Yoke Of Love

Words of Bitterness

The General Manager decided to test the Purchasing Manager’s attitude towards the young applicant, and he said calmly; “Alright Mr. Olusoga, fire your question, after all; the young Applicant is going to work directly under your supervision in the purchasing and supply Department.” Olusoga became more uncomfortable because the GM spoke as if the Applicant was already employed by the paints company.

The Purchasing Manager decided to use technical words to shake the confidence of the young Applicant, and he asked; “What is Caveat Emptor?”Kolawole, who was at alert instantly because of the unfriendly attitude of the man, answered quickly; “Let the Buyers Beware.” Madam Lola looked apprehensive, but the purchasing Manager nodded his head in agreement, and he asked again; “What are the code of conduct for every Buyer?” Kolawole answered confidently; “To Buy Raw Materials and Goods from the Right Source at the Right Quality and at the Right Price.” The two women in the Boardroom could no longer control their excitement, they knew Kolawole had answered the professional question correctly because of the shocking expression on Mr. Olusoga’s face; and both women clapped for Kolawole; and the GM looked very pleased with the young Applicant.

However, Mr. Olusoga was not done yet with his questioning, and he asked again; “What are the main raw materials to produce the Emulsion and Gloss paints?” At that point, Kolawole had a feeling that Mr. Olusoga would be a potential enemy to his career in that company.

And he looked at the man calmly and said; “Thank you sir, I made some research from the internet over the weekend, and I discovered the following materials; Water, Titanium iv oxide, Calcium Carbonate, Kaolin, Calgon, Aerosol, Biocide P.V.A, Amonia, Deformer Ginap, Kerosene, Yellow iron oxide, and red iron oxide etc.”

Mr. Olusoga looked perplexed and asked further; “What are the raw materials for producing TexCoat paints?” But before Kolawole could utter a word, the GM quickly said; “Mr. Kolawole Adegbola, congratulations; you can go now; your letter of employment would be sent to you by our messenger in due course.”

Kolawole happily walked out of the Boardroom and found his way straight back to Madam Lola’s office to wait for her opinion about his performance at the interview. Meanwhile, Mr. Thomas PamPam the General Manager, looked at the faces of the interviewers one by one; Madam Lola and the Company Secretary looked satisfied with the confident manner by which the young Applicant had answered all the difficult questions that was fired by the purchasing Manager, but Mr. Olusoga seemed not happy, and the General Manager asked him; “Mr. Olusoga, what is your candid opinion about Mr. Kolawole Adegbola’ performance during his interview?”

The Purchasing Manager cleared his throat and said sadly; “Well sir, you are the boss; but I believed you just employed the Applicant based on sentiment without adequate screening.”

The GM was very angry, and he said fuming at Mr. Olusoga; “Your statement is an insubordination to our Managing Director and to me your General Manager, and if you are not satisfied with the young man’s performance; and the fact that the MD and every other Executive member in this Boardroom were all satisfied with the Applicant who is well qualified for employment in this company except you!. Moreover, if you are not happy with the choice of the Management to hire the young man, I suggest you tender your letter of resignation to me before the close of work today; bollocks!”

As the GM finished speaking, he picked up his file on the table and walked out of the Boardroom angrily. The company Secretary was very upset as well with the purchasing Manager, she also picked up her file, and as she was about to walk out of the Boardroom; she said, “Be very careful with how you handle our new employee Mr. Olusoga,” she hissed and walked out as she slammed the door close.

Madam Lola also stood up with her file and said; “I am going to report your uncommon attitude to the Managing Director; and let me warn you Mr. Olusoga, if you try any of your usual game of sacking your Assistants with Kolawole; it is you that will get fired in the end, I don’t care if you are the son of a major share holders of this company,” and she left the Boardroom.

Mr. Segun Olusoga was in the habit of sacking his assistants even before their appointment could be confirmed because he was inflating purchasing invoices in order to make extra money for himself and he would not want his assistant to discover his fraudulent acts with the company despite the fact that he was a highly paid senior Manager in the organization. Mr. Olusoga was not a professional Buyer, he actually studied Economics as his first Degree, and pocketed a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, and when he was employed; his former boss was a Fellow of the Institute of Purchasing And Supply, Ascot England; his boss back thenwas a British man; he trained Mr. Olusoga for one year before the man was transferred back to the Head Quarters in England.

Mr. Segun Olusoga was thereafter promoted from Assistant Purchasing Manager to the important position of Group purchasing Manager. Olusoga had been the Group Purchasing Manager for three years before Kolawole came to the company.

For good three years, Olusoga had systematically sacked four purchasing Officers before their appointment could be confirmed on the ground that they were incompetent. Segun Olusoga considered all the warning he had received that morning because of the young man; he then decided to suspend his corrupt practices of inflating invoices until he could find a way of dealing with the charming young man.

Madam Lola came back to her office and informed Kolawole about his appointment letter; she promised to send the appointment letter to him through UPS Courier service before the end of that month. “Kolawole, when you resume work next month under the supervision of Mr. Olusoga, keep your eyes open and be honest in your dealings with your boss; Mr. Olusoga does not like to work with any assistant; and we don’t know why, just be careful with him.” Kolawole thanked Madam Lola and left her.