So sometime last week, the nationwide strike in Nigeria which was called in protest of fuel prices was called off, and people could finally return to work. It begs two questions- especially for those of us a bit clueless about the situation, due to not being present in the country at the time-, the first one being why exactly was the strike called, the second what purpose it achieved, if any.
I was still half-pondering these two questions when I received a LONG email from my mum early one morning, pretty much giving her own view on the situation. Seems she was just inspired to write out her feelings on it, and I thought I'd share. She said she'll try sending it to Punch newspaper for publishing, so I'm sure she won't mind me posting it here, whether or not she eventually sends it to them. I found it enlightening, and hopefully, if anything, it'll be enlightening to you too.
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Subsidy- I HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED INDEED!
If there was anything President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan promised those of us that voted for him in the last election, it was transformation. I was so willing to vote for him that I had to spend my election weekends away from my place of residence to where I was chanced to register, so as to be able to perform our very very important civic responsibility.
I not only voted for him, I did a lot of personal campaigning for him because I appreciated his calmness and tolerance during the death of our late president Musa Y'aradua. I watched with great interest how Nigerians fought the so-called 'invisible and invincible Cabal' for the transfer of power to him as the acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I saw in him a man that was faithful to his Boss even in death. This seemingly good attitude endeared many of us to him, and made us vote for him.
In my character, my interest in governance always ended at the polls. My vote vis-a-vis my governance right has been handed over to the candidate, and he could do and undo as it pleases him until another election period. I never bothered to ask questions as to what is being done or not, because being a Nigerian is enough of a burden for me to bear on a daily basis. The troubles and struggles of fending for my family, generating my electricity, my water, my security and managing my private business without any sincere and genuine help from the government and the search for how to pay the never ending levies from local, state and federal governments have dealt enough blows to me that I have spent major parts of my life running from pillar to post in order to make both ends meet.
Although I do listen to news regularly, this 'Garman Garman' lifestyle of the typical Lagosian ensured I never digested the information. I just listen with one ear, and it goes out from the other ear. I would only hear that the Federal Budget and the State Budget have been presented and that would be the end of it. I knew when the 2012 Budget was presented to the Senate but I never showed any interest in it. With me as usual, it was alright, and as the National Assembly was responsible for its approval on my behalf, what was my business?
I was opportuned to watch the Town Hall debate but I still could not make sense of the trouble the civil rights groups were making over the fuel pricing. I was just wondering how troublesome these people were. When the NLC and TUC were calling for a strike, I was very irritated about it, knowing that they would be disturbing my never ending daily struggles to make ends meet. I had spent a better part of my life trying to be my own government because I felt that was the only option left for my survival. I prayed silently that there would be no strike until the harsh reality of the hike in the fuel price was biting more and more from all sides.
I paused for a moment and reviewed everything and saw a great sense in the call for a strike. For the first time I lost interest in my own personal struggle for survival. I chose to join in this worthy cause. I began to tell everyone like me to be prepared for the strike by rounding up on essential jobs, loading the house with food in readiness for the battle not knowing when to resume work. For the first time I did not calculate how much I would lose in my business, rather I saw the need to liberate myself and even my children from oppression. It was one period in my entire life that I never thought of my business. All I did was to listen, digest, investigate every argument on different television stations, and I was buying newspapers to learn more about what has been done with my vote and right as a citizen of this great nation called Nigeria.
For the first time I discovered what a careless Nigerian I had been. I realised I had carelessly mortgaged my life and the future of my children in the hands of “Political and Economic Theorists” who when the chips are down cannot even run private businesses successfully, except to fight to occupy political offices where money-making at our expenses is easy. They go about quoting big, big figures and terminology that never solve any national problems. Their statistical data never rhyme and you often wonder about the source. They have succeeded in brainwashing us to belief they have the solutions to the nation’s problems. Instead, our problems go from frying pan to fire. I sincerely felt disappointed with myself for this unpatriotic attitude of mine. For the first time I read the proposed budget, I studied and digested it. I could not believe the figures being quoted for government expenses. I then realised I had only been searching for solutions to life challenges in the wrong direction. As good as it is that I should manage my business, run my home and my life, it would forever be an uphill task if I should neglect the very core of my being a Nigerian. That is, knowing how the economy of my nation is being managed and how I am being governed.
