THE 9 TO 5 GRIND

“work, sleep, rinse repeat”

As always, Project 9ja brings to you the best of experiences in the Nigerian youth lifestyle through the different series. Presenting The 9 to 5 Grind, featuring some young Nigerians aiming high in the corporate world.

On the very first edition, we had a chat with Adewumi Salami, a young Nigerian lawyer in the city of Lagos. Let’s head right in!

Project 9ja: Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Adewumi: My name is Adewumi Salami, a legal practitioner who practices in Lagos. I’m an Associate in the Intellectual Property (Media, Sports, Entertainment) and Technology Sector of Olajide Oyewole LLP (Member of DLA Piper).

Project 9ja: Oh that’s interesting. And where did you school?

Adewumi: University of Ilorin and my law school was in the Augustine Nnamani Campus, Agbani, Enugu.

Project 9ja: What was university life and immediate post-university life like for you?

Adewumi: I really enjoyed uni especially the last three years. I was involved in a number of extra-curricular activities that made sure I always had different academic and social events to plan and look forward to. It helped shape the person I am today. Immediate post-uni was my law school and I really enjoyed it too. Service year was equally great and work has been what it is ever since. I’ve been lucky to always be around the best people and it’s always given me the edge in everything I choose to do.

Project 9ja: So it’s been a really interesting journey for you?

Adewumi: Yes. I can’t complain really.

Project 9ja: How early did you get a job after school?

Adewumi: Immediately.

Project 9ja: Oh wow okay. So you never experienced the popular job hunting tales of following opportunity pages online, sending CVs to relatives and family friends, walking around to submit CVs to random organizations and all of that?

Adewumi: No but there’s actually a funny story behind that. I should probably share it.

Project 9ja: Alright, let’s hear it!

Adewumi: So I had previously completed an internship period at the firm I currently work with and at the end, they told me they were going to employ me after law school because they were sure I would get the grades they want. It is a very big firm so I was very happy. After my law school, approaching the start of my service year, I decided not to reach out to the firm ‘cos in my mind, everything was getting too easy. I really felt like experiencing the job hunt everyone speaks of for a while. So I started sending out my CVs to top law and consultancy firms, got their responses almost immediately and they all invited me for interviews. I went to the big firms and kept asking questions, turned out they couldn’t offer me what I actually wanted in a law firm. I repeated this routine for like one week. None of the firms appealed to me and on my way home from one of those interviews, I almost had a car accident. I reached out to my current firm from the hospital where I went to scan, telling them I was ready to resume. I shared the experience with my friends who were still job hunting and they couldn’t believe I would even consider not reaching out in the first place considering the profile of the firm. So yeah, I actually wanted to try the job hunting thing but fate probably made a decision on my behalf lol.

Project 9ja: LMAO, you really thought it was that easy right? At least you got to taste a bit of it.

Adewumi: As in! In one of those places, the people were so rude! And it was such a small place compared to the offer I was stalling on.

Project 9ja: Haha, you can imagine! Alright then. So can you run us through a typical work day in your life?

Adewumi: Sure. I wake up as early as 4:30am, leave the house around 5:30/6am and get to the office around 7:30am depending on traffic. First thing I do in the office is to check my to-do list for the day and arrange them in order of priority/deadlines. I grab a light breakfast depending on my mood and get straight into work. I attend meetings, prepare legal opinion, seek advice/counsel from senior colleagues and guide younger ones. I eat lunch and sometimes dinner in the office and leave very late most times. I then battle Lagos traffic, get home very late, shower, sleep very late (average of 1/2am) and wake up by 4:30am again. Rinse and repeat. Surely there are changes to this routine depending on happenings during the day but yeah, that’s the general overview.

Project 9ja: Wow, work plus the Lagos hustle must really be tough!

Adewumi: Exactly. But I’m somehow used to it already. It’s not the ideal situation though.

Project 9ja: Yeah, the human body somehow always adapts to these things. I understand you’ve been working remotely due to the current COVID-19 situation. How has that been going for you?

Adewumi: Not as convenient as being in the office but everything is in place to ensure it’s as seamless as it can get.

Project 9ja: So you had to like create a convenient workspace at home or you had one of those already?

Adewumi: There’s one already.

Project 9ja: Okay, makes it easy then. What’s the feeling like when your salary hits the account?

Adewumi: Lol. I just laughed at this question now. That should tell you everything you need to know.

Project 9ja: Haha! It doesn’t tell me oh.

