If you have in mind to work at any of the Nigerian banks as a marketer, you are advised to do a rethinking, Not all that glitters is gold
Ogechi Obiora studied Economics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Naturally, she was full of hope of getting a good job after her youth
service, having attended one of the best universities in the country, but
after staying at home for about three years, reality dawned on her.
The jobs just weren’t available. She became desperate and ready to take
any job, just to keep body and soul together.
She was introduced to a consortium that offered her a contract job in
one of the latter generation banks as a marketer. At first, she was
happy; at least she would no longer be a burden on her relations,
whom she was leaving with in Lagos.
But after two years on the job, the zeal and enthusiasm seem to have
disappeared, and she is desperate for another job. Sharing her story
with The Nation , Ogechi who thought this reporter might be of help
judging by his appearance at a friend’s office said, “My brother the job
is no longer interacting.”
Pretending not to understand her plight, this reporter probed further
the reason Ogechi, who obviously works with a reputable bank, going by
her corporate appearance and posturing, would want to abandon
certainty for uncertainty. But she looked straight into this reporter’s
face and said, “This marketing job has not met my expectation.”
Naturally, she was full of hope of getting a good job after her youth
service, having attended one of the best universities in the country, but
after staying at home for about three years, reality dawned on her.
The jobs just weren’t available. She became desperate and ready to take
any job, just to keep body and soul together.
She was introduced to a consortium that offered her a contract job in
one of the latter generation banks as a marketer. At first, she was
happy; at least she would no longer be a burden on her relations,
whom she was leaving with in Lagos.
But after two years on the job, the zeal and enthusiasm seem to have
disappeared, and she is desperate for another job. Sharing her story
with The Nation , Ogechi who thought this reporter might be of help
judging by his appearance at a friend’s office said, “My brother the job
is no longer interacting.”
Pretending not to understand her plight, this reporter probed further
the reason Ogechi, who obviously works with a reputable bank, going by
her corporate appearance and posturing, would want to abandon
certainty for uncertainty. But she looked straight into this reporter’s
face and said, “This marketing job has not met my expectation.”
According to her, she was given a huge target to meet in terms of
customers, whose accounts she was expected to attract to the bank, a
situation she says always puts her on her toes; and which has also
made a lot of men to see her as a sex object.
More frustrating, Ogechi said, is the fact that some of her
contemporaries on the job, who ‘know their ways’ have exceeded their
targets and have been given permanent employment status in the bank
on the recognition that they ‘are hard working’, not minding what they
have gone through. She said a lot of her colleagues go through a lot at
the hands of Casanova corporate guys and businessmen, who just want
their backs on the bed before they even considered opening an account
with their bank.
Bolu Adeola (not real name) is so popular among her colleagues in one
of the banks on Broad Street; although no-one could say it to her face;
she has a reputation as a go-getter when it comes to attracting huge
customers to the bank, ranging from big time senators to top oil chief
executives. Tall, fair skinned and a paragon of beauty, this reporter
leant that Adeola uses her assets maximally to her advantage, hence
the bank cannot afford to lose her.
Said one of the regulatory officers in her bank, “She can penetrate any
corporate world and come out with a good result.” Her success is so
unprecedented that many of her colleagues and superiors have concluded
that there certainly is more to her success story than she’s telling.
With the aura of luxury around her and the sleek, exotic automobiles at
Adeola’s possession, many simply conclude that the Business
Administration graduate of Delta State University is deep into corporate
prostitution.
A dependable source within the bank told this reporter that she was
even promoted twice within a year, a situation that has turned her into
an object of jealousy and envy among her marketing colleagues. “She
used what she has to get what she wants, that is what the banking
industry has been become.” The source said.
To Uche Okoro, a marketer with an old generation bank in Ikeja, Lagos
however, the argument that successful bank marketers are into
corporate prostitution is neither here nor there. “Do you want to tell
me that you journalists are not the worst culprits?” He asked pointedly,
“Particularly broadcast reporters who are warming the beds of top
executives of blue chip companies to get advertisement. So why are you
crucifying us?” She queried.