If there is anything that we have all identified as the bane of our nation it is this ten-letter word CORRUPTION. I buried myself studying the proposed budgets and listening to the different presentations of patriotic and intelligent Nigerians, and staring me in my face with piercing clarity in our proposed national budget was this ugly word Corruption! For the first time I appreciate the struggles of the different civil right groups, I appreciate the Odumakins, Olisa Agbakoba, Femi Falana and Pastor Tunde Bakare, Professors Pat Utomi and Tam David West who I had carelessly branded trouble-makers, but knowing better I now salute their courage; their defiant boldness is appreciated. I tolerate even their so-called “excesses” in this struggle. I appreciate the entire team of Nigerian artistes that took part in the stuggle; they made us proud. Kudos to the youth activists that made the difference indeed. Because if there was anything they have achieved in the lives of we hitherto sleeping Nigerians, it is that we have woken up from our slumber and things, I believe, will never remain the same.
Throughout the five or shall we say seven and a half days of the strike I cannot remember eating seriously or even sleeping much. Though I was not able to be at the freedom square, I was so engrossed in the monitoring and researching of facts and waiting for the outcome of every meeting as if I was in Abuja. I was quite nervous and worried that there may be compromise on the side of Labour leaders. I spent time praying for wisdom for everybody involved in the struggle. I waited all night for the outcome of their meeting with the President. At about 1:30am when the NLC president came out alone to talk to the press I was there. I was however more worried about his look. He was looking like somebody who had escaped from the battle front to come and relay information to the press. As much as I appreciated that, I however smelt a rat in the whole thing as I could not make sense in the information he brought, and I was getting more agitated and was beginning to sense a possible betrayal from Labour.
I decided to be patient and wait for President Jonathan’s address to the nation at 7:00am. I was even more disappointed with the speech as it was not a fatherly speech to children who have been bruised and disappointed. It was not reconciliatory either. I saw in that speech that he was disappointed with us for protesting, he was not even as tolerant as I thought he was. I felt more pain and anguish with the speech. To add more salt to injury was the fact that our freedom square had been barricaded with heavily armed SOLDIERS as if there was war. This I saw to be political, rather than protective of us. And this was supposed to be a democracy! I was still pondering over this and not knowing what to do or say when I learnt the Labour leaders would address us. I tried to encourage myself to wait for the next move from the address at 1:00pm. To my greatest shock and surprised the strike was called off by Labour. All I could feel were pains, betrayal, disappointment and of course confusion.
In moments like this I always result to prayer and it did work for me, because suddenly I realised I have been in another realm of life for the past seven days. A part of me that I never explored, a part of me that was probing for truth, a part of me that was ready to fight for my right. I was prepared to be on strike until God knows when, now realising that prior to this I had lived a life of suffering and smiling. Honestly speaking, I tried to recover from it all. It was like I had been catapulted into another realm and now trying to face reality. I could not believe the TRANSFORMATION the whole revelation had done to my life. I became a new Nigerian and I now know better.
In all of it I saw God at work. I believe it was a divinely orchestrated “ERROR” on the part of Government to remove subsidy at the same time they are presenting the national budget, because if there was anything I could say I enjoy as a Nigerian, it was the fact that our fuel is not really expensive. So, removing the so-called subsidy in a chunk like that was like removing the hope of the common man. It is the only blessing we enjoy, leaving the rest to the Government to do as they like. It is the only hope of the ordinary Nigerian. It is very fibre of our tolerance. The audacity to remove the subsidy led us to actually probe the spending. This then opened the can of worms we have been living with as Nigerians. I believe that if the subsidy removal was done much after the budget, we would not have seen the light. I must however appreciate the role of Labour and their decision to end the strike, though I may have been disappointed with them, but it was a wise thing that they so did. This really helped to douse the tension.
