Are Technicians Valued in Nigeria?
By; Chiamaka Ibeleme
Consider your most recent interaction with a technician. You most likely haggled prices with him because you felt cheated and overcharged, or you insulted him for doing something wrong, or for doing a poorly done job, and so on. This is our plight when dealing with technicians in Nigeria and it is what technicians frequently face when dealing with clients, which has helped shape the narrative of technicians in Nigeria as being cheats, untrustworthy, and unruly. Plumbing, carpentry, masonry, and other manual jobs are among the most undervalued in Nigeria, despite being among the most crucial. We need them to build our houses, make or repair our furniture, fix our electrical appliances and do other important jobs. Despite their critical role, technicians often go unnoticed and unappreciated in our society. "Good technicians are hard to come by; they all look the same," we say. But have we ever considered that we all play an important role in shaping technicians in our society? How? If in dealing with technicians, we show that we value them and the work they do.
We can begin by showing them respect in how we interact with them and correct them. The fact that many of them lack university degrees is no reason to look down on them and disrespect them. In pointing out their errors, we do not have to insult them; rather, we should correct them in a dignified manner. Do we thank them for their services? All these are minor details that can have a significant impact. Many of these technicians will be forced to behave well if each client treats them with respect. Respecting them does not make you appear frail.
Furthermore, adequately compensating the few good technicians that we work with reflects the value we place on their work. We forget the fact that these people have mouths to feed; that they have also spent some money trying to transport themselves to our houses or going to the market to get the materials they need to get our jobs done. Sometimes they spend hours, or even the whole day, trying to get our repairs done. With the current economic situation, the prices of many things have doubled. In the mistaken belief that these technicians are defrauding us, we underpay them. Although there are many dubious technicians out there, there are still a few with integrity, and we should encourage them by paying them. In addition, we sometimes even put off making the necessary payments because we do not consider it a priority, and as a result, these technicians must keep calling to remind us of our debt, which is unfair. Paying technicians fairly and on time is a significant step toward changing the narrative. As a result, many of them will be encouraged to work well and be transparent about their expenses.
Technicians are valuable to our society. Although many of us have had unpleasant experiences in dealing with some of them, we can change that narrative if each of us shows respect to the technicians we deal with and pay them well and on time.
Photo by Bidvine: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-using-dewalt-cordless-impact-driver-on-brown-board-1249611/