What A Typical Nigerian Boss Is Like

If you ask a Nigerian employee this casual question, “What Is Your Boss Like?” They will bombard you with crazy and hilarious experiences they have had with their previous boss, and how it still occurs in their present jobs. They will give you an epistle of how impossible it is to tolerate and deal with their bosses. Some would even describe working with their employers, ‘a revolution of modern slavery.”

I once came across someone who had a lot to murmur to himself, looking totally depressed and discouraged. Thanks to curiosity, I decided to plant my nose in his business by asking what the issue was. Although I had an idea of what the issue might have been because he just ended a call with someone who seem like his boss.

He replied me saying; ‘I am fed up of all these Nigerian bosses, they can use you for Africa’. Without being able to hold myself, I exploded in a boisterous laughter. It amazes me how one person’s experience with their Nigerian employers is quite similar to another.

We may at some point in our lives have worked under someone who deliberately makes our life a nightmare. But that still doesn’t mean there are no good bosses out there. A typical Nigerian boss is a fun-filled person with a touch of craziness. They would expect you to be smart but feel threatened when they think you are getting smarter than them.

Are you a Nigerian working under a boss who encompasses double personalities; the 12 hours rollercoaster of praises when you get them the most sort after contract, and a 24-hour madness when you try making suggestions that put theirs on lockdown. You are not alone in this. Relate with this researched and concluded characteristics of a typical Nigerian boss.

OUTRAGEOUS QUESTIONS & DEMANDS

Ever worked with a Nigerian boss who calls you at 2:00am, asking you if you’re sleeping or what you are doing?  If you have, then let me guess your reply. ‘No, I am making pizza.’ Please, who wouldn’t be sleeping at that time?

A typical Nigerian boss will call to know how you’re feeling if you called in sick, and still demand that you get ready for the 20-page presentation the following day. You begin to wonder if the presentation can’t wait so you could recuperate well. They expect you to draft a 50-page proposal in 24 hours while going about your daily business of the day. Do they think you are Merlin or Zedicuz Zozaranda, wizard of the first order?

POOR COMMUNICATION WITH EMPLOYEES

The biggest problem facing the employer-employee relationship is lack of communication. The inability to convey vital information without being misinterpreted is a major problem eating deep into the Nigerian work environment’’

‘’Poor communication is a big problem in the workplace,’’ said Tonya Slawinski. According to research, it takes only a boss enlightened in human relationship and conducts not to wrongfully interpret your actions.

A typical Nigerian boss would assume every misconduct of yours as rebellious and hatred for his position. They would even go as far as saying you’re bitter because they are young, vibrant and successful. Those kind of bosses are particularly a failure in keeping long term intelligent staffs.

THREATENED BY YOUR PROGRESS

You don’t want to tell your Nigerian boss when all is not well with the company that you are resigning because you finally set up your own company. Then you are digging your own grave. You are automatically tagged a parasite. You will also be described as the agent of darkness impeding the progress of the company. Save yourself the trouble and chill till it’s all settled.

When working for a Nigerian boss, you have to avoid getting on your boss’s bad side in meetings. This occurs especially when you have an antagonistic opinion. They will automatically feel threatened by your presence. One advice for you if you love your job, stay off their lane from thereafter.

OVERBEARING BOSS

There is always this one boss that is overly bossy, domineering and arrogant. They are so impossible to deal with and difficult to manage. Especially when you have to work under some over pampered boss-they will shove out every feather of confidence you have and fill you with fear of their presence. Threats are thrown everywhere by them of how you’re so easy to replace.

They will utter statements like; ‘Do you know the current unemployment rate in Nigeria? It just increased to 80 per cent. Want to keep your job, don’t query my rule.’ I wonder how they expect people to be productive in such tense atmosphere.

FAVORITISM

In a typical Nigerian organization, you have to be connected to be promoted. You have to be familiar to stay relevant, and wealthy to be respected. Every Nigerian boss possesses such tendencies. It is a thing of dismay when you realize that an inexperienced colleague holds a topnotch position than you with all the degrees that you have bagged. Though depressing, it is already rooted in the system of operation. Don’t sweat it, there is always an opportunity for you to break the glass and aim for the sky.

These are practical instances of what employees face in the hands of their Nigerian bosses. A typical Nigerian boss is going to stress you, break you and distort your comfort. But in the light of these negativities, there are also other Nigerian bosses with the unique opposite of it all.

They possess such fantastic behavior; you want to be with them forever. Apparently, it is almost impossible to have anything positive to say about your boss, especially when he is a pain in the neck and a torn in the flesh. But it is still important that we also embrace the good sides.

No one wants a critic as a boss. Everyone wants a smooth ride all the way, free of criticism and embarrassment. Yes it’s confortable to have that. But the question is for how long do you want to get comfortable in a job without aiming outside the box. Leverage on your boss’s brutality and build a better you. Don’t you want to be a typical Nigerian boss someday?