A Peek Into the Life Of…Environmental Officer – Tosan Iwere

We made a call for BellaNaija readers to be a part of a new exciting feature, titled ‘A Peek Into The Life Of‘ which the Features Team has been working on. {Click here if you missed it} We’ve been very excited by the feedback we’ve received and we’re happy with the submissions we’ve been receiving. It feels so good to get to know our readers better – what they do. So far, we’ve had three interestingly diverse features. ‘Deyemi Okanlawon, Chinedu Anarado and Jennifer Akporehe.

Today, Tosan Iwere, an environmental officer joins the league of people sharing their lives with us.

Job Title
Environmental Officer | Industry: Government

What do you do specifically?
• Monitoring of the HSE activities of PSC Companies.
• Processing of Waste Management Contracts (Drilling, Production, and Medical & Domestic Wastes) for all PSC Companies
• Participate in PSC Companies Joint inspection visits (JIVs) and Integrity checks.
• Review of Budget/Performance of PSC Companies.
• Ensure adequate Participation in Safety Audits / Monitoring
• Review and collate PSC Companies Safety incident /HSE reports and analysis of same for management information.
• Review and evaluation of Environmental studies (EIA, PIA, EER, EIS BASELINE) proposals.

Core Responsibilities
• Participate in Processing of Waste Management Contracts (Drilling, Production, and Medical & Domestic Wastes) for all PSC Companies
• Preparation of Monthly reports/Participate in PSC Companies Joint inspection visits (JIVs) and Integrity checks.
• Review of incoming and out-going documents in my section/Ensure proper monitoring of the HSE activities of PSC Companies

How Long Have You Been at This Job?
I have been working in this organization for four (4) years.

Highlights of Your Job
Most of the work I do daily is done in the office, and it is more of paper work. But the highlight of my job is when i go out for field work and get to see how EIA & PIA is carried out. When I also go offshore, I get to experience what they go through working in that location. It is refreshing since in the office I only get to prepare reports and make recommendations, but this time I get to make recommendations based on what I see and my experience.

Downsides of Your Job
Most of the companies I carry out review on their budget/performance sometimes think I am wicked when their budget is being slashed or not approved. I am only trying to help the government save money and give the company value for their money. This sometimes can cause enmity. Some people also think since you work with this organization you can land them a contract; but, there are due processes to be followed. This makes them think I do not want to help. Another scenario is when making a report after an inspection, and it’s not to the company’s favor. They get angry; meanwhile I’m only doing my job and making sure their facility is safe and not prone to cause an incident or an accident that can lead to death or loss of funds to both the government and their company.

If you were not doing this, what would you be doing?
I will probably be working in a hospital or some technical laboratory since I have a first degree in Biochemistry and also have an experience in those areas. I did my IT in the laboratory of an oil firm and my NYSC in a General hospital. Again I might have been a model but I guess I am too old for that now; even though some people are still trying to persuade me. My manager presently calls me a model. In my mind I’m like ‘old mama model’☺ You see, I like playing dress up, I like to take pictures…I am always camera ready! I can pose for Africa. Just hold a camera and the next thing you get is a pose. I can be taking a friend a picture but I will be the one posing…it’s that bad!

But yeah, I like to travel and visit new places if and when I can afford it. You see why modeling wouldn’t have been a bad idea for me?

On a scale of 1-10, how would you grade your skill set at this job?
Well I would say a seven (7), because life is a continuous process of learning. Even though I am good at what I do, I still get to learn new things every day. Like now I have a new boss from another division and his style of working is actually different from my former boss. He has made some changes and given me another insight to how things can be done differently in my daily work routine. So you see…you can never know it all and will never know it all.

I Am Living My Career Dream. Yes or No?
Yes and No I will say. Yes, because I get to do what I like when the opportunity comes, like going for field work. No, because field work is what I would want to do on a daily base instead of the paper work I do most times.

We love Tosan’s refreshing honesty. Now let’s see what her average day is like!

Average Day
5:30AM– Alarm goes on, I wake up stretching and contemplating being a full time business woman, so I don’t get to wake up at that time.
5:35AM-625AM– I snap out of my day dream, read my open heaven, say a little prayer and then jump into the shower. I use another 35 minutes or there about to dress up and apply my make-up.
6:25AM– I am outta the house, cruising alongside my sister to work. If am joining the staff bus then I have to leave earlier like about 6:15AM and walk down to my bus stop.
8AM-9AM– I’m at work, greet and gist a bit with colleagues, eat breakfast if I feel like which I don’t normally.
9AM-12PM– Work, Work, Work. It could be me reviewing documents, presentations, or briefing of some previous jobs done by me to my boss.
12PM-2PM– Lunch break, if am done with lunch before 2PM, I go back to my desk, get on social media; Facebook, Instagram, Blogs, Bella Naija for sure, Whats App, BBM e.t.c

2PM-4:15PM– Work as usual, review of documents continues
4:15PM– I start clearing my desk and shutting down my system.
4:30PM– Close of Work, Yippeee!!!
4:30PM-5:30PM– Cruising back home, when there’s no traffic I get home 5:30PM but when there’s terrible traffic then I get home 6:30PM thereabout.
6:30PM-9:00PM– Lazy around, might nap for a bit depending on how my day went, have dinner, then sit in front of the TV to watch series, movies, talk shows.
9:00PM-11:00PM – I am mostly on social media again, chatting on my phone, listening to music or gisting with the sister.
11:00PM– Bed time!!! Say another short prayer, reflect on the day’s activities and just stare into space or press my phone again till sleep comes calling……☺

Oh we love how BellaNaija is right there on the list of Tosan’s daily activities! We hope you enjoyed reading Tosan’s feature. We can’t wait to read from you. What are you waiting for? Send us an email and let’s take a peek into your work life!