11 Mar 2008 |
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Some Nigerian Men Need to
Groom – The Story of Four Nigerian Gentlemen
By Phil Tam-Al Alalibo
Against this backdrop, I
must note that there are millions of Nigerian men who groom daily and appear
like a million bucks to the sheer envy of their wives, girlfriends, colleagues,
friends, classmates and what have you. I see them on the streets of
Only recently, I was part
of a seven-member hiring committee for a large organization that interviewed
six Nigerians out of a total of thirty-three candidates interviewed for various
positions within the organization. Of the six, two were young ladies in their
late twenties and four gentlemen in their early to late thirties, perhaps, one
in his early forties. I mention this not to diminish these respectable individuals
in anyway, but only as an example of the difference appearance makes in the
decision-making process behind closed doors when all indexes appear equal and
not easily discernable.
This is such a crucial
point that every professional Nigerian gentleman in the Western world (and even
in Nigeria) must take note of if he must continue to impress and make his mark
in a fiercely competitive professional world. Nigerian men in the Diaspora
who are engaged in various spheres of professional endeavors need to latch on to every advantage, and professional appearance plus sheer
competence are two of the important variables in this regard. If the nature of
one’s job does not allow for professional appearance, that’s fine, but to the
extent that it does, its impact, overt or covert, must therefore not be
overlooked in the grand scheme of things.
Lest I be grossly misconstrued and before the long knives are dangled over my neck, I must hasten to add that this is not about wearing a $2,000 Amani suit (God knows I don’t have one) or
a $300 pair of Made in Italy shoes, (I don’t have one either), but really about
the simple things one would learn in Grooming 101 early in life such as
polishing one’s shoes, ironing one’s cloths properly, applying cologne and deodorant
to areas that easily “go whack” due to the rigors of the day, ensuring a clean
shirt collar without rings, especially, if the shirt is white, etc. These are
the fundamentals of neat appearance which appear to be fast dissipating like
the troubled ozone layer.
And back to the candidates;
I confess now, that all of the six were highly qualified for their positions
and competed well with other candidates from around the world. I personally liked
them as their intellect was convincing; but there was a major problem with the
four gentlemen - their appearance. Even though it should not factor in such a crucial
decision as long as the substance is there – in this case, it was too blatant
to ignore. The way the men appeared for their interviews, I’m afraid, left much
to be desired by all members of the committee, hereby, underscoring the importance
of physical appearance in such situations. And in spite of the fact that they
articulated themselves rather well in their various areas of expertise, their
appearance, invariably, tipped the scale in favor of other candidates who performed equally well and for good measure appeared quite professional.
One of the gentlemen appeared in a sorrowfully un-ironed suit and black pair of shoes that appeared to have
turned white from months of going unpolished. How much is a bottle of black
shoe polish at Wal-Mart? I checked, it was $3.95, $4.27 after tax. Noticing that he came all the way from
The intrigue here is that
the other candidates we saw did not have this problem and they
were from all parts of the world as these were international jobs. We saw
candidates from
He was impressive, but not
entirely; well-groomed with sharply edged hairline and neatly combed hair; he appeared
in what many would agree was quite a professional appearance, but his color coordination
was awful and painfully vexing. He wore a thinly striped black suit and pants (fine)
but with green tie and green shoes with two running white stripes around the
edges. And just out of curiosity, where on earth can one buy green shoes and
ties – at what boutique on God’s green planet do they sell such oddities?
This gentleman may be
patriotic clothing in our national colors, but you would agree that there is a
time and place, perhaps, on October 1st, for such declaration of
nationalistic inclining, certainly not when one is applying for a high-paying
job at a prestigious organization of immense repute. When it came time for
recommendation of candidates, all four were seriously considered, but since
these positions had much to do with interacting with outside NGOs, governmental
bodies, high government officials of foreign countries, etc, appearance made
the difference and the gentlemen lost out on a potentially career-defining
lucrative opportunities.
Many times, I have come
across Nigerian (African men as well) men that could do with a little grooming. And
by way of a serious warning, for those still searching the field for that
special lady, hear it well now that appearance plus substance are key factors to success,
especially, if well-educated professional Nigerian women are the target. By all means, they should stay away from green shoes even if the lady is a die-hard environmentalist and a card-carrying member of the Green Peace Organization. If they ever hope to win the hearts of one of these ladies Fela (of infinite
memory) would call “I be Lady O”,
they must, as a matter of urgency, spruce it up; for they love men with
neat appearance, professional and presentable to their circle of friends and
most importantly, to their families. Even those plucked from the village, these
days, I hear, have very high standards.
Mixing it up with the Nigerian guys here in the hot summer months on the soccer field, we often take off our shirts to slug it out - I notice that some do and some do not shave
their armpits – and that’s fine based on personal preference. But for those
that do not, it means paying special attention to that area as it often becomes
a laboratory for chemical combustion emitting offensive odor. I am not sure if these
men have special ones in their lives who could tell them ever so lovingly to
spice it up. And speaking of spicing it up, I am reminded of a rather
comical situation while I was in the university in the US of a Nigerian
classmate who had the un-enviable task of telling his Nigerian friend that he (the
Nigerian friend) was in desperate need of fresh breath after what was seen to
be a case of chronic bad breath. Confused on how to broach this sensitive topic
without bearing offense, he collaborated with a group of Nigerian students, to
buy, on the occasion of the birthday of this friend with the alleged bad breath,
several packs of chewing gum, mints, a whole crate of mouthwash, toothpaste and
brush garnished with a gift certificate for Wal-Mart to replenish the stock
once dry. I remember contributing $5 or
so to this endeavor and it paid huge dividends as the gentleman turned it
around to the merriment of all.
And not to forget the two
young Nigerian ladies fresh out of law school who were among the pack of
thirty-three; they were offered the jobs, not because of their appearance, but
for the experience and knowledge the committee hoped they would bring to the
organization. I noticed, like authentic Nigerian ladies, that they dressed for
the occasion; nice well-done hair draping over nice dark colored suit pants
with marching feminine briefcases and moderately high-heeled shoes, all
well-complimented by a cheerful smile – what a winning combination. We certainly have much to learn from our lovely ladies.
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