I believe a lot was achieved, but even if it seems as if nothing was achieved, the fact that we Nigerians have woken up from slumbers and our eyes of understanding have opened is a big achievement for us. We must now be in control of our destiny by asking questions. This is a window of opportunity for us to seek the truth, demand for the truth from our leaders, and I believe God purposely permitted it. We must maximise the use of the Freedom of Information Act. I know that should we have succeeded in bringing the pump price of petrol to sixty-five naira, the next weapon of the government would have been fuel scarcity. We must realise that there is no way we want to fight corruption that it will not fight back, as we saw with the soldiers at the freedom square. But we remain undaunted. We shall not give up.
One thing however surprised me in the whole saga. It was the role played by our spiritual and royal fathers. I would have thought it was a golden opportunity for them to lend their voices to condemning this evil called corruption we have all been praying and fasting against. They all had the opportunity to condemn it in the open, but none did except for an Anglican Bishop in Ado Ekiti that lead a protest, and the Islamic clerics that spoke at the freedom square. I cannot remember any open condemnation of this evil from majority of our spiritual and royal fathers that we all look up to. We did not expect them to leave their lofty thrones and anointed pulpits to come out on the streets to protest, but perhaps a staff of office message from the pulpit would have gone a long way to add credence to this sincere struggle. Well, I take solace in a message once preached by my Pastor from Luke3:1-2, that when the Word of God was to come, it bypassed the governors, priests and all manners of leaders of that time and it came to John the Baptist in the wildernesss, who one would likely describe as an ordinary man compared to the listed leaders in the passage. We must not be too disappointed as we know God moves in mysterious ways to perform His wonders.
Another thing that was a surprise to me was the fact that one would not have thought the moment was a good opportunity for the mysterious and so-called Boko Haram to strike. I cannot remember any seriously documented attack. This leaves a question in my mind as to wonder if this mysterious group is not the handy work of some disgruntled Nigerians, though the SSS Chief claimed it was because they never abdicated their responsibility. I sincerely pray so, but I know whatever the truth is, time will tell.
And to the critics of our peaceful Lagos protest because many wondered if it was a protest or carnival. If anything should be learnt, it is that you must always find a positive way to channel your pain and your anger, and that was exactly what the music did. It gave strength and succour to the protesters, and you will notice there was no vandalism of any sort, despite the mammoth crowds. This was wisdom at work and you could only experience such for the first time in no other place that our Centre of Excellence. I can only say to the critics, WELCOME TO LAGOS- The Centre of Excellence.
But one message is very loud and clear in all this. It is that we the youth (I believe I am one as I am not yet fifty) of this great nation must rise up with one voice that says YOUTH AGAINST CORRUPTION. We must fight it with all our being because it is our future at stake here. I know many are still angry with the aborted protest. It is not a case of going home to lick our wounds; rather we should channel our bitterness by never giving up. It is still a case of our popular saying of “NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER”.
I believe in change, I believe there is a greater weapon to change than violence, I believe in living to fight for my right than dying not achieving my course. I believe in resilience and wisdom, though it may appear a longer route to change than violence, which does not necessarily guarantee change. I have never been more convinced of a better Nigeria. A Nigeria that will indeed be the giant of Africa! A Nigeria that we will all be proud of! A Nigeria that will be the envy of nations!
GOD BLESS NIGERIA AND GOD BLESS US NIGERIANS.
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I guess that's where I got my ability to write LONG blogposts in one sitting! ;-)
But there it is, food for thought for every Nigerian, or anyone that has an interest in the country. I guess we just have to wait and see what happens next, and keep praying that God's hand continues to rest on this country.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Forever last-minute!
