What often breaks people is injustice and manipulation. When you believe something should happen the right way but it doesn’t, you begin to wonder whether anything truly makes sense at all.
A lot of Nigerians have lost hope of getting jobs through merit. This is not to say that merit does not exist at all. It is just that the level at which hypocrisy thrives in the country is alarming, and it can be frustrating to see the same pattern repeated over and over again. If the recruitment process is faulty, then there can never be a fair and straightforward outcome.
Why is it that you have to know someone who knows someone before you can get the job you desire, or even get a job at all?
This is not something that happens as frequently overseas, and where it does happen, it is usually to the barest minimum. You can apply for a job and reasonably expect to get it based on your qualifications and performance rather than influence or connections. But here in Nigeria, it is often about who knows who. How are we going to progress if there is a lack of transparency in recruitment processes, especially at the federal level?
Imagine writing an examination, scoring 100 percent, and still not getting the job—not even being shortlisted. Does that make any sense? If there was no intention to manipulate the process, they would not have stopped displaying candidates’ scores after the first day of the exercise, thereby preventing others from seeing their results. It is sad and frustrating, and many people are aware of it. The exercise is CDCFIB, but that is just by the way.
I believe we will get to a point where the son of nobody, without influence or connections, will receive what rightfully belongs to him.
Another challenge we face is the shortage of jobs in Nigeria. We do not have enough industries and factories, and the pay in many sectors is ridiculously low. Imagine that the new minimum wage is yet to be implemented in many institutions and organizations, while the cost of living continues to rise daily.
What people need to do is focus on becoming self-employed and developing themselves to the fullest. There is a saying that trade, not employment, is what makes a person wealthy. There is some truth in this because when you work for a salary, there is a limit to how much you can earn. The amount you are likely to receive is already defined. In business, however, your earnings depend largely on your effort, creativity, and decisions.
A salary may increase occasionally, but there will always be a limit to that increase. Business, on the other hand, gives you the freedom to make decisions that can propel you forward without constantly seeking approval from others. It offers opportunities for growth that are often beyond the reach of traditional employment.
