drivers, everyone had to have a view, as the best ideas came from the most unlikely, was the mantra. That’s what fascinated me when I went ‘a second round of school ex Nigeria,’ the ability to have a view on about everything – my young classmates, questioned queried everything – before I could distil my thoughts and phrase it in a presentable way, my colleagues had blotted it out!- They even explained it away, saying ‘I’m thinking as I’m talking here so bear with me’- I thought the rule was talk after you have thought, I sat there wondering? Lecturers were watching out for team interaction and so, I eventually jumped on the bus.

A Nigerian UK-based friend recounted how she was mocked during her undergrad days at her university based in the South. She was studying law and had been given an assignment and in her assignment; a notable SAN had won a case against another person and she gave her views, saying she believed the judgement in his favour was wrong – and she gave reasons. On a visit to the staff room – she heard a lecturer pointing at her and saying to the other ‘imagine’? – that’s the young girl that said the SAN’s judgement was wrong. Both lecturers giggled at the audacity of an undergraduate to say the judgement was incorrect.

Her experiences in her post-grad school delighted her much. She was in her elements with the debates, arguments. She’s reported that it has made her bolder and able to face anyone. I do think starters need a good portion of Oyibookaa to be honest, you just need to then walk the talk.