So I'm supposed to be going to Paris on 25 February with a bunch of other girls for a day trip. Sounds like fun! It's a little less than two months away, but I might not actually be able to make it. Story of my life. Why? Having a Nigerian passport means I have to apply for visas all the time, and whilst this isn't too much of a problem, except for spontaneity, I always almost run out of time. I'd initially said I wasn't going, when my friend Esther mentioned it to be last year, because I thought I wouldn't be able to make it, as there are 3 weddings in Nigeria in consecutive weekends in Nig, of family and friends. I'm not too bothered about the first, but the other 2 are people I know well, and as I thought the Paris trip was in early February, I wouldn't be able to do both. It isn't, so in theory, there's no reason why I can't do both.
But as luck will have it, I might not be able to make either, and it's all to do with the annoying fact that my current UK work permit ends bang in the middle of February! If it ended in January or March, it wouldn't be a problem, but as it's in the middle of February, it certainly has to be renewed before Nigeria or Paris. Renewing it is pretty straightforward (amen), it's just that it takes what seems like forever. Before Paris or Nigeria came into the picture, I'd planned on sending off the application and all this month, get my passport back whenever hopefully with the extension. But then, both came into the picture, and it became apparent that sending off the application in January might be cutting things a bit too fine, if I plan on going to either, as it apparently takes 4-6 weeks to process, and if I was to go Paris, I'd have to make another application for a Schengen visa, and this takes about 2-4 weeks. This hit me on the day payment for Paris was to be made which was in the middle of December, which was incidentally when I realised that it wouldn't be early February as I'd initially thought. So after much hmm-ing, I decided to pay for Paris, send off my application in December, and hope that I get the passport back in time to then apply for a visa, my calculation being that if I sent it before work closed for Christmas on 22 December, 4-6 weeks from then would be very early February, and I can then apply for the Schengen visa in time for 25 February, or just get a Schengen visa in Nigeria, if I do end up going for the weddings.
So true to my word, I sorted out my application in about a week- filled the ridiculously long form, asked the Uni for my payslips and gathered all the required documents, and paid the bloody expensive fee by way of postal order. Good thing payday was early in December!
But despite having sent off the application in December, there is a real possibility that I won't have my passport back in time to make it to any of the weddings, or to even make it to Paris. An ideal situation would be buying tickets to Nigeria well before February, but I certainly can't do that right now, because I really don't know when I'll have my passport back. I initially thought the 4-6 weeks was from the date the application was made, but what with the move for biometric residence permits, the processing times is actually based on the date you register your biometric information, and you can't do so until you've received a letter from the Home Office confirming that your application has been received. It's exactly 2 weeks today since my application was received, and I'm still waiting for the said letter. I put my correspondence address as my work address, as I included a self-addressed special delivery envelope in my application so my documents could be returned securely, and there's no chance of the delivery being missed, as opposed to at my flat. But then I'm slightly worried that as the Uni was closed all through Christmas, so if the letter was sent to me by special delivery- which really, it shouldn't be, it being just a poxy letter- it would have been returned undelivered, as there would have been no one to sign for it. Other regular post would apparently just be held at the sorting office until the Uni then opened in January.
So I'm hoping that the letter just hasn't been sent yet, due to the them being very busy over the Christmas period as if it has been sent and then returned undelivered, I'm really not sure what their next step would be. I'd hoped I'd have received the letter sometime this week and enrolled my biometric information (which can be done not too far from me through a walk-in service for £20) so time can start counting. But it's all getting very tight right now. 6 weeks from today is 15th February. Wayyyy to late. Damn, I've just checked, and the first wedding I really want to go for is 4 February. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah! :'(
But fingers still firmly crossed- at least for Paris- because I have a history of successful late applications!
The last two times I've had to apply for Schengen visas- first on tour to Spain with my football team at the time, and second to Spain for a Christmas cruise in 2010- I applied outside the recommended timeline, and I remember that they almost didn't even take my application for the Christmas cruise, but I applied, hoped and prayed that I'd get my passport in time, and I did! I think for tour I went to collect my passport the last working day before we were to fly out! And for the Christmas cruise, it got posted back to me in time, even with the postal services always going to pot round about Christmas!
