Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads. – Erica Jong
Abiodun Oshioye
“I’ve come to learn that there is nothing that cannot be done as long as you have interest in it” says Abiodun Oshioye, Technical specialist, Wecyclers.
Abiodun Oshioye is a technical specialist on the Wecyclers team. A 2004 National Diploma (ND) holder in Electrical Engineering from Kwara Polytechnic, Abiodun started out with interest in mechanical engineering but fate would see him study electrical engineering. After his ND, he went ahead to work with several firms before he stumbled on Wecyclers through a friend.
He was employed as a Wecycle rider but Abiodun got his chance one day when an equipment went bad and in his words “I showed up my skills”, he was subsequently engaged as a technical specialist working on the plastics crushing machine, electrical supply within the Wecyclers hubs and offices. At Wecyclers Abiodun says he has gained a lot of experience on new things and areas of mechanical and electrical engineering. His work with the Wecyclers team has seen him work on the Wecycles, tricycles and sometimes on the pickup vans. In his words “I love learning and it gets better when it’s engineering. It’s been really nice working here as they all appreciate me doing the job.”
As a technical specialist, Biodun’s work is not limited to one of the Wecyclers location. As he is involved in
all technical aspects of the Wecyclers operation. Biodun provides support to all the hubs across Lagos and to the office, servicing equipment and electrical operations to ensure that operations are running at full range. On a typical day the very cheerful Biodun ensures all the machines for operations are in good condition before any work is done.
In 20 months, as a staff of Wecyclers, Biodun says the teams’ belief in his abilities remains a major driving force for him as it has pushed him to do his job better and learn from mistakes. Also riding the Wecycle around for pickup of recyclable waste brings excitement to him “I’ve never felt bad about doing this job. I’ve had to ride the wecycle in my neighborhood and I do everything with joy as I believe this will make things work out well for me. I got the money I used in getting married from this job and even the money I used to get an apartment from this job as well. I’m very happy here”
On Wecyclers operations, “Wecyclers has helped a lot in Lagos, it’s like doing a cleanup/sanitation every day, picking up waste, cleaning the environment and getting people within their communities to know there’s also value in the waste. In my neighborhood for example you cannot easily see a PET bottle on the floor as people rush after these because they know they can get value from it, this has made me see that Wecyclers has changed the approach to waste in Lagos. I think the Government also has a role to play in the Wecyclers operations, we can do better as an organization and cover more locations around Nigeria. I recently watched a documentary that shows how the Government is of support to the South African recyclers and this can also be the case here.
The response around the areas we currently cover is impressive and that means we can make more impact but of course, we need more funding as well as partnerships from both the Government and the private sector. We have been able to create awareness with the little team we have and I tell my colleagues we need to put in more effort as a team.”
Abiodun attributes his success to determination and a good working relationship with the Wecyclers management and his team. When it comes to his personal life/career, Abiodun says he is working hard to build his skills and get better at what he does so he can be in the best position to take care of his family. Abiodun, is our Wecyclers person of the month!