The Path Travelled

This story was first published by The Mirror newspaper as a mini series from July 16, 2005 to August 6, 2005. The publication used the pen name for the publication at the request of the author

The Path Travelled

By Sika Akoto

Maku drew a deep breath and absent-mindedly, dropped the thin slice of bread on the floor. She looked up at the ceiling and shuddered when the thought of the interview she had to attend that afternoon rudely interrupted her happy thoughts. Why should an interview for her first job after school be such a dreaded affair? Maybe this is my breakthrough she muttered to herself.

Two glistening trails of tears dropped, then a vague uneasy feeling that suddenly became a fist that slammed into the centre of the dining table.
Of course, being a university graduate is not a passport to happiness and Ama Ata Aidoo was right. Otherwise, how could she still be without a job two years after completing her second degree programme? If somebody told her three years ago that further education and job placement in this country were not parallel, she would have laughed them off.
She quickly freshened up and headed for the makeshift bus stop to board a trotro to Accra Central. 

With the loud engine of the trotro droning in her ears, Maku glanced out of the window, she’d never get used to that uneasy feeling coming up from the pit of her stomach each time she had an interview. It was a hell of a helpless feeling watching a panel of privileged people sitting in judgment of what they perceived as excellent qualification after a murky line of questioning. It had nothing to do with self-confidence. With any luck, if you don’t bump into an aggressive panel, you may count your blessings.

“Miss Maku Kpabitey”, the Chairman of the panel said in a firm voice, “you will hear from us.”

They say that all the time she thought and wandered off. At her last encounter with another panel of interviewers, after exhibiting excellent skills that lit a smile on their faces amidst nods of approval of points well articulated, they wrote to her thus:
 

Dear Miss Kpabitey, 
 RE: APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT
Though you gave an excellent performance and great display of acumen, we are unable to work with you. We shall keep your information in our dossier for future reference. We wish you all the best. 

Yours sincerely,
Seamus Arthur
(The Group Human Resource Manager)

If you are lucky, you get some polite organisations doing this, but for the majority, you wait in vain.

Or was she wrong in severing all ties with Dr. Okai Nimo? He had offered to help her find a job. In his early seventies, he was married with four grown children. He was on contract with the University. Hardworking and typically strict about lateness to lectures and submission of assignments, there was a love and hate relationship between his students and him.  He belongs to the generation who tasted the glorious early days of tertiary education in Ghana. Just like Maku’s father, he would not miss an occasion to speak nostalgically about how they were waited upon in the dining rooms by uniformed waiters. 

“You only had to catch the eye of the waiter and beer or any other preferred drink followed he said to the class. Not to mention the regular tea breaks and spacious rooms undergraduates occupied.  Oh there were scholarships too! Scholarship was really encouraged and at no cost. I remember I had a saloon car and a bungalow waiting for me after graduation. Industry wanted to poach most of us but I turned them down; I wanted to go to Cambridge! And I got government funding!”
 
He was fascinated with the excellent performance of students who studied under some of the harshest conditions in the world today. He usually laughs hard when he talks about how he would have fared in the current academic environment. This happy thought made the class peeved. After such encounters the class will discuss among themselves what they perceived as failure on the part of that generation to lift the country from its economic doldrums. 

Green with envy, Maku often confronted her father about what his generation could have done better to at least maintain the standard they met at the tertiary level each time he was unfortunate enough to bring up that conversation. 

“Dad, isn’t it an indictment of the kind of leadership your generation has given this country?” She would ask.

“Oh! Maku paa!”

“But Dad it is true. It means your generation was not responsible enough. Infact you did not love this country and its future generation at all.”

“Well, Maku the majority were dedicated but there were a few who just scrambled for money using smart and dubious means of personal aggrandizement at the expense of the state and all of us. They are rich and are still projecting themselves. They have ensured that they remain up there with all of their descendants. I am not in any way insinuating that all wealthy people in this country did the same. Some have indeed worked hard for their wealth.” 

“Dad, I still stand by my words, your generation could have done better for us!”

“Bookish”, (that is how her daddy called her) you love hard talk! Leave me in peace. I am a retired citizen and we only wait for death, not political talk.”
 
