We woke up in Lagos, Saturday March 15 just like any other day, believing we will have a peaceful day. As early morning joggers moved towards the National Stadium Surulere, they were stunned into disbelief by the sea of heads of Nigerian youths, all in white trooping to the National Stadium. It was an unbelievable sight to behold. They were later to discover that they are job seekers looking for 3,000 jobs from Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS).
In the 33 states of Nigeria, including Abuja and excluding Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, the applicants gathered in their millions. The applicants mostly youths, had certificates ranging from Master’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, HND, OND, NCE and Senior School Certificate. Each applicant paid N1000 processing fee.
The greed, inefficiency and weaknesses of NIS and their masters have brought the death of more than 20 Nigerian youths including three pregnant women and more than 100 people injured. Nigeria has gradually entered into the Guinness Book of Records for this show of shame. NIS has through the power of greed and avaricious tendencies exposed Nigeria’s unending mediocrity to the world.
Does this so-called recruitment exercise have anything to do with 2015 elections? Is it similar to FERMA’s recruitment of thugs and hoodlums in Lagos in the name of employment road managers? Why are PDP and President Jonathan doing all these now?
More questions: Why should NIS collect N1000 each from more than six million Nigerians when you know you have only 3,000 vacant positions? Where has the money gone to? Who authorized the collection? Where is the balance after the expenditure?
Now if this is not Nigeria, heads would have started rolling at the NIS. Arrests of the men behind this huge scam would have been completed by now. There would have been apologies from the highest seat of power. There would be apologies and regrets from the organizers and executors of this failed exercise. But this is a Nigeria where impunity is a way of life. This is Nigeria where sycophancy is a way of life.
The horrible pictures of more than six million Nigerian youths seeking for 3,000 jobs have been put in the world scene. The inability of Nigerian leaders to show leadership in hours of need has been exposed to the world. The criminal level of the unemployment situation in Nigeria has been let out of the bag in a country where few leaders pocket $20 billion without caring a hoot. This tragedy has clearly exposed our system’s failure. It has clearly shown the level of the reasoning and thinking of our leaders.
Adebayo Olu,
Lagos