Dare to Dream

Uche Madu worked for an accounting firm downtown Lagos. She was the chief accountant of a young and vibrant firm led by a boisterous CEO Tunde Caxton. Tunde was well known in Lagos amongst the younger generation Lagosians. His firm, Caxton Consulting & Chartered Accountants, is also well known amongst corporate institutions for its stoic and firm reputation. Something Uche was very pleased about given her prominent role in achieving such ubiquitous status. Since joining the company straight from University of Lagos, she combined working diligently and long extended hours with preparation for her professional exams. Uche had always wanted to have “Chartered” beside her name ever since her final years as an Accounts major. It was something she took much pride in and tell who cared to listen, her designation. Many of her sales pitch to new clients would often find comments that highlighted this: “…as a chartered accountant, I would suggest blah, blah, blah this or blah, blah, that.” It was certainly her place of comfort and had every right to be proud of her accomplishments. When she met Tunde – who had just started Caxton Consulting barely 8 years – in 2010, she noticed a young man who took pride in his new company and had the vision to take it places but struggled to find, within his team, staff who shared the same vision. Entrusting and delegating the important and arduous task of brand development was a struggle alongside business development. Tunde needed someone who was smart, articulate, and hungry to make a name for themselves and in parallel, advance his vision for the company. Uche was a breath of fresh air. The day of the interview, he saw a young lady confident in herself. As she laid down her credentials – Second class upper – she articulately outlined where she would like to be in 5 years, Tunde knew he had found the one. A goal-getter personality was what he needed and Uche appeared the poses the traits. Her coming onboard saw a change in culture even amongst the more senior accountants and staffs. She was hard working and very successful in landing new clients. Her boss at the time, Fred Igolo, knew he had to improve his performance to avoid being targeted and deemed expendable given her energy and work ethics.