“I won again huh? This is “bookish” talking!”

“Bookish? I want to sleep!”

“I won! I won! Hahahaa!”

Maku had grown closer to Dr. Nimo because of the immense assistance given her while she was writing her dissertation. She admired scholarship and consequently revered what he had. She also appreciated his help because he always had some material relevant to her topic whenever some crisis veered its head in the course of the project work. 

Perhaps she depended on him too much. Indeed, being a father figure, it was very shocking when he said to her in a conversation that he had only been too ready to help because he fancied her. That he wanted an affair with her. 

“Maku do you know I like you very much?”
 
“Yes Sir!” Maku said hesitantly and wondered what type of liking that could be.

After all, he liked all the women, young and old in the class.                                       

“I should find a job for you after school he continued. Your choice of topic is very significant for Africa. It is very scholarly and packed with ideas. This must be published in a journal. You will be an asset to any international organization and fortunately, that is where I have contacts.”

Maku caught the bait.  If she had not been smart enough to avoid him, it would have been a bad situation. She worried at the harsh reality that as a woman, men continued to see her as a sexual object and nothing else. She heard it happened to other women but really dismissed it as a big prattle.  That marked the beginning of the end of what seemed a mentoring relationship of the great academician. Maku could not bring herself to condone such an affront to the institution of marriage so if it meant being unemployed for a while, she was ready to endure. So, she revived her deflated spirit. She was not going to let this happen having heard such demeaning stories as the one a bird whispered into her ears about a young woman seeking employment in one of the reputable institutions in the country. She went through the ordeal of sleeping with a gentleman to facilitate getting employment, only to discover when she started work that she got the job on merit and that the said gentleman could not have played any role because he was a cleaner who doubled as an errand boy for workers.

If only influential women in the women’s empowerment drive paid some attention to empowerment of the young woman through aggressive job placement for new female graduates at all levels, such sexual exploitations will really go down. It will differentiate between those who do such acts willingly and those who feel compelled to do so. 

“I am waiting for the day that this empowering tool will be taken up by women in influential positions so that men seeking to exploit the vulnerability of such young women will not have a field’s day”, Maku soliloquised. 

The telephone was ringing when Maku came out of the bathroom.
“Hello? Good morning!”

“Good morning. May I speak to Miss Maku Kpabitey?”

“Speaking.....”

“I am calling from Ashie &Yanney Associates.....”

Swallowing saliva nervously she listened.

“You have successfully qualified for the second round of interview. Please come over at 3 p.m. for the final interview, good luck.”

“What? Today? Please, can I reschedule? This is so sudden, and I need to read on a topic
or two”

“I am afraid that is not possible there are many applicants..........”

“O.K. Thank you I will be there, bye.”

After what seemed to be two long hours of waiting downstairs that could be equated to  Dennis Brutus’  poem on ‘Waiting the South African style’ together  with other applicants, they were swiftly dispatched thus:

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are sorry this group has failed to satisfy the requirements. Have a nice day.”
 
And with that, the young executive left. Maku did not wait for the ensuing discussion among the other applicants that followed. There was no point. She quickly moved on without a glance back at the building she just came out of. Unwelcoming thoughts and memories flashed through her mind, memories of the aptitude test she took two months ago and failed. She had managed to pass this one unscathed and even gone through to the very final interview only to be told a whole group had failed?  This was too much; oh what employers would do nowadays in the name of recruiting one person for a vacant position. 
Then she remembered the unpleasant experience she had earlier that week. She heard a financial institution was doing mass recruitment. It sounded easy because she had heard some applicants even had offer letters the same day they put in their applications. Well, desperado got up and went to try her luck but had the shock of her life. As she entered the office, she saw four neatly dressed young ladies in a large office. She spoke to one but attracted the attention of the rest because the lady’s response was too loud.

“May I see the Human Resource Manager, please?”
 
“What is the problem? She said without looking up.”

“Please, I want to submit my application for employment in your organization.”

She looked up probingly with scorn written on her face, went back to what she was doing on the computer for a while, then stretched out her hand without looking up and took the letter.

“Please when can I check for feedback?” Maku asked feebly

“What course did you do at the University?” 

“Theatre Arts and Linguistics.”

