The price I paid to reach the top —Uche Lottana-Anajemba

Uche Lotanna-Anajemba is a business leader, social enterprise entrepreneur and  business strategist with over 17 years’ experience in the management of HR, commercial operations and project management  in sectors such as oil and gas, marine, engineering, power, aviation, retail, ICT, telecommunications and government. The Chief Executive Officer of MML Consulting shares her story with TAYO GESINDE.

BACKGROUND 

I was born in Port-Harcourt to Ray and Uju Anajemba. After spending the first few years of my childhood living in several oil and gas cities in and out of Nigeria with my parents, we settled in Port-Harcourt, where I had my primary, secondary and university education. I then relocated to the UK for five years to do a Master’s degree and get some international work experience, but in 2006, I got the stirring to move back to Nigeria and contribute my quota to nation building.  Over the course of my career, I have worked in several organisations doing various roles in commercial, business management and HR. I currently manage a human capital company, whose focus is developing a winning strategy for organisations through people management.

Choice of career

I stumbled on my career choice. I spent the first half of my career driving business processes, projects and commercials. However, it quickly became obvious that the challenge wasn’t the strategy but the limitations of the people driving the strategy.  I remember starting my first job in Nigeria in 2006, heading business development for a start-up and was initially irritated by what I thought was people’s inability to use their initiative and be self-starters. However, as the years progressed, while working across several sectors and with people from various backgrounds, I noticed a trend in the quality of work and depth of reasoning that became very obvious that our educational system had failed us and we had no remedial systems in place except for a few companies doing graduate trainee programmes. So, after yet another frustrating attempt to find good talent to drive our business, I made a decision to switch my focus to human capital management. As a drive for growing sustainable businesses, it was imperative that identifying, developing and positioning talent is the only way to drive excellence and success for organisations. It took me about eight years to settle on this career choice from a hunger to tackle the issue at the root cause.

 The price I had to pay to get to where I am today

It is a price many are unwilling to pay. I took a pay cut transitioning between the UK and Nigeria but more importantly;  I worked very hard, focused and targeted and I had a lot of faith that God will show me favour for  the Bible says ‘Show me a man diligent in His works and he will stand before kings and not mere men.’ I remember as a single lady, there were many nights of shutting down almost at midnight and carrying on again at dawn to deliver bids and tender documents.  Lately, I hear people say ‘work smart not hard’ and it truly bothers me because I am yet to see one truly successful and impactful person who didn’t pay a price of hard work to attain their heights. I worry that young people would take such statements out of context to mean step on others to get ahead, cleverly dodge work when you can and cut corners.

Also as a woman, I have found out that I am almost always the only female in a senior or management position but I have to work maybe twice as hard as them for my voice to be heard.

Combining my career and the home front

I am thankful for a very supportive spouse, who totally believes in anything I am doing and supports it with all I need 100%. So, to be honest, it’s been quite easy. I have also had strategic alliances with likeminded people where we leverage each other’s strengths and networks to go even further. Lately, I have found equilibrium through experience. Basically the more experienced you get, you would find the burden become  easier as you operate more efficiently, giving you time to also cater for the things that matter most; family. At the centre of this, my faith keeps me going as I draw strength daily from God.

Most defining moment my career so far

The moment I realised that it was okay to be multi-dimensional and be all things to all men. For a long time I struggled with articulating who I was and what I represented or accepting that it was all leading up to my purpose. So, I would resist being defined in a particular way, highlight my short comings as modest and humble. My most defining moment was realising it was perfectly okay to have many layers and be exactly who I am. I came to knowledge of how they all linked up and I embraced it whole heartedly.

My drive

I have been driven by various factors at different stages of my life (people, money, influence) but at the centre of it all is a deeper calling and purpose. I am deeply passionate about the role of citizens in nation building. For so long we cry about our governments and how they have failed us but if we can be objective and introspective, we have failed ourselves. One day, I had an epiphany from God, Nigeria is neither a person nor an inanimate object but Nigeria was you and I so If Nigeria the giant of Africa was asleep, we all have been asleep. So, as long as the citizens of the nation continue accepting irresponsible governments, perpetuating evil, nepotism, tribalism and corruption in our own sphere of influence, having a lackadaisical attitude to national issues, being non-participatory and engaging, then the giant will continue sleeping for a long time to come. This is at the core of what drives me. As a Nigerian, I must impact my sphere of influence in business, work, ministry, family and invariably my nation. So, I find ways of infusing what I represent everywhere I go no matter how little it may seem.

 Motivation for my Class Room to Board Room (CR2BR) initiative

How can we have a nation where after six years of secondary education and another four years of university not adding the years lost in between due to strikes we have fresh graduates that cannot write a cover letter or articulate themselves? We would then blame the expatriate community for taking our jobs?

We realised that one of the major causes of unemployment in our graduates in Nigeria is a dearth of basic work place skills as a result of non-exposure to technology or internship during the years of education. Almost all the Nigerian graduates have no prior work experience and with organisations cutting training budgets, it becomes increasingly difficult to hire green horns.  Our mission at CR2BR is to bridge this gap between school and work and we have put together several tools needed to effectively train and prepare them for the workplace. Through this programme, we hope that we will be able to reduce the unemployment rate in the country as participants will be empowered with knowledge and new skills. This initiative is also a response to the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) 8 to “promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth through full and productive employment /decent work for all.”

This programme is an initiative of the MML consulting Ltd and will train 100 graduates every year through regular master classes on several impact areas like employability, CV clinic, career advancement and entrepreneurship. This programme will focus on enabling participants determine their career paths, develop their non-technical skills and knowledge required for a job, develop and inculcate proper values for the survival of individuals at the workplace, acquire both physical and intellectual skills needed to be self-reliant and useful to the society as well as providing an introduction to leadership.

Secret of success

I am at the start of a journey and hopefully when I arrive at my destination then I can say I am truly successful. However, whatever I have attained, I attribute to God. He has taken me further than I can go on my own. I have also had the privilege of being mentored by some of the most brilliant minds in this generation and on their shoulders, I stand.

Tips on how to run a successful business in a country like Nigeria

Be dynamic and constantly evolving in response to the times and seasons. In Nigeria, we are very relational, you cannot afford to burn bridges. Some of my best clients are people who I have met over the course of my career.  Overall stay focused and dogged, maintain that resilient spirit and soon enough the dam would break.

Lessons life has taught me

Life has taught me to live and let live. I believe the world is big enough for all kinds of people so we can co-exist amicably. Life has taught me not to sweat the small stuff and sprinkle some kindness dust everywhere you go.