Having graduated and served my country through the National Youth Service, my journey to a life without connection and godfather in Nigeria started as getting a job was almost impossible, it was like every principle of success I had acquired through reading motivational books, attending seminars, listening to tapes and mentored by great minds never really worked in Nigeria. I applied for all jobs my eyes could catch, I became a regular customer to the newspaper vendors because I paid 50naira without buying but having the opportunity to read a daily newspaper my favorite was The Guardian news paper, job sites like Hotnigeriajobs, Jobberman, Nigerhotjobs through Operamini were the only things that my Nokia browsing phone was good for. I applied to both private and government vacancies. For the private organizations my major setback was experience as most of the engineering fields needed so many years of experience and yet they expected one to be between 23 and 25 year, for example a company demanded 8 years experience and yet expect you to be an engineering graduate with NYSC certificate and be less than 25 years of age. The government jobs on the other hand was just a scam, a waste of time, energy and resources as godfather-ism in top government positions was more relevant than abilities, certificates, experience, age. In all I still believed that with determination and persistence I would break barriers from PTDF scholarship, NLNG, NNPC, NIS and many more others.
I
guess most of the great motivational speakers and writers did not have Nigeria
in mind while speaking or writing, because life in Nigeria seems totally
impossible without a godfather, especially if you don’t have a powerful family
name. No wonder the former prime minister of Britain recently referred to
Nigeria as “fantastically corrupt”. I applied for the 2015
Nigeria Immigration recruitment exercise as I also did in 2014 for the failed recruitment that led to a
stampede that claimed the lives of 15
people due to poor organization, inadequate logistics and lack of planning by
the organizers after over a million Nigerian jobless youths like myself were
made to part away with one thousand naira. Another advert was placed in 2015 on the dailies and through different online
media like hotnigeriajobs.com as promised by the President, Good luck Ebele
Jonathan, just like a cat that has nine lives which refused to die or allow his
back touch the ground I applied again
probably because it was free and I had access to the internet, I was later
invited for a computer based test at Chams City Ikeja Lagos, the test was so organized
that every paramilitary agency in Nigeria was adequately represented most
prominent was the Nigeria Civil Defense NSCDC and DSS as they were seen all
over the place with assorted kinds of ammunition, candidates who were awaiting
their own batch of the exam were not allowed to come beyond a kilometer to the
center, phones or bags were not allowed into the building not even a sheet of
paper was allowed, candidates entered in an orderly manner and were first
screened and captured with biometrics, before proceeding to the exam hall, the
exam was for One hour comprising of English, Maths, Logic and Current Affairs,
I did my best and went home, a week later I received a mail that I was
successful based on score and state of origin to proceed for physical examination,
document verification and oral interview at my state Nigeria Immigration
Command, I had no choice than to borrow 10,000
naira from a friend for transportation as I was not resident in my state of
origin, I even had to sleep at the bus park because I arrived the venue a night
before, the exercise started around about 10:00AM with
so many people in attendance and again I was skeptical on how the selection was
to be made. We were asked a few questions, our documents checked, height, chest
span for men checked, legs and eye color checked, during which the Immigration
personnel, and other paramilitary body personnel present were jotting down
their observations like a panel of judges because each section had about five
uniform personnel jotting down their own observations. I later discovered that
the exercise was for three days and mine was the first batch with over eighty
five people in attendance. I felt terrible low in spirit because I had expected
to be the only one there or at least with a fewer number of people to increase
my chances but I left knowing I had done the best I could, I traveled back to
Lagos with the remaining cash I had left and resorted to prayers because at
this point I was totally unaware of how the final selection was to be made
because I remember meeting guys and ladies that looked intimidating both in
size and knowledge we shared before the screening started. I monitored the
website that was used for the application and short listing of applicant for
the recruitment like a 007 agent who was very suspicious of any foul play that
may happen, surprisingly after about two weeks, on that faithful night I
noticed that the website was been reconstructed and little changes were been
made it was clear that the ultimate list would soon be published, meanwhile I
was surfing between the website and Nairaland were other applicants who crossed
to the interview stage were always interacting together, I waited until I slept
off but woke up again just before an hour or two to mid night, checked my
Nairaland forum and noticed people
saying ‘congratulations’, somewhere asking others to help them check their
names, I tried visiting the site myself but it was not opening the traffic was
much so I decided to check my mail box and I saw a mail from PCAIR, I was
afraid to open it knowing that it could be a ‘regret or congratulations’ mail
but with my heart heavily pounding on my chest I summoned courage and opened
it, surprisingly it wasn’t a regret but a congratulations mail requesting that
I proceed to Immigration Training School Kano ITSK for document presentation
and authentication, documentation and collection of employment letters. At that
point my joy was beyond limits I danced, ran, jumped, rolled on the floor,
cried and prayed with joy none stop throughout that night. A week later I
borrowed the sum of 30,000 naira as I proceeded to Kano by bus. In attendance
at Kano were four hundred {400} people including myself all dressed in white
short and shirts as that was the required dress code, we were given rooms to
settle into while the documentation was to start the next day. I was
documented, given my service number, and a posting letter to my state of origin
to begin my induction training with immediate effect from that day the 25th
of may 2015, pending when my appointment letter
would be sent so I left Kano back to Lagos, I can remember receiving two
different mails while at Kano from two different organizations inviting me for
interview one of them was a major telecommunication company in Nigeria but I
totally ignored both, what could be better than finding yourself employed in a
federal government paramilitary service especially when it has the name
Immigration attached to it. after about two days I proceeded to traveling to my
state of origin and state of posting because I was worn-out and needed some
rest after spending hours on the road to and fro Kano. I arrived my state
command and was again documented.
