Dear Jobseeker: May Your Hustle Be Blessed | By Bayo Adeyinka

I had just finished my NYSC in 2000 and I was seeking employment. Those were the days when Guardian on Tuesdays and Thursdays were filled with adverts. I recall making friends with quite a few newspaper vendors so I can go through those newspapers for free since I couldn’t afford to buy a copy.

I can’t recall who saw that advert first but my friend, Deji and I decided to apply. The problem was we didn’t have transport fare to get to Lagos and back. The job was in Lagos and we had to apply in person though we were resident in Ibadan. We decided to look for money. Both of us ended up raising one-way fare. We had just enough to take us from Ibadan to Lagos. We couldn’t even raise funds to move within Lagos.

We decided to go. A man must be courageous. We packed our credentials in two envelopes and boarded a bus headed for Lagos at Iwo Road in Ibadan. When we got off, we took another bus headed for where we would attend the job interview. Deji and I looked at ourselves and laughed. We didn’t have a dime in our pockets. We had no idea how our adventure of faith would turn out. Or was it foolishness? A short while later, the bus conductor in his guttural voice shouted, ‘Owo e da?’ (Where is your money?).

I was closest to him. I raised my brown envelope and explained to him that I was a job seeker and I had used my last dime to get me to Lagos. I braced myself for the worst. I had heard so many tales about Lagos conductors. Those guys have no joy at all.

As the conductor looked at me in utter shock or was it amazement, my friend told him we are together. The conductor hissed and clapped his hands. His eyes were bloodshot. He started raining expletives on both of us and we really expected some rough handling.

I was just praying he won’t tear my clothes or make it dirty. I can cope with a slap or two. Suddenly, a man spoke from the rear of the bus and told the conductor he would pay for both of us. As is expected, the conductor kept on abusing us even as he asked whether he was the one who sent us to school. The man reprimanded him and reminded him he would pay for us. We thanked the man profusely and got down when we got to our stop.

After we were done at the job venue (story for another day), it was time to go back to Ibadan as we didn’t have anywhere to sleep. Both of us decided on a strategy. Deji had an uncle working at a government parastatal at Marina while I had a friend at Marina also. He would approach his uncle and try to get money for two while I tried the same with my friend. We had a place to meet up because that was pre-mobile phone days. Deji wasn’t quite lucky as his uncle was not in the office. My friend was able to give us enough money for our fare back to Ibadan.

So I understand what an average jobseeker has to go through-the rigour of funding his transport while looking for a job or attending an interview. It is with this background in mind that I want to pay for the fare of anyone who has an interview in Lagos and Ibadan this week and cannot afford same.

Please take note of the following:

1. You will show me proof of the interview. Send it inbox. Prompt me if you need my DM to be available.

2. I must be reasonably convinced you can’t afford the fare. I may conduct a background check on you.

3. The transport must be reasonable. No Uber or Bolt. Nothing else apart from the fare.

4. I have the right to disqualify anyone. The right to select ultimately belongs to me.

5. Please do not send anything beyond a request for fare. I will block you if you do so.

6. Do not attempt to scam me. I will know and you will not only be blocked, I will shame you publicly.

7. Lagos and Ibadan only this week. Resources are limited and once exhausted, it will come to an end.

8. If you’re interested in also paying for a few people, you can contact me.

While I sincerely appreciate accolades, I think the best thing anyone who is inspired by this can do is to do likewise. Pay for the transport of others too. I was inspired by the action of that man on the bus who paid our fare without knowing us 20 years ago and that friend of mine who paid our fare back to Ibadan. And I was also inspired by the action of someone on LinkedIn who did something similar. Go and do likewise.

Addendum: Earlier offer expanded to include online interviews in view of the changing times. So, if you have an online interview and need money for data, send a DM. Terms and conditions remain the same.

For transport, it is now open to anywhere in Nigeria and not just Lagos and Ibadan.

 

Bayo Adeyinka, an Administrator and Author; writes from Ibadan, Oyo State.