Certain
opinion is really hard to express because it is caught in-between the clutches
of coincidence capable to put one at a crossroad. And this article for me falls
precisely in that category.
I
just have to be at the side of #Humanity!
The
recent suspension of #1600ImmigrationRecruits had two of my friends has
victims. One of which I am privy to all his effort throughout the recruitment
process and two months training with the para-military is my Ajuwaya friend.
His name is sola and he belong to the oppressed class of Nigerian society just
as myself: I mean he is not from a boisterous family and asuch, he did not have
a rosy time going to higher institution but he was determined, driven by the
spirit of common not-too-privileged Nigerian to attain success, he did not
back-out, he fired to the end hoping that someday his strife will earn him an
opportunity to a better life in his motherland.
It
was at the tail end of NYSC year that one of the opportunities came knocking on
the door, it was immigration recruitment, registration was to be filled via www.fedcivilservice.org,
therefore, sola and four other Ajuwaya took the chance but only him was
successful to the end. Notwithstanding that he was serving at Bida, Niger
State, he with two other Corper applicants travelled to Lagos for aptitude test
(a distance of about 1000km). About eight days after returning to Bida, they
were individually mailed that they passed the aptitude and were requested to
come to Ibadan for physical test and document verification (a distance of about
800km) of which the exercise was confirmed to be rigorous. It was in Ibadan
that they were told that successful applicants will receive their notification
of appointment in their email. However, only sola received the congratulatory
email. The congratulatory email further inform him to proceed to Orlu, Imo
State (a distance of about 1500km) for collection of appointment letter and
official documentation. In Imo, he suffered for 5days before collecting his
letter and happily he was posted to Ibadan, his country home for 3months
training. In-between this period of recruitment, sola had surgical operation
and he had a very very rough time getting permissions from his Place of primary
assignment. Sola exhausted every dime of his allowee savings to this cause and
he even borrowed a buck- it was indeed an harrowing experience for him, running
from Bida to Lagos to Ibadan to Imo state back and forth with a fresh operated
injury in a bid to get a job. For him eventually, what a glorious God that
elevate him from the street (the workplace of most Nigerian youth) to an ideal
working place. Unknown to him he was been made a victim of greedy politics.
During
this process I was really sceptical about the recruitment to the point that I
didn’t apply. The scepticism was premised on two major reasons, the first been
the understanding that world over, employment that coincide with regime change
is overly unreliable. This is so because sitting government in a bid to appeal
for vote throw out employment as a bait and sometimes when it is realised that
their chance of victory is slim, hurried recruitment is done with a view to
make it a bottleneck for the opposition in-coming president. That account
partly for my no application.
The
second reason is Infact heavier! Right from the beginning of the recruitment
process, the APC had through a press conference make a clear statement on the illegality
of the recruitment exercise. They denounce vehemently the holier than thou stance
of the Jonathan led PDP administration
who had used six years on government but find it worthy to recruit only at the
twilight of his regime. The APC described the exercise as a charade! The
presidential committee that spearhead the process was no less illegal since section
3&4 of the Immigration, Civil defence, Fire service, and Prisons board act,
2010 vested the power to recruit, discipline and dismiss in any of the above
listed agencies solely in the board.
Form
the foregoing, it is clear that the exercise is bound to be cancelled given a
president that would not joke with the rule of law.
However,
considering the plight of many youth who perhaps drop their job like my other
friend did, in other to serve the federal government or some that have wane off
due to long years of languishing or those like my Ajuwaya friend that underwent
surgery and exhaust all his allowee savings and borrow far more so as to meet
the numerous travels and money commitment during recruitment and during the
training that had lasted two months before suspension, one cannot but pity
them.
My
non-ajuwaya friend resigned with HUAWEI to take the Immigration job but now he
is pitiably jobless with two kids- how is he supposed to cope? These gallant
Nigerians have been trained in gun handling, will their morality still be able
to suppress that of vices, in their struggle to make ends meet?
Definitely,
Jonathan have made victims of these #1600ImmigrationRecruits and their survival
now rest with President Buhari. While it might be hard to ratify illegal
recruitment, it is absolutely possible to thoroughly compensate the victims.
By
extrapolation, cases of suspension of recruitment exercise supervised by
precedent government always end in total abandonment but President Buhari should
prove a difference by #CallBackNis2015Recruits or compensate the victims with
express appointment during another recruitment exercise or compensate them with
money (to atleast alleviate their pain).
When
necessity runs against mercy, mercy should have its way!
AZEEZ
O. IBRAHIM
Twitter: @PunditAfrica
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