Seems like I'll be in the same boat third time running! I pray it works out well again this time! Although it really isn't going to be my fault this time, I probably need to promise not to leave it to the last possible minute next time...
But as luck will have it, I might not be able to make either, and it's all to do with the annoying fact that my current UK work permit ends bang in the middle of February! If it ended in January or March, it wouldn't be a problem, but as it's in the middle of February, it certainly has to be renewed before Nigeria or Paris. Renewing it is pretty straightforward (amen), it's just that it takes what seems like forever. Before Paris or Nigeria came into the picture, I'd planned on sending off the application and all this month, get my passport back whenever hopefully with the extension. But then, both came into the picture, and it became apparent that sending off the application in January might be cutting things a bit too fine, if I plan on going to either, as it apparently takes 4-6 weeks to process, and if I was to go Paris, I'd have to make another application for a Schengen visa, and this takes about 2-4 weeks. This hit me on the day payment for Paris was to be made which was in the middle of December, which was incidentally when I realised that it wouldn't be early February as I'd initially thought. So after much hmm-ing, I decided to pay for Paris, send off my application in December, and hope that I get the passport back in time to then apply for a visa, my calculation being that if I sent it before work closed for Christmas on 22 December, 4-6 weeks from then would be very early February, and I can then apply for the Schengen visa in time for 25 February, or just get a Schengen visa in Nigeria, if I do end up going for the weddings.
So true to my word, I sorted out my application in about a week- filled the ridiculously long form, asked the Uni for my payslips and gathered all the required documents, and paid the bloody expensive fee by way of postal order. Good thing payday was early in December!
But despite having sent off the application in December, there is a real possibility that I won't have my passport back in time to make it to any of the weddings, or to even make it to Paris. An ideal situation would be buying tickets to Nigeria well before February, but I certainly can't do that right now, because I really don't know when I'll have my passport back. I initially thought the 4-6 weeks was from the date the application was made, but what with the move for biometric residence permits, the processing times is actually based on the date you register your biometric information, and you can't do so until you've received a letter from the Home Office confirming that your application has been received. It's exactly 2 weeks today since my application was received, and I'm still waiting for the said letter. I put my correspondence address as my work address, as I included a self-addressed special delivery envelope in my application so my documents could be returned securely, and there's no chance of the delivery being missed, as opposed to at my flat. But then I'm slightly worried that as the Uni was closed all through Christmas, so if the letter was sent to me by special delivery- which really, it shouldn't be, it being just a poxy letter- it would have been returned undelivered, as there would have been no one to sign for it. Other regular post would apparently just be held at the sorting office until the Uni then opened in January.
So I'm hoping that the letter just hasn't been sent yet, due to the them being very busy over the Christmas period as if it has been sent and then returned undelivered, I'm really not sure what their next step would be. I'd hoped I'd have received the letter sometime this week and enrolled my biometric information (which can be done not too far from me through a walk-in service for £20) so time can start counting. But it's all getting very tight right now. 6 weeks from today is 15th February. Wayyyy to late. Damn, I've just checked, and the first wedding I really want to go for is 4 February. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah! :'(
But fingers still firmly crossed- at least for Paris- because I have a history of successful late applications!
The last two times I've had to apply for Schengen visas- first on tour to Spain with my football team at the time, and second to Spain for a Christmas cruise in 2010- I applied outside the recommended timeline, and I remember that they almost didn't even take my application for the Christmas cruise, but I applied, hoped and prayed that I'd get my passport in time, and I did! I think for tour I went to collect my passport the last working day before we were to fly out! And for the Christmas cruise, it got posted back to me in time, even with the postal services always going to pot round about Christmas!
Seems like I'll be in the same boat third time running! I pray it works out well again this time! Although it really isn't going to be my fault this time, I probably need to promise not to leave it to the last possible minute next time...