We
immediately started our induction training but to me it was rather a warfare
training because we started every day by 5am till 5pm, lateness was a terrible
offence that would have you pinning your shaved bald head to the sharp
coal-tarred parade ground, yet we were not given any form of accommodation,
transportation, feeding or allowances. we went through hell with the
expectation that we would come out like a pure gold, I took another soft loan
of one hundred and fifty thousand naira for feeding expenses alone as I had no
choice but to turn the parking lot close to my Command to my bedroom as to
enable me meet up every day by 5am as my village hometown was very far from my
command and only visited home during weekends. The training was more of warfare
than induction, we became fully skilled in weapon handling in less than a
month, we did parades, learnt major immigration duties and even wrote internal
exams and submitted project papers. we were made to buy handouts, training
materials, paid for our internal examination papers, bought all uniforms and
kits from shoes to head gear, we were made to sweep the buildings, wash
toilets, cut grasses. So many times we were asked to come out on the parade
ground walk kneeling, hand crawling, pinning of head under the sun and during
heavy down pour of rain as this three months was during the rainy season, we
totally endured all because we signed for it, at a point it was like our
instructors where not happy to have us join them in the service they did every
thing to frustrate us, personally I was given a hot slap twice, I was once made
to roll alone on a scratching grass while it was rainy heavily while others
left for classes, yet I still kept faith and remained focus because I knew the
end was near.
on the 20th of august 2015 while on the parade ground in preparation to
our passing out parade our instructors called on us that they just got an
information to give us a break of two weeks as we would be proceeding to our
various training schools which according to them would be more challenging and
rigorous. We suspected foul play but personally I was happy because I was too
hungry, and weak to think of it, for three months I have slept outside during
that cold season, I have not eaten any good food and have not had a good sleep
or bath. The next day before I felt my motor park residence preparing to go to
my village before going back to Lagos I heard over the radio that our
recruitment had been cancelled and the CG suspended, I quickly contacted my
colleagues and I was shown a letter from the service headquarters Abuja stating
that all newly recruited staff should by quietly dispersed from all state
command, the circular advised that each command should do it in such a way that
it would not cause public attention.
After
dispersal I waited for about a month in my village home town believing that
things would be sorted out yet nothing happened, I travelled back to Lagos,
where my landlady was eagerly waiting for me to pay her one year arrears of
rent I owed and probably an advance since she knew of my new job and level. Few
months passed and i was now owing may landlady 18
months’ rent. On the 8th of December 2015 my landlady threw me and my family out of her
premises that was after seizing my TV and refrigerator, I sold the little
properties I had left, sent my wife and kid to the village to stay with my mum
and went to scout at my uncles place, I have had to engage in menial jobs to
fend for myself, used the little money I make from this jobs in travelling to
Abuja on several occasions on a protest with my colleagues from all over the
federation to air our plight of injustice. only to hear that the government we
all elected into power calling our recruitment which was transparent and
rigorous “illegal” while they secretly sent over 1,000
people without any form of advertisement or application direct to training schools
as opposed to the normal three months state induction process before proceeding
to training schools, funny enough these people are been fed, housed and paid
their salaries as opposed the normal three months work before payment in every
federal government agency, to the extent that a four months acting CG ensured
that his 3rd wife and son secured a slot, whereas 2,000 now 1998 {2 has since passed on} Nigerian youths
trained in arms and weapon handling, who got a federal government job on merit
are now sitting at home, a mockery to the Nigerian youths, a mockery to true
federalism, a mockery to dignity, and worst of all a mockery to our
constitution. I humbly call and cry to every Nigerian youth, parent, government
official past and present, religious leaders, traditional leaders,
organizations, agencies and all governments all over the world that advocate
for true democracy, justice and equity should please speak out against this
ugly trend that could be a time bomb that Nigeria as a nation is sitting on.
This is very sad to read
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