By Okwe Obi
As far as most unemployed persons are concerned, all they want is to get jobs regardless of the circumstance. Most parents are getting weary of taking care of grown up children, who have successfully completed the mandatory number of years in tertiary institutions.
The effect of unemployment has given rise to the army of youth idling away at Wuse, a spot opposite Wuse market in Abuja. Another spots where most job-seekers hang out is Area 1 and the civil service environment close to thee Eagle Square. One can hardly detect them because they are gorgeously and smartly dressed with files tucked in their ampits hoping to find a saviour.
For some, the search has grown into desperation which has resulted in them being extorted by corporate bodies.
Another scenario that is rampant is the placement of adverts on major streets in Abuja with bold inscription: “Are you a graduate in search of a job? Apply now. Salary very attractive.”
The employee seekers do not have offices, they only include their mobile numbers. When you eventually call, they will direct potential employers to a location that is hidden. Shockingly, these people do not even have vacancies for these desperate Nigerians. They demand fees of between N2, 500 and N5000 promising them juicy offers.
More so, employee-seekers and employer-seekers sign agreement that when they get the job they would forfeit one month salary and share 50/50 the second and third months’ salary.
In most cases, the available jobs may not be what they bargained for. The situation is growing in leaps and bounds.
Mgbado, who works in a hotel told Daily Sun that he got his first job through the same means.
Hear him: “I graduated five years ago without a job. When my friend told me about this method, at first, I doubted. But when the heat of joblessness bit severely, I hurriedly joined the train. At least I have something doing now.”
Emmanuel Obi aligned his views to that of Mgbado but gave a different dimension. “Some of these people are real. Some are fraudsters. They will regale you with mouth-watering stories just for you to cough out money. When you cave in, then your money would be gone. At the end, trouble would surface,” he stated.
For Kenneth Oko, the agreement was compromised. He told Daily Sun that when he got his job, the person who assisted him compromised the agreement.
“We agreed that I was going to part with my first month’s salary and then share my second and third month salaries 50/50. But when the guy saw that my salary was increased in the third month he decided to extend the agreement which I blatantly refused to comply with.
“The problem was severe. He even reported the situation to my boss. By then, I had gained the trust of my boss and the issue was swept under the carpet,” he said.
Not everybody is as lucky as Mgbado, Emmanuel and Kenneth. Ubong Udo ventured into the same route but he was scammed. He said that the guy was very professional in his approach but beneath his professionalism were fraudulent traits.
“This man promised to get me a job before the expiration of two months. I kept on calling, he kept on assuring me. Sometimes, I even sent him airtime as a motivating factor. In fact, he was calling me. As soon as the stipulated day elapsed he started acting funny. He was no longer taking my calls. Even when I visit him he would give cold shoulder. He was even raining insult on me. I almost got him arrested. But finally he refunded my N5,000,” he said.
But the situation of female job is a bit different, as they would have to part with both their body and their money.
What most Nigerians, especially the unemployed are waiting is to see when this ‘lucrative business’ will come to an end.