Plants At HumAngle’s Office Have Name Tags. Why Is That?
An intern’s curiosity led to a discussion on why plants at the office bear names. Here, Hajara Ibrahim shares some of the responses she got while probing for answers.
The first things I noticed when I walked into HumAngle were the plants placed around the office. Seeing name tags on the pots piqued my interest. Later on, I would find out that these were the names of some of the people I would be working with. I thought, “Oh wow! they named their plants, that’s pretty cool.”
But then I was still keen on knowing why. “Would someone take another person’s plant?” I asked myself. So I decided to ask them when I got comfortable. You see, HumAngle is a place filled with funny and cool people who are passionate about the work they do, so it was not very hard for me to create a rapport with them.
I asked Isaac Oritogun first. He is the Research and Data Analyst. He explained that the whole idea of the plant is to show responsibility. He recalls the Editor-in-Chief (EiC) saying that the way your plant looks reflects how your state of mind as well as your work ethics, “so you have to take care of your plant. My first plant died, but my second plant is beautiful and is the security of the office.”
There were similar responses to Isaac’s.
“My plant is blooming and not a single side of it is dying. It represents my peaceful nature,” said Seun, one of the reporters, also taking a cue from the EiC’s statement.
Attahiru Jibrin, the IT Lead, thinks plants are nice. “The idea of the plant is if you are able to take care of a plant, it means whatever you do, you will take it seriously. Taking care of the plant teaches you a form of responsibility.”
Murtala Abdullahi, the Planning Editor who is passionate about climate change, also explained that your plants represent your sensitivity toward the environment. “It is also our promotion of climate action. They help us bring up the culture of responsibility among folks in the office,” he added.
Akinyemi Muhammed, Head of the Interactive Desk, seems to take commitment a step further. “First of all, it’s not just a plant,” he says. “My plants have names: Troy and Kumi. It’s a part of the office bonding policy to get people to connect to things in the office and to nurture them, but someone broke Troy and I am suing whoever did it for emotional distress.”
He had discovered the damage on Wednesday, October 12, and gone around the office searching for the culprit.
I do believe that the plants represent the staff’s well-being because when I asked Khadija Gidado, HumAngle’s IT Assistant, where her plant was, she said, “One died, it was killed when I was away for a while.” She claimed that it was put outdoors and excess sunlight burnt out its beautiful leaves. She told me that seeing the state of her plant after she returned devastated her.
Chigozie Victor had a similar experience too. “I had a plant, but it died when I was sick for about a month and no one watered or treated it,” she recalled. “By the time I came back, it was dead. I cried because I always looked forward to seeing it. The fact that it died shows how I was feeling during that time.”
And then there’s Mansir Muhammed, who boasts of being an environmentalist. But I learned that he is notorious for breaking things, including potted plants. When confronted with this allegation, he admitted to killing some plants ‘accidentally’.
I read in a previous Humans of HumAngle report how Mansir inflicted much emotional distress on Tracy after he broke her plant. I don’t think Tracy ever recovered from it, although she said having plants reminded her of having kids, which she is barely interested in.
There are some who are yet to own plants, like Abbagana, Umar, and Hawwa. Abbagana said he felt left out despite joining HumAngle months ago. Umar says it will make him happier to have one. Hawwa considers that perhaps she is yet to be eligible for a plant despite being at HumAngle longer than both Abbagana and Umar.
I relate to their grievances because I, too, want a plant in the office. So I asked Hameeda, the Head of Operations, what it takes to own one and she replied, “I wouldn’t say there are criteria per se, but just being a part of the HumAngle team is enough for you to have a plant.” Oh well! 🤷🏽
There is never a dull moment at HumAngle. The plants and their well-being truly mirror their owners’ personalities and work ethics because the office space is dotted with bright and vibrant plants.
Currently, we have the case of Akinyemi’s broken plant, and then Mansir, a serial plant killer, who despite denying his involvement, does not have a strong alibi. Are you thinking what I am thinking?
Reported by: Hajara Ibrahim
Edited by: Zubaida Baba Ibrahim & ‘Kunle Adebajo