Maintaining the status quo
First of all, happy New Year, Blog! Hope you had a lovely time of nothingness, like I did. I've not been on here lately, but I won't lie and say I've been busy- I really haven't- I've just not really felt like it, like so many other things. It'd probably be unbelievable to you if I said I haven't really been up for much sport of late, but it is true! There have been a whole LOT of football matches of late all in a short space of time, and in the past, that would have been like heaven to me, but I've either been forgetting (or not even being aware!) or I've just not felt like it. There have been so many times my dad has called me up of late to discuss a match currently on, and I'm like "umm, what? Whoops, didn't realise it was on!". Unbelievable. And it's not just football. There's cricket on right now down under, late night cricket. In the past I've been staying up late to watch, but now I never even remember to check the updates in the morning, not to talk of staying up all night. And then there's tennis. I was at the O2 at the beginning of the World Tour Finals in November, I think it was, and I haven't watched any matches since the tournament began. I've just realised that the Australian Open in starting in about 2 weeks, and I'm not even excited about it!
Very weird. So don't feel bad, Blogger, it's not just you that I've been neglecting of late. I'm not sure yet whether this is all a good thing or a bad thing, but I hope I get back on top of things soon! Oh, I've just thought of what could be the cause of it! I recently stopped drinking Coke, round about October/November last year. I used to have it all the time, and I suddenly decided to stop, because too much of Coke can't be good enough for you, and I didn't want to be addicted to it, but hmm, that has sort of coincided with my declining interest in things I used to love doing. Withdrawal symptoms? Maybe I should get back on it? I have been falling ill a lot lately too, and my energy levels feel very low. Maybe it's just the Coke detoxing process! I'll give it a month or so, and if I still feel low and not entirely interested in sport, I shall be getting back on the Coke-wagon! Not as much as before, but just a little to keep me going! That said, it could all just be Joel's fault, taking up all my time and stuff! :p
Anyways, last time I checked in, it was in relation to my work dilemma. The deadline for applying for Johanna's job was in December, just after we closed for the holidays, and I didn't make up my mind what to do until the last possible moment. Funny enough, after I'd decided to talk to Filippo about it first, he came up to me and was like we needed to talk! I was worried initially that the whole thing had blown up on my face, or that he had bad news for me, but it turned out to be a good conversation in the end. It was about career options, and even though I didn't mention Johanna's job directly, it helped me in making my decision. I explained to him that I was considering going into the academic side of things, and he pretty much said that there's no hurry, and it's best to keep my options open. It's never too late to join academia, or early I guess, but he felt that at this stage, and with my qualifications, experiences, etc, that it would be a good time to consider applying for training contracts and going to law school. There's this process going on at the University right now, called REF, whereby academics are getting their works graded, and need to be up to a particular standard. Academics prefer to do research on whatever area they want, whenever they want, but right now, they are being dictated to as to what they can or can't do, and when they ought to do it by. You also have to publish a certain number of work in a certain number of time, and they have to be up to particular standard, and he explained that it is really hard to get into academia, in maritime law, right now and that there really is no funding available at the moment. It might be much better in a few years, but in essence, now is not the best time for it, especially if you have better options available.
The reason why he wanted to speak to me initially was because he'd been going through some training contract applications for a particular law firm that he is a Consultant at, and he felt that based on the CVs he saw, there's no reason why I should not be able to get at least one, and he felt strongly about it, which was why he wanted to talk to me about it, so that I start considering applying. He also said that he had mentioned me to one of the Bosses at another maritime law firm where he's a Consultant, who was willing to have a look at my CV. It all brought home the point that my mum is always making to me, when trying to convince me to go to Law School, that once you're qualified, you are qualified, and if you have the opportunity to do it, why not take it? And as Filippo said, it's easy to get into academia, or a P&I club, if you are a lawyer, than the other way round. But the bit that really got me was when Filippo was explaining to me how law firms work behind the scenes. One of the reasons why I felt I didn't want to be a lawyer, is that I felt there wasn't much room to get involved in research, unlike as an academic, as research is my strong point. But Filippo was telling me about a conversation he had with one of the lawyers, who explained that a huge percentage of staff they hire are primarily for research purposes. You see some lawyers at the front of the house and imagine that that's how all the others are, but at the back of the house, there's a huge team of researchers. Not just legally trained researchers, but qualified lawyers. I've only ever thought of the "front of the house" lawyers and felt that really wasn't my cup of tea, but there's certainly no reason why I can't excel as a "back of the house" lawyer, where I can put my research skills to use. And also, most fronthouse lawyers- the ones who deal with the clients face to face most of the time- always start from "back", and as they gain more experience, then start to feel more comfortable with being fronthouse, but the point really is that I can choose to be qualify as a lawyer, without having to give up research. Not bad!
