Letter to the Unemployed Nigerian Graduates -By Mokolade Immanuel Mcgerrard

Mokolade Immanuel Mcgerrard

Hello, I am so sorry about your unemployment state, seeing you graduated with honours and am, at the same time, moved to pen this inspiring missive to you, knowing you have been having a cautious gladness in your soul at this time of the year when 2018 is in its infancy, and am reminding you of your tentative joblessness. One thing am not sorry for is our nationality and the bright future of our generation and you should not be either. It is needful I let you know being unemployed is a fleeting phase and it is a time for maximum preparation for a fulfilling career.

Christmas came and you garnered a lot of energy to break the fried chicken lap into pieces and I have been wondering if that same energy could be harnessed to surmount all other challenges ahead of you, including the current jobless state. Boxing Day came and you could not gift anyone a present and you almost never got one either. The seeming best gift to you would have been a job- any job, yet none was offered.

See, I have been thinking about you lately- thoughts of me gifting you so many tangible things have flooded my mind and making you see where we could be better, is ahead of the pack.

You have been unsuccessful with the interviews, if you have been called at all, but very successful at curtailing your happiness. You were offered a teaching job but the financial side of it was not appealing and you turned it down. How time flies or jumps… am not so sure about the mode of its movement as it is relative. One month has grown into few months and then a year and then more and yet you have not given up on your hope of landing a lucrative job. I applaud your hope and am still convinced hope does not disappoint if it’s gone beyond mere wish.

You have also been thinking of starting your entrepreneurial journey but in your thinking, everything has been boiling down to money. “Money answers all things” still holds true, you cry. All the calls- cold calls you have been making to influential relations have not made anyone budge or willing to help. That uncle promised you a job and ever since you finished youth service, he has not picked your call. You even sent him a text yet got no response. It seems everything is down and you, in your conversations, tell others Nigeria is bad, even worse than your use of English could describe. You have ignited the fire of pity in people and stoked the ember of sympathy around you. Need I give you this stark reminder; no one owes you anything in this life. The earlier you embrace this truth in Nigeria, the better.

I am not unaware of the scorn that comes unexpectedly from some quarters. You have even not been able to send airtime to your siblings, let alone bear part of the financial burden of your partner. You have been enduring torrents of ridicule coming your way with the minute emotional and psychological strength left in you. Your endurance is quite impressive.

I don’t mean to humiliate you nor disparage your dreams neither am I in anyway belittling your ambitions but what self-improvement plans have you put in place. You are still far from taking responsibility for your promising life. We are in the information age and my message to you is to let you know it could be a “Mess age” for you if your potential is not properly harnessed; you cannot live all your life a potential; you have to maximize and make the most of it. Great mess awaits those who cannot do something tangible and profitable with the information they have access to.

You have got a job and you are not aware it is – job of comparison. You keep comparing yourself with your schoolmates or classmates who seem to be doing just fine or better and the sadness that comes with comparison with those seeming to be better off is taking its toll on you. See, I have a great concern about your mood and your health because sadness begets depression which is a sister to gloom. Not having a job yet is not the end and being sad at the same time wouldn’t change the situation.

I know it’s harder to sustain drive and fuel motivation when your mates seem to be ahead but you could push yourself harder by comparing yourself with your ideal self. With your smartphone, you should, by now, have gotten a lot of  messages of hope on Whatsapp and unsolicited long reads beautifully storied with examples of why it is not a given that someone who graduated ahead of you would get a job ahead of you. Be rest assured your own job is on the way.

Inspite of the good sides, Whatsapp messaging platform has given you the stress of replying people who are wont to asking “How is work?” You are still unsure if “fine” cuts it as a response of a faith or a lie. You even avoid their hellos these days and you are hoping for a big break which would engender a befitting response to ‘how is work?’ Be rest assured you are not alone and be hopeful as this phase would soon phase out.

Come to think of it, when was the last time you read anything beneficial? The last time you read was during your preparation for your last examination in school. Now, I am amazed and amused that even signpost you wouldn’t read. On Instagram and Facebook, you upload recent pictures and I wonder if you are putting in any effort in equal or less measure to update your knowledge base. You sleep with the same things you knew when you woke up. I wish to let you know whatsoever is learned is not a waste and life would present one too many opportunities when they would prove handy. Having a smart phone, I have seen, does not necessarily make one smart or smarter but it presents the opportunity to have fast access to information. The truth is, being physically attractive pays but being mentally attractive is a great advantage.

Dearly beloved, we have not really outgrown the times when pen and paper are needed to write your siblings who are still in school to harp on the severity of the matter. Whatsapp messages might look casual to them. You could help them with the truth. Don’t paint a grim picture of life outside school but encourage them to prepare better than you did. Don’t just share jokes and meal; share the truth too.

I am not averse to listening to good music and I also watch a lot of good football. I bet you are no longer stunned by the crazy TV money that’s been thrown around in English Premier League and you, for one, still argue with much efforts that football Spanish football is better than English football. Having no job has not obliterated the excitement that comes with Premier League on weekends. The veins on your forehead still shoot out when anyone tells you Neymar is better than Hazard or Davido is better than Wizkid. You may not have a job yet but that has not stopped you from finding at all cost the N100 to see your favourite team play on weekends. Arsenal have been letting you down and you still don’t realize that you are stronger than you look. My friend, there is still a reserve of passion in you that your jobless state cannot drain.

Finally, I want to believe the crossover service you attended on the last day of the year (almost everyone in Nigeria did) was not because of the suya that was on offer nor the pizza that was advertised. I hope you prayed on serious issues too. Closing with a Paul J. Meyer’s quote that I have nigerianized “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, fervently pray for and enthusiastically act upon… must inevitably come to pass!”

Here’s to a wonderful 2018 filled with pleasant surprises, laden with glorious job opportunities and strewn with massive miracles- if you believe in them. This is my first article of the year, I hope it inspires you and I cannot but pray you have the best in the New Year.

Mokolade Immanuel Mcgerrard is a graduate of Ife, lives in Abuja and a Tedx hopeful. He is a prolific writer, speaker and sports analyst. Reach me at immagerrard@gmail.com