Welcome to Sam Obukelihor's Blog

 I worked in a Conglomerate where Industrial Relations was regarded as a full department within the HR Division. The Group Head Office Management ordered a redundancy and in informing  the Union, the Industrial Relations Manager invited the Branch Union Executives. When I protested the irregularity of informing the Union through the Branch Executives, I was told that was the usual practice in the Conglomerate. In issuing the letters, we paid one month in lieu of notice in addition to other entitlements. The Union declared a trades dispute against the Conglomerate which we won on strict technicalities.

 Looking for a country whose president is not aware of anything happening therein? Find a country called Nigeria.

 No coin has one side but two sides. I practiced fervently the dictum of salary increment by job hopping. This job hopping helped me to achieve salary increment to the extent that no position I occupied paid anybody more than what I was paid, both previously and after I left except my first job. The other side was that this salary was to cost me a job 11 months before I was ready to leave the job. My salary was regarded as being high the fact that I was denied 25% cumulative salary increment within 18 months. This notwithstanding, there was still a gang up against me for collecting a so-called high salary.

 Looking for an end to Gerontocracy in Nigeria? Peg the age of elected executive arm of government at 52 years of age.

 I worked in a Conglomerate Organized into four Business Groups and I was the Group Personnel Manager of one of Business Groups. My Business Group had a serious challenge with medical expenses. The Group Managing Director of the Conglomerate asked me to do something. I consequently introduced a new procedure that included the establishment of an Industrial Clinic for which I got a letter of commendation from the Conglomerate's Group Head Office. However, when those whose nefarious activities were cut off protested, the same man who gave the commendation letter to me, extended my probation period by three months.

 Looking for a permanent cure to terrorism and all forms of violence in Nigeria? Find a solution to illiteracy and bad governance.

 I assumed duty in a company towards the end of the year when the Union comes around to negotiate Christmas bonus. When they came the foreign Managing Director said he would not pay, without any reason. I checked with the Finance Department and found that at Q3, the company profit before tax was already 60% above the previous financial year's profit. The Union reacted by locking in everybody on two different occasions  before the Managing Director agreed to pay. I had to declare a trades dispute against the Union. In Q1 the next year the Managing Director declared a redundancy.

 Would ASUU uncontrollable Strikes be a thing in the past? YES, on the only condition that out Rulers are educated themselves.

 One dangerous relationship in the workplace is to report directly to an arrogant and ignorant boss. I worked in this particular place where my direct supervisor saw me as a threat to his continued stay in the company. What he did was to blackmail three female staff to accuse me of seeing them in a compromising situation. He did not stop there but went ahead to bribe the Union to demand for my removal. Unfortunately, the date he picked for the wild accusation, I was not at work because I was attending an Industry based workshop which held at the Employers Association's secretariat.