“What innovation will a graduate with your background bring to us?” She said with a sheepish grin that makes anybody in that position want to hide.
Meanwhile, the other ladies were giggling loudly at Maku’s expense. Confused and jittery she mumbled some answers, thanked them and left the office. As if by some prompting, these ladies burst out loudly laughing in unison. They could be heard in the corridor leading to the reception. She was fortunate nobody was in the waiting area when she got there.  Maku did not hear from that financial institution. It was a foregone conclusion anyway. How she wished she had been bold enough to confront them and put them in their rightful place. She had been bitterly resentful of them swearing to get back at them at all cost.
In a silent reprimand to herself, she reached for the bridge of her nose and pinched it. She thought to herself why do you begrudge them? They may be happily basking in their mischief while you sit in your misfortune scheming about how to get them. Surely, they do not even remember you! She said aloud. Closing her eyes momentarily she tried to shut out the past.
“Don’t give up” she muttered to herself.

She headed to the payphone booth to call her sister
“Hello?”
 
“Maku? How was it?”
After listening to an endless tale of disappointment her sister gave her some good news
“You have an interview tomorrow at Tema.”

“Yes! Yes!  Thank God.”

“Let us give this a shot huh? See you later.”
Maku felt the heat from the scorching sun penetrating her face as she headed towards the bus stop to board a car home. 

Maku was a bit disappointed when she entered the conference room. It was a beautiful and tastefully decorated room, but she saw only two gentlemen. What happened to the seven-member panel and the bulky files in front of them as she was used to? She thought. The atmosphere was very relaxed and the two-member panel seemed to like every answer she gave. Fifteen minutes into the interview she had been offered a job. She was to start work the following day. Not only that, she was going to be paid a huge sum, too big for a beginner in Ghana. It was too good to be true. She stated her worth and it was accepted, as easy as that. 

“What will you take as salary?”The Executive Director asked.

“Five Million cedis.” She said hesitantly. 
“O. K.  Start tomorrow. We are now working on the organizational structure and the issue of remuneration.  I am sure there would be an upward review when everything is in place. Are you computer literate?”

“Yes, please.”

“Come to work tomorrow so that we can draft some letters to invite the other applicants for interview.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

 Being a top executive, she assisted with interviews for the recruitment of the rest of the staff including top executive staff. All heads of units set out to plan. There was no blueprint to follow but it was exciting developing and revising plans every day till a good draft was in place for her department. Before the month ended, Maku had an additional portfolio and things were working well for the other departmental heads.  

It was two weeks into the new month and members of staff had not been paid. This went on for three months amidst promises that were never redeemed. 
“This is certainly a scam.” Maku said as she strolled into the office of the
Finance Manager.

“Edem are you sure we are in the right place?” She pulled a chair and sat opposite him.

“I should be asking you that! Miss Recruitment Expert! They both burst out laughing.
On a more serious note, I don’t feel good at all. Maku said with a heavy sigh. Maku, I want to leave before it is too late, Edem said crestfallen. I have a wife and a child to feed. There are too many unprofessional skirmishes here. If it is not a woman holding the boss hostage over unpaid car rental some former members of staff are on him for unpaid salaries.”

“What? So this is not a new organisation as we have been made to believe?”

“No. They have just moved camp to this new area.”

“When did you get this information?”

“This morning from that tall guy who came to look for him. Apparently, a huge sum of money has been collected from him under the guise of getting a US visa for him but he has been tossed around for more than six months.”
“Oh goodness! I........”

Just then, the door noisily thrust opened 

“Hey! Come out! You visa fraudsters, come out now. Who is in charge here? You are all under arrest!”

Speechless, they all came out to the reception only to see armed Policemen standing at vantage points. All other members of staff numbering twelve were already at the reception.

“Who is Douglas Kwakye?”

“Where are you hiding him?”

“You are all accomplices to a crime. Come with us to the Police Station now!”

“This is a surprise, Sir”, Maku interjected, “we are his employees. We are not his accomplices because we do not do any visa fraud here.”
 
“Sir, Edem said slowly, the man you are looking for is not here as you can see. And we are honest people trying to make a living. We don’t conduct any visa business here. If it is our boss you are looking for we shall let him know you came here while he was out of the office.”

