“Recently, I was going through a post on TikTok and it strongly reminded me of an experience I had when I was still working back in my country.
The truth is that many Africans are very very diabolical and some people will think it is only a joke. When I tell my Russian workmates now about these experiences, they will not believe me lol.
So I was desperate and seriously job hunting when I landed this role at a company in the capital. The pay was way above what I dreamed of. I liked the role and the company was chill.
At first everything was normal, and after my first week there, I was even grateful to God that I landed this job.
The real deal started the next Monday. I arrived at work and found a container mixed with salt and sand on my table. I arrived earlier than most of my colleagues and saw that they also had the same containers on their desks.
To my surprise, they arrived and started sprinkling the content on their table. I was shocked and refused to believe what I was seeing. One of the guys there later explained and told me that is what they do every Monday. He made me understand that it is an instruction from the boss we all had to follow.
I tried reasoning with him that it was a strange practice and he brushed it off as being company policy. Ahh I was shocked. They made me feel like I did not have a choice o. And very soon, that is how I also started sprinkling salt and sand on my desk every Monday.
I couldn’t even tell anyone what was happening at work but my mother kept asking me if everything was fine. I didn’t want to tell her because she might start over spiritualizing the whole issue.
The strange thing about the salt and sand practice was that anytime I forgot to do it, that day was going to just go very bad. I would make silly mistakes, forget important details and I would just feel off. I even started having weird dreams about my workplace and the people there.
At some point, I started getting this overwhelming feeling of being watched at work, sometimes even at home. My colleagues seemed perfectly fine and since nobody said anything, I just thought I was going to be okay too with time.
Time passed and I literally always felt choked. I decided that I could not continue in that atmosphere and I had to resign. I don’t know what it was but something was not right and leaving was the only option I had.
I later told my mum later on and she was so shocked, then gave a long lecture about being sensitive.
Omo, anytime I remember that my workplace, I still get the chills. But it is well.
But has anyone else had this kind of experience, or is it just me?”
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JAPA CHRONICLES E3: I WAS WARNED TO BE CAREFUL OF NIGERIANS ABROAD AND THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT
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