I never had a problem with him concerning his job until last week when he left the office without any form of permission or notice to me. In fact he just left like he was his own boss, the next day I enquired from him where he had been the previous day, who granted him permission to go and why he didn't tell me about it. For the longest minutes he stood in front of me with his hands behind his back and couldn't give my an answer, i grew furious because earlier when he was away to only God knows where, i took up his duty and cleaned someone else's office when water spilled on the floor, it wasn't my job to do that but since the other janitor was also indisposed and i also couldn't account for the one person who was supposed to have been around where abouts, i had no choice but to take up his job, and now here i am am demanding from the human being where he had being and he is not talking. I eventually dismissed him but i promised him that i will get to the root of this matter.
My investigation revealed that Ato had followed the production crew out on location for a shoot and took up the job of a production assistant! Now how is that even possible? Until my findings, i always thought that the post of an office janitor was in the office and not in the jungle some where. I summoned him again and this time i sternly demanded an explanation, he admitted to the crime and confessed to me adding that he didn't seek my permission because he knew i will not have permitted him to leave.( which i wouldn't anyway because his jurisdiction is in the office and not beyond the office) He also confided in me that his madam(as he puts it) has not paid him in three months and that he had run out of cash, therefore he thought going with the production crew might earn him some few Cedis which will provide supper and transportation to the office the next day. (before you ask me why he hadn't been paid? let me first tell you that Ato is a third party employee at my work place, he works for a cleaning service agency whose services we have engaged, that's where his salary comes from and not directly from us and if for any reason his salary gets held up, it's his agency he has to deal with).
So my question now is whether his defence justifies his offence? Should he have obeyed the rules and starved? Or do i have him fired for gross insubordination? Would i have assisted him financially if he had earlier told me about his predicament?
Imagine my uncle who is the sole benefactor for me and my entire family dying when i am in my last year and about to re-open school for the final semester in the university, i have tried all avenues to come up with my tuition fee but all to no avail, the only way forward is to give in to the married man who has promised not only to pay my fees but take care of all my expenses and give me more than enough for myself and to my family. Do i agree to his advances and accept everything offered to defend my education and future or accept all these only to offend his wife and the rest of his household? Or do i say no and let all my years, time and money already spent in school go waste?
What about, when Ben, the accountant at my uncle's firm expressed his interest to travel abroad and told his boss about it, thinking he will loan him some money. His boss refused and said the company was going through financial difficulties which was a lie and Ben knew it, after all was is he not the company's accountant? Eventually Ben stole from him and was able to process and pay for his travelling documents and air tickets. Some seventeen months later he sent his boss the money plus a thirty percent interest on the actual amount of money which he had earlier stolen. Question is does this action justify the first crime which was theft? The debt has been paid and even more but does it take away the pain which came with it knowing you have been robbed? Yes, he may have had a lot of money and what was stolen was not that significant enough to make him feel vulnerable but it still is his money, or do you think it serves him right for not helping someone who was probably a part of his success story? Does it make Ben right? and the action he took acceptable? Or do we go the old adage which says the " end justifies the means" and celebrate Ben for his achievement?
Just like the story of Ato, we as often go through life challenges and we soon realise that we have run out of choices and we are a wits end in finding solutions. The decisions we ultimately take considering the situation, works in our favour although it's not the choice we will normally make. On the other hand these same choices negatively affects the other parties involved and either leaves them betrayed, hurt, disgusted, indifferent, insulted, hanging and sometimes leaving them to clean the mess that we make. As Ato's supervisor, i felt disrespected when the Ato left his post without my consent or approval, then i felt stupid when my supervisor asked me where the janitor was i couldn't account for his where abouts. Now what kind of Shepherd am i if i can't tell where my flock is, especially during the time that they are supposed to be on the fields grazing( so to speak) . If i am supposed to watch over the flock and they still get missing regardless, what then is my use? That is the kind of leader i felt i was. My anger was not about doing his job but about doing it for that fellow who did not consider me when he made that decision to vacate his post. He did not think about how i was going manage his office and mine at the same time. As if it was not enough, he did not even give me the heads up about his intended escape from" Sobibor" so i could plan ahead of time before the crises hit me hard!. Perhaps if i had known, then it would not have been that bad for me and the resentment i felt towards him will have been less. This whole ordeal was an unpleasant situation for me but i am sure people have worse situations especially if the people who let them down are more than just ordinary colleagues or subordinates. Family members and loved ones can equally treat us as such and in the end both parties cry foul play and it becomes our plight to tell who the victim actually is. So now i ask again, is it our Offense or their Defence?
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