“We are leaving, tell your boss he can run but he cannot hide forever!”

The door slammed shut and that ended the traumatising encounter. All members of staff were physically shaken, too confused and sapped. 

After a while, the Operation’s Manager spoke
“Where is Mr. Kwakye anyway? Is he not in the building? I spoke with him 30 minutes ago.”

“Sir, the Front Desk Officer said, I saw him jump over the wall when the policemen came in. The driver hid him in the car and sped off.”

Without a word, Maku and Edem left the office. That was the last time she saw the office building. She heard later that Mr. Kwakye was arrested. Not only was he not able to pay his employees but his creditors were on him also. In actual fact, all the plush office equipment being used were all on credit including the beautiful office building.

Meandering through the busy pavement of Kwame Nkrumah Circle towards the trotro station for Kaneshie six months later, Maku could not help but smile. She still does not have a job but she is holding herself in readiness for any good offer and trusting that God will do it. She had earlier on met Bevlyn, her roommate who was in a similar position. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. However, she was more down to earth in her attitudes and wants than the average graduate. She was looking forward to working in one of the reputable financial institutions and has consequently flown in from London after two year sojourn to attend an interview. 

It was the honk and the loud screech of the saloon car that halted too close for Maku’s comfort that interrupted her thoughts.

“Room!” Bevlyn shouted 

“Room!  You crazy woman! I have told you over again that you are an animal when you are behind the steering wheel. You want to attend my funeral huh?”

She burst out laughing hard and said “You attend my wedding first then you can do whatever you like with your life.

“You look fresh. Look at your skin!  Are you job hunting as usual?”

“Yes, and I have good news. I have an interview on Monday. You remember I spoke to you about it. Well, this first step is all I need.”

“Thank God we have some good news.”

“More will follow trust God.”

“Are you in a hurry?”

“Nope”

“Then let us fly around for an hour or two.”

“I am game.”
“Hop in then and let us go and blow the few pounds I brought down. Should we sit at Big Boss since it is closer to home or you want Chinese?”

“Yea, let us head back to Circle. Bevlyn, you never really gave me the real story behind your resignation from the NGO before you left for the U.K. I wish you had just fixed me there before leaving.”

“Look if wishes were horses beggars will ride. She said laughing loudly. I had to resign because the work ethics were at par with mine. Some of these private firms only exploit you.”

“What happened?”

“We will get to that when we sit at Wok Inn Restaurant, is it? We will eat something and chat. Oh my goodness it has been two very long weeks since I last saw you. We have to do better than this. We must make time to see each other, or life’s stress will only drive us apart.”
 
Maku cringed at one of Bevlyn’s manoeuvres in the heavy traffic. 

“Maku, relax”

“How can I relax when “animal” is driving huh?”

“Animal’ has changed don’t you see it is the taxi driver who crossed me.”

“I know what I saw.”

“Ok a thousand apologies.”
 
They were seated five minutes after they crossed the railway. This short trip would have taken thirty minutes long on foot without a personal air-conditioned car and Maku enjoyed every bit of it. After ordering their meals, they settled down to chat.

“Maku, have you grabbed? She asked mischievously 

“Stop bothering me.”

“I will give you to Tim, my elder brother. He is so fine and refined and a hunk!

“Haven’t you got anything better to say?”

“Well, you want to know why I left the NGO. It was a terrible place that is why.
They burst out laughing really hard”.
“It was into girl-child and women advocacy. It pursued empowerment vigorously through vocational training and sometimes even provided seed capital to some needy students to start some enterprise if that was what they wanted.”

“It is a good cause don’t you think?”

“Yes of course but you wait till I finish my story. I went there as an administrative officer. Being a church-based NGO, we were really religious in our prayer and quiet time before and after work. We would take turns to lead worship which was all good in my judgement but I discovered it was being used as a tool of oppression. I still recall how the director who is a female will used this platform to insult our intelligence. If she had a problem with your work or personally, during the day or week she would make speeches in such a manner you will know it is you she was addressing.”

“But that was very unprofessional.”

“This woman trampled on everybody. The problem I particularly had was the evening prayers. We close at five but until madam is ready to join us for the session we don’t move. So the scenario where Madam was cross with someone or is busy with something all you did was to wait till she was ready to join.”