Uche who did not confirm or deny whether as a marketer she has
been a victim of corporate prostitution emphatically said, “There is no
university that will teach you how to be an efficient marketer; when you
get to the field, you are going to navigate your way to get your desired
goal whether by sleeping or not sleeping with anybody.”
She however does not rule out the fact that most of the banks
deliberately recruit pretty ladies to attract customers. “Seven years ago
when l joined the banking industry, it was obvious that they had hidden
agenda because they did not mince words. ‘Go over there and woo
new customers with all that you have’ were the words from our
supervisor, who told us that we were lucky to get the job because it
was competitive.”
“More agonising was the fact that some of us who were sent to Abuja
at the inception of the 7th National Assembly, were specifically briefed
to woo senators and members of the House of Representatives to open
accounts with our bank. Before we knew it, it became a rival race
with other banks with similar motive, and some of us soon found
ourselves on their beds in desperate attempts to secure good bargaining.”
She explained.
Though she did not confirm the extent of her involvement, she pointed
out that the members of the National Assembly then felt their presence
so much so, that “most of them saw female bankers as preys they must
sleep with before being convinced to bank with us.”
“Some of our colleagues eventually became second or third wives to
some of these politicians, when the chips were down. That is why you’d
see most of them with kids; but they could not sustain the relationship
because most of the ’emergency husbands’ went back to their bases
after the Abuja sleaze.” She explained
Nkiru Obiano’s (not real name) case was not only funny but pathetic;
she got a third class at the University of Port Harcourt in Business
Administration and was happy to be given a job as a marketer in one
of the old generation banks in the port city university. She was
however shocked to find out that her sustenance on the job depended
largely on the number of customer she could attract to the bank.
Against this backdrop, she vowed to work aggressively hard and make
sure she met up with the expectation of her employers. But on getting to
the field, she realised that it was a different ball game entirely.
Speaking in an emotion-laden voice, the pretty ex-marketer said she got
the shock of her life on the field because virtually all the targeted
clients, who were mostly oil magnates, wanted to sleep with her before
having anything to do with her bank.
“Out of frustration, coupled with the fact that I was running out of time
on my target, l decided to give in to a young guy, who introduced
himself as an IT consultant to one of the oil companies. He took his time
after more pressure from me to agree to move one of his accounts to
our bank. Before l knew it, l was warming his bed for almost a week,
with a promise that as soon as he was off shore, he would give me a
cheque to open a new account with my bank.
“I almost fainted when l realised that he had issued me a bounced
cheque. To make matters worse, l could not get him on phone and by
the time l got back to his hotel, he had given a standing order that I
should not be allowed in, that l was one of those disturbing him. Now
to how many people would l tell my story and not look stupid?” She
lamented.
Obiano who is now a teacher in one of the private secondary schools
in Lagos pointed out that it was a turning point in her life and an
experience that will remain green in her memory for life.
The above are just a few of the unsavoury experiences of female bank
marketers whose task it is to market their banks’ products and services
and attract customers or get sacked with ignominy for under-
performance.
The Nation’s investigation also revealed that some commercial banks
deliberately sent marketers, mostly females after the newly-elected
senators and members of the House of Representatives in Abuja during
last year’s induction of the 8th National Assembly, a situation that had
majority of them flooding the International Conference Centre, venue of
the ceremony.
Most of them were smartly dressed and offered loan opportunities
which their bank can guaranteed with minimal interest.
The Nation gathered that over 290 members of the House are
newcomers, out of the total of 360. In the Senate, about 69 of the
109 senators are also newcomers.
Some of the marketers had arrived Abuja even before the lawmakers,
with specific instructions to get as many lawmakers as possible onto
their list of clientele, since some of them would need soft loans from
any quarters to sort out their logistic problems before accessing their
allowances.
A legislator who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity said
the marketers did not give the lawmakers any breathing space, as they
were all over the Congress Hall of the hotel for quick business.