Adewumi: Yeah, it’s always a great feeling. I mean, who doesn’t want to see his hard work rewarded at the end of the month. Lol

Project 9ja: Very much understandable. It must be a really great feeling! So as a young working person, what responsibilities do you have to cater for, speaking about bills to pay?

Adewumi: Mobile data, Wifi, cable (DSTV), food, rent, power. Those are the things that come to mind now. And leisure too. Lol

Project 9ja: Yeah, leisure is very very necessary. No family responsibilities or anything of that sort?

Adewumi: It’s not a ‘responsibility’. I happily do it when I have to but it’s not compulsory and they don’t necessarily need my money. And I’m not married. Lol

Project 9ja: Oh okay, that’s good then. Yeah, the marriage thing sure comes with extra responsibilities. So do you feel you’re at the right place in your career putting into consideration your age and qualifications?

Adewumi: Yes. I can’t complain at all. But there’s always a chance and opportunity to aim for better and that’s the goal.

At least some of my mates are earning in USD.

(On second thought) In fact, I’m no longer happy with myself laughs.

Project 9ja: Mad! Well that’s almost always the goal. But you still should be happy. A lot of people don’t get to be settled this early in life, speaking about the job hunters.

Adewumi: Yeah true. In good time, they will be fine too. Time and chance.

Project 9ja: Yeah, time and chance. Have you ever considered being a business owner or even tried it out at any point?

Adewumi: I’ve been doing a bit of business since uni. I set up a tech company with some of my friends in uni where we employed young tech guys to code, design websites, graphics et al. We couldn’t look after it after uni because of the demands of law school. I write and freelance during my spare time and develop strategy for business in the background.

Project 9ja: The tech company, that’s interesting. It’s still kind of ‘corporate work business’ and not the regular buying and selling of products.

Adewumi: Oh no. I’m too carefree and maybe nice for that type of business. I would give everything out for free. laughs

Project 9ja: Ah lmao, don’t even try. You seem to be handling a lot of things though, that’s really impressive.

Adewumi: It’s not only that. We just have to eat laughs. My only true passion is watching and analyzing football and listening to music.

Project 9ja: LMAO! But if you were to follow your passion, you won’t have that money in your account you know.

Adewumi: I still don’t have any money oh.

Project 9ja: Haha! Well okay. There is this popular mindset of people not wanting to work under others, hence rushing to start businesses. What do you have to say about that?

Adewumi: I’ve heard about it too. It’s not an approach I favour. The past few years have made me realise the essence of gaining experience and learning from people who actually know their stuff and are respectful in terms of how they pass the knowledge on. The most important thing is being in the right environment.

Project 9ja: Yeah you have to be in the environment to really understand how things run. In your own words, what are the things that places a person to be considered the highest for a job out of a large number of applications?

Adewumi: Am I qualified to address this?

Project 9ja: You should have an idea from your little experience. What do you think attracted your company to you?

Adewumi: Juju.

Project 9ja: Mad! We should probably be scared at this point.

Lol the juju has expired. Let me try sha. Your CV, your appearance when the interviewers get to see you (actually matters a lot but many don’t get), your performance during the interview (confidence is key and I always advise people to ask questions), your grades and the perception of your social skills based on the activities included in your CV. Depending on the role, the number of languages you are able to speak and understand may also be a major factor.

Project 9ja: Great tips there! Are there any things you feel you should’ve done differently earlier in life that would’ve placed you in a better position right now?

Adewumi: I honestly don’t think I would have changed anything. It would be a huge disservice to all the moments I lived in the past. I should’ve maybe applied for scholarships outside the country so I’d be out of this shithole sha.

Project 9ja: Lmao okay, that’s story for another day. What does the future look like for you?

Adewumi: Who told you the world is not ending? The world is coming to an end, forget future!

Project 9ja: Haha, if the world is ending, why are you still working remotely? Just quit already and enjoy your last days!

Adewumi: Just to get through the uncertain/strange times. Don’t want to be caught idle when the trumpet sounds.

Both laugh.

Adewumi: To answer your question though, everyone who knows me can tell that I just take each day as it comes. May be terrible but I don’t make grand plans for the future. I realised the vanity of life way too early for my good. We just try to be and achieve as much as we can, for as long as the universe allows.

Project 9ja: Wow. This brings us to the end of this session and it was truly an amazing one. Thank you very much for your time.

Adewumi: You’re welcome.

Interesting chat we had there with Adewumi and he sure seems to be killing it in his career at a young age. Above all, securing the bag is the goal!

Send us a DM today on Instagram PROJECT 9JA; The Nigerian Revolution or an email to project9jamag@gmail.com if you also want to share your corporate life story to the Project 9ja tribe.