“So couldn’t you leave?”

“And incurred her displeasure? It is bad enough that you were working with her let alone break away from the norm.”

“Ah?”

“I am not exaggerating oh, it happened to me. Waiter! Water please. I just scooped a lot of the shito in my mouth.”

“Be careful or you will have tummy ache”

“Where was I? Ah yes, so this was the daily occurrence. You leave home early from Haasto, drive through Madina-Legon traffic in order to get to work by 8 a.m. The truth is most of us got there as early as 7 a.m. only to get back home at the earliest 9 p.m. Why because Madam did not close us on time.”

“Hahahaa charlie this one be syto skills. It is like a school. And you say she worked to empower women?”

“I do not want to sound prejudice but this happened and more. When I assumed duty on 5th January, 2000, three members of staff were on their way out. They had been sacked.”

“What did they do?”

“Two who were all females got married that was their crime.”

“Why she is not married?”

“That is not important and I don’t want to dwell on that. They like everyone else worked very hard. Not that you can afford to idle about anyway. They prayed hardest because they were committed Christians but somehow Madam did not like them after their weddings respectively. When I got this information I laughed so hard and dismissed it but it turned out to be the only probable cause of their dismissal. I hear she gave them a raw deal weeks towards their weddings when they needed time off to finalise the arrangements. One of the ladies I hear was sent on monitoring in Gambaga when she had applied to go on leave.”
  
“Eh? Up north? Bevlyn this is like fiction.”

“No, it is factual. If you like I will drive you past the office building after our meals; we can even enter if you like so you can meet some of the staff I am still in touch with.  The other day, the only male and the accountant for the programme got the boot because he had a part time job that made him come to work at 8 a.m. which meant that he joined the devotion midway or missed it entirely. One of the ladies was a senior at Legon I think she was at Legon Hall Annex B or Sarbah Hall. I used to meet her on my way from Akuafo to Commonwealth on my nefarious activities.”

“Ha ha ha. Ah, you are as naughty as ever.”

“Sometimes if you are at home, it is a blessing. Of course, you will be cash-strapped but look on the bright side or would you have liked to go through my experience?”

“No my lady.”
“So they went out and I joined. I saw a few unpleasant incidents pertaining to their exit. The lady was mean to them. It was bad, very bad.  Even to the extent of inviting the husband of the Legon lady and talking harshly to his wife in front of him insinuating that she was lazy. I saw this one and I tell you I could not take that but she was too cool to a fault.  Sadly this incident marred their relationship as he started looking out for signs to confirm this woman’s assertion. They are now separated”.

“I was new and I set out to work hard especially because Dad helped me get the job and I did not want to let him down but nothing I did was pleasing enough for Madam. The first month was good. I would go on weekends to work because I volunteered to type a manuscript for a manual the organization was developing to aid its activities. They were running out of time and the lady who was working on it had been involved in a fatal lorry accident. To cut a long story short I too had my share of the poison because there were weekends I did not want to go to work and she insisted I did. And you know me, I do not function well under duress,  I also resisted attempts made to institute a monthly general cleaning at the office.”

“Oh Lyn but that was rude. Your boss says the office should be cleaned and you resist that? It is not as if you were being asked to do the clean up yourself.”

“Maku, you jumped the gun too soon! We were to do that. Why do you think I was not going to accept that? We had one cleaning session and I expressed my misgivings about its unethical nature and that sealed the beginning of hostilities. I thought companies outsourced such functions and not insist that staff they employed do that. I resigned having worked five months without confirmation of appointment which according to my appointment letter should have been done after three months. I have not even talked about the numerous receptions we hosted in which we cooked, served and cleaned after the invited guests because the load was obviously too much for the domestic staff. We did everything except the actual jobs for which we were employed. Besides she did not even pay us a fraction of what had been estimated in the proposal to our donors in Scotland. Life is a mirage when you start it eludes you most of the time but as a young person all you need to do is keep focus on the goal. These are life’s lessons for us. This you cannot get in the formal class. We just have to ensure we treat our subordinates well when we get there that is all.  