One supervisor in one of the new generation banks, who simply
identified himself as Tony, said the banks are not doing anything unusual,
because some of the lawmakers have a duration of four years to spend
in the nation’s capital. “Therefore, they can be granted quick loans to
enable them sort out their logistics and pressing needs. By so doing, they
can be wooed to open an account with us.”
Tony pointed out that banks are only strategising, not only to have
new customers but to catch in on the fact that some of the new
lawmakers might have spent a lot of money in the process of their
electioneering campaign and “therefore are likely to have accommodation
challenges before their official quarters are ready. Some will also need to
buy new vehicles that befits their new stature, so they need our
services, just as we need theirs.’
Lawmakers to the rescue?
Perhaps irked by the dangerous trend the situation was attaining, the
House of Representatives late last year accused banks in the country of
encouraging prostitution by setting unrealistic targets for their female
marketers.
Hon. Segun Alexander Adekola, who sponsored the motion entitled,
“Urgent Need to Curb Unwholesome Practices of Banks in Nigeria,” said
staffers who don’t meet the largely unrealistic targets are summarily
dismissed.
Adekola who represents Ekiti South, West/Ikere/Ise/Osun in the green
chamber said: “A critical assessment of the targets being given to these
employees to meet, show them to be unrealistic, unreasonable, ordinarily
unattainable and irrational.
“But these banks resort to unethical means to ensure that these targets
are met by either explicitly or impliedly (sic) encouraging their staff,
especially the female ones to engage in illicit behaviour.”
Contributing to the motion, which culminated in a long debate, Hon. Rita
Orji said in some cases, bankers who failed to meet targets were
sacked through text messages.
House Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, recalled that he made
an attempt to stop the practice with his Corporate Prostitution Bill
presented in the Sixth Assembly, saying that the bill got to the stage of
a public hearing, but some bankers shot it down.”
Gbajabiamila, who expressed disappointment that top female bankers
equally raised objections to the bill, noted that some of the international
affiliates of the local banks wouldn’t attempt to send their staff out to
solicit for funds in their home countries.
Citing Section 34 of the constitution which protects Nigerians from
inhuman and downgrading treatment, he said the motion was timely, as
it would draw attention to the undignified treatment bankers are being
put through.
The Majority Leader lamented that “Marriages have been wrecked and
homes destroyed because of this practice and I am sure that none of us
here will allow our daughters to be involved in this.”
Speaking in the same vein, Senator Suleiman Nazif who represents
Bauchi North in the senate regretted that the economic adversity in the
country has turned female bankers into chippies just to survive, adding
that these have resorted to numerous unethical practices in a desperate
bid to enhance their capital base.
Nazif pointed out that there is an urgent need to unleash an
earthquake of unprecedented stringent policies from Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) on the banking industry, to mandate commercial banks to
stop this immoral marketing strategy and also impose fines on banks
that default.
Corroborating the fear of the lawmakers, a director in one of the
latter generation banks who spoke to The Nation on condition of
anonymity, regretted that the banking sector has degenerated to such a
level.
According to him the situation became uncontrollable when the Central
Bank raised its deposits by banks, a situation that forced majority to
merge and employ various strategies to outwit others, “since we are all
in the open market where competition is very high.’
Nazif also said “Both married women and single ladies were forced into
this corporate prostitution. They either complied or stood the risk of
losing their jobs. These bank staff, especially the ladies turned the whole
business into a personal affair and ‘business-love’ relationship as they
sleep with one client after the other. They were all given financial
targets to meet individually; failure in which they lose their job. It is not
a funny thing and this form of prostitution brought problems into lots of
relationships and marriages.”
If the lawmakers are worried about the ugly trend, human rights
activists are in sober reflection.
CEO, LEAH Foundation and first lady Kwara State, Mrs. Omolewa
Ahmed who condemned the act regretted that the aim of recruiting
these female marketers is to serve the selfish interest of their employers.
According to her, “These ladies are given unrealistic targets to meet. In
a bid to meet the targets and particularly keep their jobs, these ladies
are consequently forced or led into prostitution with potential customers.”