I did apply for training contracts straight after Uni, with no luck, but with my experience so far, I'm beginning to see Filippo's point that it shouldn't be as hard to get one this time round, God-willing. I worked on my CV a few weeks after that meeting with Filippo and have sent it to him now, and hopefully when he's back at work next week, he can have a look at it and forward it to the contact. I definitely will be on his case! So yes, I have decided to apply for training contracts this year. I need to have a look at specific deadlines, but majority of them will be in summer, with the odd ones in January. Most training contracts, however, are 2014/15 starts, and with you having to go to law school for a year prior, if I do get one, I'll most likely have a year or so to play with. More on that when the time comes...
But that's the future anyways. So how did I resolve Johanna's job dilemma? If you haven't figured it out already, I decided not to apply in the end. As much as it's a fabulous job, it doesn't do a lot for my career prospects really (even if I was hell-bent on an academic one), and as they say, "don't fix it if it isn't broke!" I still didn't shut out the possibility of applying until the last day I work, when I sent Johanna an email, saying I wouldn't be applying. This was Thursday, with the deadline being Saturday. And Saturday came and went, and I didn't feel as if I'd missed a trick not applying, so seems it was the right decision in the end. Another time, maybe, and I'd have jumped on it, but there were just too many factors making it a too risky one, especially with renewing my work permit and all.
So the 5-month saga is over, and I'm very glad it is! Hopefully they'll find a suitable replacement, and as I said to her, I wouldn't mind helping out in anyway I can, but I think I'm better off staying put. Oh yeah, I tried to get two of my friends to apply. Funmi decided to, but Faye chose not to in the end. Fingers crossed she'll get called up to interview!
I guess I'll let you know if there are any developments on that, as well as my training contract applications and stuff.
Thanks for reading! :-)
Very weird. So don't feel bad, Blogger, it's not just you that I've been neglecting of late. I'm not sure yet whether this is all a good thing or a bad thing, but I hope I get back on top of things soon! Oh, I've just thought of what could be the cause of it! I recently stopped drinking Coke, round about October/November last year. I used to have it all the time, and I suddenly decided to stop, because too much of Coke can't be good enough for you, and I didn't want to be addicted to it, but hmm, that has sort of coincided with my declining interest in things I used to love doing. Withdrawal symptoms? Maybe I should get back on it? I have been falling ill a lot lately too, and my energy levels feel very low. Maybe it's just the Coke detoxing process! I'll give it a month or so, and if I still feel low and not entirely interested in sport, I shall be getting back on the Coke-wagon! Not as much as before, but just a little to keep me going! That said, it could all just be Joel's fault, taking up all my time and stuff! :p
Anyways, last time I checked in, it was in relation to my work dilemma. The deadline for applying for Johanna's job was in December, just after we closed for the holidays, and I didn't make up my mind what to do until the last possible moment. Funny enough, after I'd decided to talk to Filippo about it first, he came up to me and was like we needed to talk! I was worried initially that the whole thing had blown up on my face, or that he had bad news for me, but it turned out to be a good conversation in the end. It was about career options, and even though I didn't mention Johanna's job directly, it helped me in making my decision. I explained to him that I was considering going into the academic side of things, and he pretty much said that there's no hurry, and it's best to keep my options open. It's never too late to join academia, or early I guess, but he felt that at this stage, and with my qualifications, experiences, etc, that it would be a good time to consider applying for training contracts and going to law school. There's this process going on at the University right now, called REF, whereby academics are getting their works graded, and need to be up to a particular standard. Academics prefer to do research on whatever area they want, whenever they want, but right now, they are being dictated to as to what they can or can't do, and when they ought to do it by. You also have to publish a certain number of work in a certain number of time, and they have to be up to particular standard, and he explained that it is really hard to get into academia, in maritime law, right now and that there really is no funding available at the moment. It might be much better in a few years, but in essence, now is not the best time for it, especially if you have better options available.
