Kenyan media personality Eric Njoka shared his painful story of how a former boss at Kenya Television Network(KTN) denied him an opportunity to join international news company CNN under its flagship Journalism Fellowship program.
Njoka who currently works at Wion Television in India revealed that his former immediate boss denied him a life changing opportunity that would have seen him visit the United States of America on a 5 year free visit visa included in the CNN deal.
The TV personality revealed that he was dejected after learning that he would be turned down because his manager had called Turner studios, which was in charge of handling the invitation, informing him that the manager's letter had made them shelve the invite.
"We got a call from your office manager directing Turner studios to cancel your trip and to recall every documentation presented to us, we have tried our best to discuss this and come to an agreement but the response we received was rude, abrasive and unbecoming, We regret to inform you that your Fellowship opportunity has been rejected and deferred,’’ Njoka shared.
Njoka revealed that he regretted losing the opportunity, maintaining that he believed his career would have panned out differently if the deal would have sailed through.
‘’I lost such a huge opportunity which could have added a few miles to my career path, but humans being humans, and always being selfish that it should have been them, instead of me, turned out to be the biggest turning point in my life,’’ Njoka narrated.
‘’Sometimes life decides to give you lemons and you must make lemonade, there are no two-ways about it,’’ he added.
He maintained that it was however hard for him to accept what happened and to even forgive the manager who shattered his dreams.
The media personality revealed that the offer came at a time he was at his career’s peak, indicating that probably jealousy might have played a role in the manager’s reaction to the invitation.
‘’At the time I was gradually ascending careerwise at the TV station mentioned in the letter, it was moving so fast, and at the same time trying to suppress my excitement because that could have jinxed it, and so I got a 5 year multiple entry visa to the USA, packed my bags and never traveled outside Kenya,’’ he added.
He recalled that his late mother was excited about the opportunity only to be met with disappointment.
‘’I had my late Mum, who at the time was more overjoyed than me, every step of the way plus I had family in the "Yues" with nothing to worry about, tickets in hand, prayer in check, final touches done,’’ Njoka recounted.
He revealed that he had to lie to his family after learning about the turn of events, revealing that he was emotionally disturbed by the reaction from his manager.
He also shared that despite reaching out to the person responsible for the cancellation, he was ignored for weeks, further shuttering his dreams.
‘’I kept calm, lied to my family that I had to go to the embassy and check some stuff, while I was calling my "bosses" to find out what was wrong, with none of them responding and avoiding me for the next three weeks.’’ Njoka revealed.
‘’I was devastated, I was humiliated, I felt dejected, but the most hurtful sight was to see my Mom, just break, that will never happen,’’ he added.
