“After I Was Fired By Popular Telecom, I Was Jobless For A Year.” – Uzor Arukwe, An Actor From Nigeria

Nollywood actor Uzor Arukwe has talked candidly about his path into the film business, recounting how he was fired in 2012 by well-known telecom giant Etisalat Nigeria.

Before Etisalat announced its brand name change to 9Mobile in 2017, it was one of Nigeria’s four biggest telecoms.

After working for the telecom company for years, Uzor says he was fired while expecting to be promoted from expert to manager in a recent interview with media personality Chude Jidenonwo.

As the team lead, the actor claimed to have “taken the fall” for an incident in his department, although he did not elaborate on what went wrong.

He said, “I worked in telcos. I worked in retail and sports. To be honest, I was fired from Etisalat, actually. I do not think my mum even knows. I was fired sometime in 2012. Something happened in my department. I was heading the team at the time. Then something happened I had to take the fall as the leader.

“…Five years after, when I came to a place where I was hoping to become a manager, I had become a specialist, and then this happened. It was one of the hardest things ever. They stripped me of everything that makes you think you have a job. I tried to get into film sometime in 2012, but it was really slow.

“The only gig I got between 2012 and 2013 when I got my second job was some stage drama. Seyi Babatope got me the gig. That was the only gig I got between November 2012 when I was fired till December 2013. I was at home for one year and had no job. Nobody was calling me for films. It was terrible.

“I was like I think I should go back. I dusted my certificate again. And somehow I got a job again. There then for another five years. And then in 2018, I was like I think I am done. I think I have tried. I left my company in April 2018 and got my first gig with Iroko on August 28, 2018. At this time, I was broke, busted down, and had no money. It was so bad that I was saying prayers at noon.”

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Rose Ajieh