She pointed out that all hands should be on deck to salvage the ugly
trend, adding that likes minds should provide a panacea to preserve the
woman from losing her dignity on the platform of employment.
Stakeholders however believe that the situation on ground can be
salvaged if all hands were on deck. At a recent seminar organised by
the section on Legal practice of the Nigerian Bar Association, in Lagos
on the theme, “The Reality of Women’s Rights in Nigeria’, the
conference agreed that women should wake up from their slumber and
confront the ugly trend holistically.
Speaking at the seminar, an executive director in Access Bank, Mrs. Titi
Osuntoki argued that there is no bank that would go all out to recruit
marketers for prostitution. She added that there are lots of
organisations that do not have a clear-cut policy on sexual harassment
of their female workers.
She argued that “The loss of moral values in the society has led to
erosion of our cherished culture that protects our women in all
ramifications. Therefore, if you have an environment that does not
place limits or boundaries on exploitation, this is the type of thing you
are bound to witness.”
customers, whose accounts she was expected to attract to the bank, a
situation she says always puts her on her toes; and which has also
made a lot of men to see her as a sex object.
More frustrating, Ogechi said, is the fact that some of her
contemporaries on the job, who ‘know their ways’ have exceeded their
targets and have been given permanent employment status in the bank
on the recognition that they ‘are hard working’, not minding what they
have gone through. She said a lot of her colleagues go through a lot at
the hands of Casanova corporate guys and businessmen, who just want
their backs on the bed before they even considered opening an account
with their bank.
Bolu Adeola (not real name) is so popular among her colleagues in one
of the banks on Broad Street; although no-one could say it to her face;
she has a reputation as a go-getter when it comes to attracting huge
customers to the bank, ranging from big time senators to top oil chief
executives. Tall, fair skinned and a paragon of beauty, this reporter
leant that Adeola uses her assets maximally to her advantage, hence
the bank cannot afford to lose her.
Said one of the regulatory officers in her bank, “She can penetrate any
corporate world and come out with a good result.” Her success is so
unprecedented that many of her colleagues and superiors have concluded
that there certainly is more to her success story than she’s telling.
With the aura of luxury around her and the sleek, exotic automobiles at
Adeola’s possession, many simply conclude that the Business
Administration graduate of Delta State University is deep into corporate
prostitution.
A dependable source within the bank told this reporter that she was
even promoted twice within a year, a situation that has turned her into
an object of jealousy and envy among her marketing colleagues. “She
used what she has to get what she wants, that is what the banking
industry has been become.” The source said.
To Uche Okoro, a marketer with an old generation bank in Ikeja, Lagos
however, the argument that successful bank marketers are into
corporate prostitution is neither here nor there. “Do you want to tell
me that you journalists are not the worst culprits?” He asked pointedly,
“Particularly broadcast reporters who are warming the beds of top
executives of blue chip companies to get advertisement. So why are you
crucifying us?” She queried.
Uche who did not confirm or deny whether as a marketer she has
been a victim of corporate prostitution emphatically said, “There is no
university that will teach you how to be an efficient marketer; when you
get to the field, you are going to navigate your way to get your desired
goal whether by sleeping or not sleeping with anybody.”
She however does not rule out the fact that most of the banks
deliberately recruit pretty ladies to attract customers. “Seven years ago
when l joined the banking industry, it was obvious that they had hidden
agenda because they did not mince words. ‘Go over there and woo
new customers with all that you have’ were the words from our
supervisor, who told us that we were lucky to get the job because it
was competitive.”
“More agonising was the fact that some of us who were sent to Abuja
at the inception of the 7th National Assembly, were specifically briefed
to woo senators and members of the House of Representatives to open
accounts with our bank. Before we knew it, it became a rival race
with other banks with similar motive, and some of us soon found
ourselves on their beds in desperate attempts to secure good bargaining.”
She explained.
