WHY I CAME TO KENYA: A CHINESE MAN SOLD HOPELESSNESS ABOUT THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY TO ME, I STARTED DOING MATH; MY CURRENT SALARY WAS GOING TO DROP BY THE MERE FACT OF DEPRECIATION OF THE NAIRA SO I STARTED LOOKING OUT FOR OPPORTUNITIES.
Patrick Idemudia is from Edo state Nigeria, he is a graduate of Electrical Engineering, a seasoned professional in the Port terminal industry and has built experience in the last 16 years spanning 10 countries across the globe. He has an expertise in the automation of port terminals by deploying cutting edge technology in driving the business in the right direction. He currently works as the Head of Operations of one of the largest grain handling facilities in sub-Saharan Africa that supports 5 countries around the sub-region and lives with his family in the port city of Mombasa in Kenya.
Given his background, Patrick believes that as an employee, one is tied to the apron’s string of the employer and as such, over the years developed a passion for building business ideas and pushing them to fruition. Patrick’s interests are current affairs, wildlife reserves, football and travelling.
Patrick shared his story about what motivated him to move from West Africa to East Africa, he started his career in Nigeria with a subsidiary of AP Moller ~ Maersk group known as APM Terminals where he got the opportunity to be trained in different countries; after obtaining vast trainings and experiences in his field, he was transferred to Benin republic branch of the organization to head the operations team, and later returned to Nigeria to head the operations team . Years later, he learnt about an opportunity in Kenya to flip the operations of a port grain terminal, the company needed to introduce technology to change its business operation. He saw the prospect of advancement and expansion and he left Nigeria to take up the offer in Kenya.
On why he actually left Nigeria, in the line of is job he met a Chinese investor who sold hopelessness about the Nigeria economy to him. During their discussion, he was told that the way the Nigerian Government is running the economy was not sustainable and will lead to the crash of the local currency. This got him thinking and made him start researching about their discussion. He realized that if this happens, his current earning was going to drop significantly by the mere fact of the anticipated depreciation of the Naira and so he started making contact to pursue his dreams elsewhere.
Patrick said he has been having a cool time in his host country because things are well structured in Kenya, there is constant power supply, security is always guaranteed and there are infrastructures in place. Some of the challenges he encountered in Diaspora were some culture-shock, and the fact that most Africans fear Nigerians. They see Nigerians as being too aggressive. He also faced some backlash due to his training in port terminal automation because the people felt he was coming to cut heads so that his bonus and pay will increase. His work was sabotaged to frustrate his effort, there were lots of hostilities towards him and things even got diabolical, but because he had a goal, he remained focus.
His advice to those who aspire to leave the country is that, they should not leave their country and end up in another country as an illegal immigrant, things may be difficult in their country, but there are a lot of opportunities in the country that they could take advantage of. If they must leave, he advised them to get themselves into things that are legitimate because they tarnish the image of Nigeria as a nation and that of Nigerians in diaspora when they are involved in illegitimate dealings..
The Chinese man was not wrong after all, that is exactly what is happening in Nigeria, thank God you were wise enough to act fast.
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