Victor Chinyeaka is the Head of Legal at Kippa, providing legal support to the executive board and all the business units at Kippa. In this interview, he talks about choosing law, his dancing prowess, working at Kippa and everything in between.
Q- Did you always want to be a lawyer?
A- I didn't even know what I wanted to be for the most part. Until SS2, I was still taking Art and Science classes. I was doing considerably well in both.
In SS3, I had to make a choice to be an Art student or a Science student. What pushed me to go to the Arts was a very deep desire for expression. I've always liked to converse and interact with people. I saw that life in the Arts was going to afford me that opportunity.
FUN FACT- When I filled out my JAMB form, my first choice was law. The second choice was History and International Relations. Until after I wrote POST UTME, I was very comfortable with whatever course I was given. It didn't matter to me whether I got into law or history and international relations. But when it came, it was law.
Q- You are currently the Head of Legal at Kippa. What does this role entail?
A- It's a nice title for your LinkedIn and your social media profiles, but it's a lot of work! You're servicing everyone who has any legal issues. As a business, we interact everyday with legal issues that require input from the Legal unit. That invariably means that my work intersects with the work of everyone at Kippa.
Q- What is your proudest moment at Kippa?
A- This Customer had been trying to register their business with Kippa Start for a long time. They kept receiving queries from the CAC. It had taken a long time to resolve that issue. At some point, the customer was asking for a refund. The customer was sent my way and we solved that problem in less than a week.
That particular moment for me was very special because that was a customer we were about to lose. What's funny is that when this customer finally got their certificate delivered to them. A week or two weeks later, I saw that they had paid for TIN registration. It sent a message to me that not only had we been able to solve this customer's problem, but we had also managed to restore their confidence in the work that we do. That was a very significant moment for me.
Q- What is an interesting fact that a lot of people don't know about you?
A- I can stay inside my house for a full month straight. When I start a series I love, I won't stop till I finish. I just keep going!
Q- If not law, what would you be doing?
A- Honestly. Diplomacy or Politics. Diplomacy would have been an alternate career path for me. That's something that I love a lot. Especially the part of it that comes to travelling because I love to travel.
Q- You love watching series, what are your top three?
A- The top three would be Peaky Blinders, Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad!
Q- What's your dream holiday destination?
A- Marrakech, Morocco!
Q- What are your hobbies outside of work?
A- Watching movies, travelling. I love to volunteer. I love listening to music and I love dancing. I love dancing so much. You need to see me on the dance floor. One of these days, I will just randomly fly into Lagos when we're having an office party and shock everyone. After dancing, I'll just go back to Abuja.