Though she did not confirm the extent of her involvement, she pointed
out that the members of the National Assembly then felt their presence
so much so, that “most of them saw female bankers as preys they must
sleep with before being convinced to bank with us.”
“Some of our colleagues eventually became second or third wives to
some of these politicians, when the chips were down. That is why you’d
see most of them with kids; but they could not sustain the relationship
because most of the ’emergency husbands’ went back to their bases
after the Abuja sleaze.” She explained
Nkiru Obiano’s (not real name) case was not only funny but pathetic;
she got a third class at the University of Port Harcourt in Business
Administration and was happy to be given a job as a marketer in one
of the old generation banks in the port city university. She was
however shocked to find out that her sustenance on the job depended
largely on the number of customer she could attract to the bank.
Against this backdrop, she vowed to work aggressively hard and make
sure she met up with the expectation of her employers. But on getting to
the field, she realised that it was a different ball game entirely.
Speaking in an emotion-laden voice, the pretty ex-marketer said she got
the shock of her life on the field because virtually all the targeted
clients, who were mostly oil magnates, wanted to sleep with her before
having anything to do with her bank.
“Out of frustration, coupled with the fact that I was running out of time
on my target, l decided to give in to a young guy, who introduced
himself as an IT consultant to one of the oil companies. He took his time
after more pressure from me to agree to move one of his accounts to
our bank. Before l knew it, l was warming his bed for almost a week,
with a promise that as soon as he was off shore, he would give me a
cheque to open a new account with my bank.
“I almost fainted when l realised that he had issued me a bounced
cheque. To make matters worse, l could not get him on phone and by
the time l got back to his hotel, he had given a standing order that I
should not be allowed in, that l was one of those disturbing him. Now
to how many people would l tell my story and not look stupid?” She
lamented.
Obiano who is now a teacher in one of the private secondary schools
in Lagos pointed out that it was a turning point in her life and an
experience that will remain green in her memory for life.
The above are just a few of the unsavoury experiences of female bank
marketers whose task it is to market their banks’ products and services
and attract customers or get sacked with ignominy for under-
performance.
The Nation’s investigation also revealed that some commercial banks
deliberately sent marketers, mostly females after the newly-elected
senators and members of the House of Representatives in Abuja during
last year’s induction of the 8th National Assembly, a situation that had
majority of them flooding the International Conference Centre, venue of
the ceremony.
Most of them were smartly dressed and offered loan opportunities
which their bank can guaranteed with minimal interest.
The Nation gathered that over 290 members of the House are
newcomers, out of the total of 360. In the Senate, about 69 of the
109 senators are also newcomers.
Some of the marketers had arrived Abuja even before the lawmakers,
with specific instructions to get as many lawmakers as possible onto
their list of clientele, since some of them would need soft loans from
any quarters to sort out their logistic problems before accessing their
allowances.
A legislator who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity said
the marketers did not give the lawmakers any breathing space, as they
were all over the Congress Hall of the hotel for quick business.
One supervisor in one of the new generation banks, who simply
identified himself as Tony, said the banks are not doing anything unusual,
because some of the lawmakers have a duration of four years to spend
in the nation’s capital. “Therefore, they can be granted quick loans to
enable them sort out their logistics and pressing needs. By so doing, they
can be wooed to open an account with us.”
Tony pointed out that banks are only strategising, not only to have
new customers but to catch in on the fact that some of the new
lawmakers might have spent a lot of money in the process of their
electioneering campaign and “therefore are likely to have accommodation
challenges before their official quarters are ready. Some will also need to
buy new vehicles that befits their new stature, so they need our
services, just as we need theirs.’
Lawmakers to the rescue?
Perhaps irked by the dangerous trend the situation was attaining, the
House of Representatives late last year accused banks in the country of
encouraging prostitution by setting unrealistic targets for their female
marketers.
Hon. Segun Alexander Adekola, who sponsored the motion entitled,
“Urgent Need to Curb Unwholesome Practices of Banks in Nigeria,” said
staffers who don’t meet the largely unrealistic targets are summarily
dismissed.
