Weekend with the CEO
Diana Orry Seem plays reggae in the ‘Lighthouse of West Africa’
Saturday February 17, 2024
Perhaps in another world, Diana Orry Seem would have been an airbrushed flight attendant, flying from country to country and looking down on those stuck in Nairobi’s merciless traffic jams, the kind of traffic that rivals every noise imaginable and every variation imaginable. the theme of human rage and impatience. That’s not why she wanted to become a flight attendant, but that’s why she went to Togo. “There are no traffic jams here,” she smiles.
If Nigeria is the self-confident first-born and Ghana the self-composed last-born, Togo is the often forgotten second child, full of contradictions. Like the home of Ecobank, one of Africa’s largest banks, where Diana works, managing 33 markets as the group’s head of cards.
This is of course when she is not in the other market looking for Mrenda, its unavoidable delight. Food is an important aspect of his life, a reference, an article of faith, his Rosetta Stone. She speaks fondly of her Maragoli roots in western Kenya: going to mtoni fetching water, singing to the Friends’ Church Quakers, being called a mzungu.
She settled in Togo, and Togo made her feel at home. She slowly learned their official language, French; and Togo has also respected its love language: no traffic jams.
How did the passage from Kenya to Togo go?
It was one of the most conflicting moments of my life. This opportunity presented itself during the Covid-19 pandemic period. I was doing my old boss’s job (who had just left) but was based in Kenya. It took a Kenyan colleague, already in Togo, to make my task easier.
One of the things that convinced me was the fact that there were no traffic jams. It takes me a maximum of 30 minutes to reach any destination in Lomé. In Kenya, I live in Kitengela so you can imagine the traffic I encounter. Plus, now I live right next to the ocean (laughs).
What was your biggest culture shock?
First there was the language. This country is predominantly French-speaking. I am English-Swahili oriented. I told myself I would take lessons, but Covid-19 arrived. I rely mainly on Duolingo, but I can now confidently follow a conversation in French and, if necessary, speak it.
Second, the food. The Togolese use a little pepper – not as much as the Nigerians and Ghanaians – but my stomach still can’t take it. I am one of those Kenyans who carry suitcases of flour, maziwa mala, vegetables, sausages and other food products when returning abroad. (laughs) But as Maragoli, I finally figured out how to get Mrenda and ougali. In Togo, we make fermented ugali and eat it cold. But they have good tilapia.
What was the first thing you did when you got there?
So I first moved with my mother while my husband and children stayed in Kenya. We arrived on a Sunday and wanted to cook something first as we had brought our food from Kenya. But we didn’t have any salt. The Kenyan colleague who gave me the pep talk lived right behind my house. I didn’t have a local SIM card to call him, so I took one of my stools, put it next to the fence, stepped on it and screamed his name until which her husband comes out and asks for salt and matches.
Did your husband and children finally follow you to Togo?
Initially, we hadn’t planned to move the whole family, but Covid happened. I had asked the airline to let me know if anything happened so I could get out. A day before the Kenyan borders closed, I traveled to Ghana. I told my family to book the tickets, we would pay at the airport. I was among the last passengers to arrive as the borders closed at midnight.
After Covid-19, I left with the children because they were studying online. They never came back. Togo grew thanks to them. I think they prayed that I would stay here longer.
Do you want to?
It grew on me too. My youngest, who is nine years old, now considers Togo his home, haha!
What was your nickname growing up?
Mzungu. I am mixed race. I grew up in Majengo in Vihiga County. I was raised by my mother and my grandmother. I never saw my father, but I got different versions of why he was never there every time I asked him. He is deceased now. I remember going to mtoni (river) to fetch water and to the Friends Church to sing Christmas carols…it was a beautiful childhood.
How has growing up without your father changed the way you raise your children?
Hmm! Twelve years later, when my mother remarried, I had a stepfather. He was good to me when I was a child. I had my first child in my third year of college and have been married to the same man for almost 20 years. He is very supportive and has never tried to put me down. When I moved here, it was a conflicting time because I didn’t want to raise the children alone. But he decided to turn his life upside down and move us all here even though he didn’t need to. He stayed by my side. Our firstborn is now 18 and no longer at home.
