When I grow up what happened to that Childhood Career Dream

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When I grow up - What happened to that Childhood Career Dream?

As a growing young lad,I took special interest and admiration in an organized environment, a disciplined setting. Definitely, not where one could behave in a disorderly manner without getting the right punishment. I cherished starched and ironed clothes. It made the wearer sharp and neat.

The only profession where I saw this setting early in life was the Military. You would always admire the rank and file of the Military profession, especially at the beginning of and mid week when they do not normally use their Battle uniform.

This is a common feature among both the Commissioned and non Commissioned officer cadre e g Warrant Officers 1, 2 and 3, Lieutenant 1and 2, including Captains, Majors, Lieutenant Colonels, Colonels, Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General and General. Same applies to other arms of the Armed Forces, Air force and Navy, even the Para Military.

The aura wherever they are present could be electrifying and awe inspiring. Of course they do not engage in long or noisy discussions, especially with the Civilians.

Their regimented and orderly life style coupled with their trade mark Command and Control is most admirable.

It was in the light of the above mentioned setting that I resolved to join the military. Even if I did not join the army in particular, but atleast any of the Para Military Wings like Customs, Immigration, Correctional Services etc.

   OPPORTUNITY CALLS

As providence so decreed, my mother's younger sister Lady Mary Nwogu joined the Nigerian Customs service in the year 1979 and rose through the ranks. Luckily for me, I joined the Customs recruitment applicants exercise in November 1982 at their old Headquarters, Lobo street Owerri, Imo State.

This was possible because I had already passed five papers in the General Certificate of Education, GCE in 1979 while in form 3 then as a student if Midtown College, 7 Emenike Street, Mile 1 Diobu Portharcourt.

But in the process if gathering the required documents from our traditional Ruler, Family Head and Local government Chairman the information filtered to my mother. And that was where the problem started. She insisted I would not join any service that entails using gun to shed blood. She urged most of the officials treating my documents to hands off. It was in the process that the time elapsed.

But inspite of this challenge, I secured a job as a Proof Reader and IBM Operator in Koby Press Limited, 30 Portharcourt Road Owerri.
As the official printers of the nearby 32 Field Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army Obinze Owerri, I was assigned the responsibility of meticulously reading and editing the jobs they brought to the company, even working late hours to meet their target.

To avoid head on collission with them, I was advised to take such assignment seriously. And they never believed some thing could be impossible to do within a certain time frame.

A time came in 1986 as the prepared for the Annual Celebration of the Nigerian Army, Corps of Artillery. The Commander of the Brigade, then Colonel Abdulkarim Adisa personally brought the job.

In the manuscript handed to me, he wrote Coors in place of Corps. I effected correction before handing it over to the graphic manager who did his own part and handed the plate to the Heidelberg Operator who went ahead and printed it.

But hell was let loose when the driver and orderly to the Commander came and saw the alteration I made on the manuscript the Commander handed to me. They questioned my audacity to alter their Commander's write up. All efforts to explain to these two soldiers fell in deaf ears.

Incidentally, the Managing Director Mr Obed Opara had gone to town for other matters. I was matched like one heading to a shooting range to the front gate of the company premises.

With my two hands raised to the sky, I was ordered to embark on a frog jump.
Just few minutes into this unwarranted exercise, Captain Nya I. Nya, the Brigade's Public Relations Officer in company of his Deputy WO2 Edward Orvbiere were rushing into the company office to correct the error their Commander made which I had already corrected yet I was being punished.

These two officers were sorely bitter with their two colleagues for the punishment they meted out to me. After tongue lashing two if them, they were ordered to the guard room and wait for further punishment.

I was led back to my office like a hero. From that day, a cordial relationship was personally established between me and the Public Relations Department of the Brigade.

Each time WO2 Edward had any thing to do in town, he asked me to accompany him in his old model 504 Peugeot or if he did not see me, he would branch to the quarters the Company rented for me at #26 Portharcourt Road, Owerri, just a stone throw to my office.

In the same year, the Officer personally procured for me the admission form into the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna.
As usual I began in Ernest to assemble the necessary documents to join my colleagues in Kaduna and come back after the training, appearing in my Officers Uniform for my mother's blessing.

Every effort I made to tidy up things discreetly proved abortive. My mother's prying eyes was
all over my movements. She went to their village and reported me to her elder brother.

According to the order, if I did not discontinue my quest to join the Armed Force, I should be held responsible for her death.
It was only later my uncle pulled me by his side and narrated to me that my mother was finding it difficult to forget the trauma and psychological torture she passed through while my father was serving in the Army, before and during the Civil War where he got injured at the famous Abagana sector in 1968 and later killed at Ugwunchara Umuahia at the tail end of the war. She swore not to encourage any of her offsprings into either the Military or para Military again.

Besides making a career in any of the Armed Forces or Para Military, the next profession I take interest in is Journalism. I like to investigate, collate and report on such assignment.

I think when children come of age and having completed their school certificate Examination or it's equivalent, they should be allowed to take the lead in their choice of career. Parents could make input at this stage, taking cognizance of the child's innate ability.

At times professional guidance counselors could get involved. It is very important, since the choice has a lot to do with the child's destiny.

If my child makes a choice of career, I would first assess his or her ability, value and marketability of such before proffering whatever suggestion I may have in mind.

As an enlightened person, I can't impose my will on him or her but instead offer words of advise and encouragement, and of course backing it up with prayer.

*Note, all4one offer.