“Lyn, I have never heard this philosophical you before. Not all the three years at Legon. You have indeed grown up a lady.  So this interview is for a kind of job?”

“Well, I really want to work for this bank.  I have waited for this interview for two years.”

“I see. You are sure to get it huh?”

“Yes, I am sure. Otherwise, I will put plan B into action, go back to the U.K. and get a second degree like you.”

“Oh I see lucky you. Remember me when you get through oh. I am still at home.

“I will call you this evening. Waiter bill, please? I am heading towards Gulf House to pick mum. Sit by the phone cause I will drag Tim to talk to you before he leaves for Bristol this evening.” 

“No, I will not.”

“There is love shining in your eyes baby. L O V E.£”

“I will walk to the station. Thanks for the lunch it was great.”

“I also had a good time. We have to do this again.” 

“Yeah!” 

“Hey sister -n-law, don’t think too much about your situation. At least big sis is putting up with you and helping. Others do not have anybody at all. In whatever situation remember there may be others better or worst than you. Have you read DESIDERATA?”

“My Dad has it framed but it remains a wall hang.” 

“Get closer and read it. Till we meet again. I will call tonight, don’t sleep oh. ROOM!”

“ROOM! Bye.” And with that, she sped off in delight.

EPILOGUE 
As Maku stepped up to take the lectern to introduce the next speaker for the leadership conference, the young enthusiastic audience reminded her of six years ago when she had just completed school and seeking employment without success. How things have changed in this short time.

Bevelyn and Maku identified the lack of information on how to access the job market as one of the daunting problems confronting the youth and so had set up a foundation to address this gap. Since its establishment, the foundation has been able to mentor some young people on career choice and development.  Those who benefited from the job placement component were also helping others as much as they could. She was particularly proud of Bevelyn, she became the power broker in the job placement component using her influence as a human resource manager and consultant to find jobs for a few young people.   Her philosophy has been to take opportunities by the horns and guided by the fact that many young people out there do not have anyone to assist them find employment especially because they may be from poor backgrounds, she placed a premium on helping the “nobodys”. 

Maku smiled in the direction of her partner.

“Enjoying your thoughts eh?” Bevlyn asked as she stepped out of the lift.

“Yes. The conference went well.” Maku responded enthusiastically as they strolled towards their office.

“I am glad that we can make such a difference in the lives of these young people. At least they have someone to talk to and that makes me very happy.” Bevlyn said as she dropped the flipcharts on her arms into the cabinet Maku held open for her.

“It’s Friday and I am getting out early. I have got to pack up for the weekend trip with Hank.  We’ll drop the children at 8 p.m. prompt. Should I say hi to Tim for you?” She said with a quizzical look. 

“The man is not in town. Don’t you know that already?”

“I needed that confirmation from you darling.”

“You never stop teasing, do you?”

“Well, I can’t help it but I love my future sister-in-law. Have you two settled on the honeymoon destination yet? Remember I am paying and I want you to get the best.”

“You want to throw some cash down the drain huh?” 

“Dear don’t you think my brother and you deserve the best? He saw you once and dropped all that crap about not getting married and you think the whole family is not happy especially because you could do that girl?”
“We will let you know as soon as you come back Mrs. Kwanza. Now you get out of here and leave me in peace.”

With that the door slammed shut and Maku settled down to write her evaluation report. It was the soft knock on the door that brought her back to reality.

“Come in!” She said without looking up.
 There was a brief silence and then a deep voice spoke

“Hi madam!”

She looked up, jumped to her feet and flew into the open arms.

“Tim? I thought you were joining Bevlyn straight from the airport. I was not expecting you until tomorrow.”

“Some things cannot wait my dear. I have missed you.”

“It’s been only a week.”

“I know and that is why I had to see you first. What am I going to do without you?”

“Stop flattering.”

“Oh but I know you love that.”

“Oh yeah?”

 “And I love you! And that was sealed with a kiss.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NAME: Sika Akoto
PEN NAME:  Skia Tokoa 

(Notes: This story was featured in the Mirror as a Mini 
Series from  July 16 to  August 6, 2005. The publication used the pen name for the publication at the request of the author)

EMAIL: janfo2274@yahoo.com
TELEPHONE: 0244-216925