What do you miss about your childhood?
The simplicity of life. I recently turned 40. I usually write some things about my childhood that I missed on my Instagram page. My grandmother was very enterprising and my mother very hardworking. She made me attend the Aga Khan High School in Kisumu to expose me to different cultures. I miss this simplicity of life: playing, entering someone’s house without fearing that they will hurt you. I see such simplicity today in Lomé when the neighborhood children come directly from school to my house. We have this kind of heat.
What has remained unchanged about you since childhood?
The Maragoli in me. I have a solid clique of childhood friends that I still keep. We often remember our childhood when we chat in Kimaragoli. My boys (sons) say it is a woman’s language because they have only heard me, my mother, my sister and my friends speaking Kimaragoli. When I’m sad or excited, we’ll speak in the same sentence in English, Kimaragoli and Swahili. To emphasize, haha!
Did you pass on the Maragoli gene to the boys?
No, they didn’t choose it, but they understand a word or two when I talk about food or when I’m angry.
Speaking of which, what is your favorite dish to cook?
Chapati. When I have impromptu guests, Pilau. It’s ugali, chicken and vegetables when I’m just at home. Maziwa Mala and the lawyer must be there somewhere. I also like matoke and matumbo. When they (the sons) want to bribe me at home, this is what they cook.
What is your special family ritual?
Pray every evening. We are Catholic now, but each of my children is allowed to choose a specific prayer. We also love random gifts. They don’t associate gifts with birthdays or Christmas. We randomly give each other gifts throughout the year.
What are you asking God now?
I pray for good health. I have seen people suffer from cancer. It doesn’t matter when it’s a statistic until it hits us close to home. I also ask God to give my children an opening there. I struggled when my son said he wanted to study in Canada. We had a whole path open for him in Kenya; finish school in Nairobi school, get admitted to the University of Nairobi, graduate, do your master’s degree, then go elsewhere. But when we got here, his mindset changed. I know I shouldn’t limit them to my abilities; I just pray that God will open the doors for them.
What will the girl you once were say to the woman you are now?
Hmm. What I wanted as a girl is far from what I have as a woman. I didn’t imagine a husband being there for his family, but I love that that’s what I have. I always wanted to be a flight attendant and I tried really hard, haha! My grandmother would take me to all the aunts and uncles who flew because we thought they knew the owners of the planes and could get us those jobs, haha!
Me and a close friend, who also got pregnant around the same time as me, got into sales after campus. We lived in Githurai, where I did my teaching practice. We wrote letters applying for jobs at all the banks because someone told us the banks were hiring.
My son was then living with my mother at home and she found me a teaching position at the BOG (Board of Governors). But before I could go to western Kenya, one of the maintenance workers at Barclays head office called me and told me to go to a building called Bank House, where they employed salesmen . After an interview, I started work the following Monday. Now I am here.
What is your guilty pleasure?
I have a sweet tooth. The cakes, the pastries, the works. But I can’t stand sugar in my tea, haha! I also, thanks to my friends, acquired a new taste for traveling. If I can, I will work harder to get a bonus and have a chance to take a trip. Happiness.
What is the place you went to that left an impression on you?
Ghana. The Volta River. It’s huge and it’s just relaxing.
How do you spend your weekends now?
One of my other guilty pleasures is sleeping. If I’m not at church or hosting, I’m sleeping. From time to time, I like the beats, not necessarily the lyrics. I’m a reggae girl. I’m a different person in reggae zones, at church and at work.
What reggae song are you going to now?
Ethiopian Rock Attack (by Aba Kush).
Who do you know that I should know?
My childhood friend Jackline Kibisu. She worked at Safaricom and now works at Citibank. She has an inspiring story; every time I feel that life has reached its limit, I know that I can get through it thanks to it. She is responsible for Citibank’s debt products for sub-Saharan Africa, covering 11 countries. Can I add something?
Of course…
I don’t want to identify with the titles. I want to identify with who I am rather than what I am. I am happy to see out-of-school girls returning to school, sometimes paying their school fees. I am a former student of Mukumu Girls, and they have given me strength, whether it was to become a mentor or a coach; These are the things I look forward to.