The reason why he wanted to speak to me initially was because he'd been going through some training contract applications for a particular law firm that he is a Consultant at, and he felt that based on the CVs he saw, there's no reason why I should not be able to get at least one, and he felt strongly about it, which was why he wanted to talk to me about it, so that I start considering applying. He also said that he had mentioned me to one of the Bosses at another maritime law firm where he's a Consultant, who was willing to have a look at my CV. It all brought home the point that my mum is always making to me, when trying to convince me to go to Law School, that once you're qualified, you are qualified, and if you have the opportunity to do it, why not take it? And as Filippo said, it's easy to get into academia, or a P&I club, if you are a lawyer, than the other way round. But the bit that really got me was when Filippo was explaining to me how law firms work behind the scenes. One of the reasons why I felt I didn't want to be a lawyer, is that I felt there wasn't much room to get involved in research, unlike as an academic, as research is my strong point. But Filippo was telling me about a conversation he had with one of the lawyers, who explained that a huge percentage of staff they hire are primarily for research purposes. You see some lawyers at the front of the house and imagine that that's how all the others are, but at the back of the house, there's a huge team of researchers. Not just legally trained researchers, but qualified lawyers. I've only ever thought of the "front of the house" lawyers and felt that really wasn't my cup of tea, but there's certainly no reason why I can't excel as a "back of the house" lawyer, where I can put my research skills to use. And also, most fronthouse lawyers- the ones who deal with the clients face to face most of the time- always start from "back", and as they gain more experience, then start to feel more comfortable with being fronthouse, but the point really is that I can choose to be qualify as a lawyer, without having to give up research. Not bad!
I did apply for training contracts straight after Uni, with no luck, but with my experience so far, I'm beginning to see Filippo's point that it shouldn't be as hard to get one this time round, God-willing. I worked on my CV a few weeks after that meeting with Filippo and have sent it to him now, and hopefully when he's back at work next week, he can have a look at it and forward it to the contact. I definitely will be on his case! So yes, I have decided to apply for training contracts this year. I need to have a look at specific deadlines, but majority of them will be in summer, with the odd ones in January. Most training contracts, however, are 2014/15 starts, and with you having to go to law school for a year prior, if I do get one, I'll most likely have a year or so to play with. More on that when the time comes...
But that's the future anyways. So how did I resolve Johanna's job dilemma? If you haven't figured it out already, I decided not to apply in the end. As much as it's a fabulous job, it doesn't do a lot for my career prospects really (even if I was hell-bent on an academic one), and as they say, "don't fix it if it isn't broke!" I still didn't shut out the possibility of applying until the last day I work, when I sent Johanna an email, saying I wouldn't be applying. This was Thursday, with the deadline being Saturday. And Saturday came and went, and I didn't feel as if I'd missed a trick not applying, so seems it was the right decision in the end. Another time, maybe, and I'd have jumped on it, but there were just too many factors making it a too risky one, especially with renewing my work permit and all.
So the 5-month saga is over, and I'm very glad it is! Hopefully they'll find a suitable replacement, and as I said to her, I wouldn't mind helping out in anyway I can, but I think I'm better off staying put. Oh yeah, I tried to get two of my friends to apply. Funmi decided to, but Faye chose not to in the end. Fingers crossed she'll get called up to interview!
I guess I'll let you know if there are any developments on that, as well as my training contract applications and stuff.
Thanks for reading! :-)
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