I worked in three branches during my time at the Bank. Of the three branches, Ariaria branch has so many fond memories that just wont disappear in a hurry. Not that the other branches didnt have theirs’ but na Ariaria my branch umbilical chord dey. Memories are so fond, the vibes, the intelligence of the staff, the general brotherliness and few fatherliness. The branch created had a spirit and it seems to still be there till date … the spirit of enjoying life while you work.
You know in Africa, one sign that you are enjoying life is to have exotic drink. Ariaria branch during my time had people who were blessed with giving and we gave bountifully when it came to buying drinks for each other and we we were also blessed with the ability to drink all of them.
Izu was and still a master of FINISH HIM WITH SPIRIT. That boy (man now), he takes delight in seeing you drink. It’s as if as you are drinking his drink, there is a spiritual chieftancy title he is collecting. He had drinks every where. Inside his pidgin hole, inside his brief case, inside fridge, inside boot, inside toilet, inside room, inside anywhere you can imagine. Funny thing is the guy doesnt drink much. He can be romancing one bottle while you would have downed 10 or 12.
Another person who was (maybe still is) a good supplier is Joe. The worst part is that Joe’s best friend is a Nigerian breweries Distributor. Darrok will always ensure that every celebration was accompanied with enough drinks. At a time, even to say, “guys, good morning” was accompanied with cartons of alcoholic beverages. And Joe too will only drink one bottle. There were other suppliers, but the general ability for every staff to quickly contribute to make a party happen made every one guilty of supply and deman.
This culture of togetherness transcended to support for colleagues. We would go to a colleague’s child dedication, wedding, birthday, anything, in convoy and we will carry drinks and bush meat and make so much noise that every one around would be dreaming of being transferred to the branch. We had a collective approach to solving problems too, had each other’s backs . No one was left behind.
Perhaps this was very threatening to the management because after a while, they began to transfer us to different branches as if we were planning a coup. Those who we left never spared a moment to narrate stories of how they have scattered Ariaria branch. They even created a group – OLD ARIARIA, just to let people know the special vibes of the staff .
The staff may have been scattered, but present crop of staff there still feel the culture. Bukwas said recently ARIARIA BRANCH IS ALWAYS BLESSED WITH PEOPLE WITH CAPACITY TO SUPPLY DRINKS.
TO BE CONTINUED
NaijaNoiseMakers says “This Grandpa sef,….always creating suspense. Drop a line for him in the comment section.”
Barr. Victor Edegbai AKA Grandpa is a father of many nations, positive thinker, and friend of many. I like trouble, because I be lawyer.