Adekola who represents Ekiti South, West/Ikere/Ise/Osun in the green
chamber said: “A critical assessment of the targets being given to these
employees to meet, show them to be unrealistic, unreasonable, ordinarily
unattainable and irrational.
“But these banks resort to unethical means to ensure that these targets
are met by either explicitly or impliedly (sic) encouraging their staff,
especially the female ones to engage in illicit behaviour.”
Contributing to the motion, which culminated in a long debate, Hon. Rita
Orji said in some cases, bankers who failed to meet targets were
sacked through text messages.
House Majority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, recalled that he made
an attempt to stop the practice with his Corporate Prostitution Bill
presented in the Sixth Assembly, saying that the bill got to the stage of
a public hearing, but some bankers shot it down.”
Gbajabiamila, who expressed disappointment that top female bankers
equally raised objections to the bill, noted that some of the international
affiliates of the local banks wouldn’t attempt to send their staff out to
solicit for funds in their home countries.
Citing Section 34 of the constitution which protects Nigerians from
inhuman and downgrading treatment, he said the motion was timely, as
it would draw attention to the undignified treatment bankers are being
put through.
The Majority Leader lamented that “Marriages have been wrecked and
homes destroyed because of this practice and I am sure that none of us
here will allow our daughters to be involved in this.”
Speaking in the same vein, Senator Suleiman Nazif who represents
Bauchi North in the senate regretted that the economic adversity in the
country has turned female bankers into chippies just to survive, adding
that these have resorted to numerous unethical practices in a desperate
bid to enhance their capital base.
Nazif pointed out that there is an urgent need to unleash an
earthquake of unprecedented stringent policies from Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) on the banking industry, to mandate commercial banks to
stop this immoral marketing strategy and also impose fines on banks
that default.
Corroborating the fear of the lawmakers, a director in one of the
latter generation banks who spoke to The Nation on condition of
anonymity, regretted that the banking sector has degenerated to such a
level.
According to him the situation became uncontrollable when the Central
Bank raised its deposits by banks, a situation that forced majority to
merge and employ various strategies to outwit others, “since we are all
in the open market where competition is very high.’
Nazif also said “Both married women and single ladies were forced into
this corporate prostitution. They either complied or stood the risk of
losing their jobs. These bank staff, especially the ladies turned the whole
business into a personal affair and ‘business-love’ relationship as they
sleep with one client after the other. They were all given financial
targets to meet individually; failure in which they lose their job. It is not
a funny thing and this form of prostitution brought problems into lots of
relationships and marriages.”
If the lawmakers are worried about the ugly trend, human rights
activists are in sober reflection.
CEO, LEAH Foundation and first lady Kwara State, Mrs. Omolewa
Ahmed who condemned the act regretted that the aim of recruiting
these female marketers is to serve the selfish interest of their employers.
According to her, “These ladies are given unrealistic targets to meet. In
a bid to meet the targets and particularly keep their jobs, these ladies
are consequently forced or led into prostitution with potential customers.”
She pointed out that all hands should be on deck to salvage the ugly
trend, adding that likes minds should provide a panacea to preserve the
woman from losing her dignity on the platform of employment.
Stakeholders however believe that the situation on ground can be
salvaged if all hands were on deck. At a recent seminar organised by
the section on Legal practice of the Nigerian Bar Association, in Lagos
on the theme, “The Reality of Women’s Rights in Nigeria’, the
conference agreed that women should wake up from their slumber and
confront the ugly trend holistically.
Speaking at the seminar, an executive director in Access Bank, Mrs. Titi
Osuntoki argued that there is no bank that would go all out to recruit
marketers for prostitution. She added that there are lots of
organisations that do not have a clear-cut policy on sexual harassment
of their female workers.
She argued that “The loss of moral values in the society has led to
erosion of our cherished culture that protects our women in all
ramifications. Therefore, if you have an environment that does not
place limits or boundaries on exploitation, this is the type of thing you
are bound to witness.”
Culled from Nations Newspaper
No comments:
Post a Comment