40 The first Assignment

Now' he said there is an assignment which I want you to start and complete in five days.'

I told him I was prepared to do any assignment. Good' he said 'you are not going to appear in the

office until you have completed this assignment.' I told him,I had no objection to this.

This is the assignment' he said Go into town and recruit eight able bodied people of great integrity to work in my company.

I want four youngmen who are handsome beche- lors and four young girls who are beautiful spinsters.

Do not recruit any ugly person. Do not recruit a drinker or a smoker. If you recruit any ugly person, you loose your job.

If you recruit a smoker, you would be sacked. If anyone you recruit is a drinker, you would be terminated.

If any person you recruit lacks integrity you will be dismissed from my Company. If the assign- ment is not completed in five days, you will be penalised.

That is the assignment."

'Follow me' he said as he stood up. I followed him to his mercedes car. He brought out a cheque book from the car and wrote a cheque of N500 for me.

Go to the Union Bank tomorrow and cash the cheque. It is your recruitment four allowance.'

I took the cheque and bowed to him. Mohammed Ali entered his car and drove off. I waved to him but he did not respond.

I decided that I should go on the recruitment tour immediately. I did not need to wait till the next day to cash the 500 cheque from the Union Bank because I was at this time worth N4,000.00, the amount I was given as a 'take-off' money.

I went back into the bedroom and got the key to my Mercedes-Benz.

I rushed back to the car and drove out on my way to town to recruit eight able-bodied people of great integrity.

At first I wasn't sure where I was going. I had no friends in town and did not know anybody. I did not even know people who lack integrity, not to talk of people of great integrity.

I had been seeing people in town moving around generally but I did not know anybody in particular. I had no contact with anybody in town who could show me people of great integrity that were ready to work in Ali Group of Companies.

It occurred to me that Kwaghtagher did not smoke and did not drink. Then I remembered that he was married, which made him unqualified since Mohammed wanted only unmarried people.

Then I decided that I should go from hotel to hotel and inquire from people if they knew people that fitted into the category I wanted. I could even recruit anyone on the spot. So when I came

to the West-end roundabout on my way from federal lowcost houses, I turned to the right and began to drive towards Wulari,

I packed' my car in front of Club D. In the club I met four young men drinking. They were not ugly. I went to their table and took a seat with them. Calling the barman I ordered a fanta for myself and ordered four bottles of beer for the young men, for they were drinking beer. We started to drink and chat, I introduced myself and told them I enjoyed their company, very much... I informed them that I had vacancies in my company and

needed to fill the gap with any of them who needed a job.

I. discovered that three of them were already gainfully employed.

The third one called Tukur had no job. Tukur's eyes widened in excitement when he heard that I had vacancies in my company.

He expressed great interest in my company and said he was ready to offer me any amount of money to ensure that he was given a job.

The other three told me they didn't want to work in my company because they were already working elsewhere. I informed them that the pay in my company would double whatever pay they received in their present working place. We

take as much as N300 monthly,' they said proudly. I informed them that my company, would pay them at least N500 monthly