Three years after graduation, Godgift Ovedhe did not expect he would still be looking for a job. That was 2010.
The 32-year-old Delta State indigene is
an Accounting graduate from the Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
With a second-class upper degree in accounting, he never thought it could be so tedious getting a job.
He applied to almost everywhere; banks, insurance firms, government institutions.
In 2012, four years after he finished from school, he decided he should leave his hometown, Isoko in Delta State for Lagos.
To him, Lagos was a land of many job opportunities.
Two weeks after his arrival in Lagos,
precisely June 17, 2013, he received a text message from a supposed job
consulting firm, DUT Consulting, which read: “You have been invited for a
job interview at 505, Ikorodu Road, opposite Skye Bank, Ketu, Lagos.”
“Without hesitation, I dialled the number. I thought God had finally answered my prayer,” Ovedhe told Saturday PUNCH.
“A man who identified himself simply as
Mr. Feyi, the Human Resources Manager, told me that I could come the
following day. I quickly read through the GMAT textbook I had.
“To avoid being late for the interview, I
woke up so early and dashed to the bathroom,” he continued, “I put on
my neatly ironed suit and made a quick prayer that God sould grant me
favour.”
Getting there, Ovedhe told our
correspondent he saw many other young unemployed graduates who had been
called for the same interview.
After a while, they were all called into a not-so-furnished hall for briefing before the actual interview.
“The man who earlier told me he was the
HR manager then told us we would need to pay a token of N3,000 to obtain
the employment form. After the payment, he said we could write the
test,” Ovedhe narrated.
“Seeing other people pay, I also decided
to pay. My mind then was just to get a job. Some who did not have the
money were told to leave, so the rest of us wrote the test.“After the
test, we were told that those who passed would be contacted. So we
left,” Ovedhe said.
Two days after the said test, Ovedhe told Saturday PUNCH that he got a text from the company again stating he had passed it.
On his arrival at the office of the
consulting firm the following day, he said he was given a letter to take
to an insurance company: AIICO, AIICO House, 36-38 Ilupeju Industrial
Avenue, Ilupeju, Lagos.
However, when he got to the address of
the company at Ilupeju, Ovedhe said he was told by the officials of the
company that it never asked any consulting firm to conduct any interview
on its behalf.
“I nearly went mad,” as Ovedhe said,
“but not to lose hope so quickly, I decided to go back to DUT Consulting
to know if there was a mistake somewhere.
“However, when I got there the following
morning, I couldn’t find the people who had been attending to me. I
tried their phone numbers many times but couldn’t get through.
“It was then it dawned on me that I had been scammed,” he said.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that Ovedhe’s experience in the process of looking for job in one of Nigeria’s big cities is just one out of many.
Out of desperation, many graduates have fallen into the hands of scammers who claimed to be job recruiting firms.
Adeoluwa Adebisi, a Biochemistry
graduate from the University of Ilorin told our correspondent how he
paid N2,000 to a firm named O-Diuko International.
“I had no idea they were fraudsters,” Adebisi said.
“The company claimed to be into Clearing
and Forwarding business in Lagos advertised a job vacancy for a Health
Safety Officer on a job site: www.ngcareers.com. I saw the vacancy advertised online and decided to apply because I met its requirements for the job.
“A day after the successful submission
of my application, I got a reply via email informing me that my
application was received and I was invited for a written interview at
No. 9 Oremeji Street, Isolo, Lagos.
“On the day of the supposed interview, I
arrived the venue at 8:30am because the time given for the interview was
9:00am prompt. At the interview venue, I met young, unemployed
graduates from far and near who also came for the same interview.
“When we were finally called in to the
interview hall, to my greatest dismay, I realised that the so-called
O-Diuko Clearing and Forwarding giant was not a clearing and forwarding
company but a drug marketing outfit seeking for young graduates to
exploit and cajole into parting with their hard-earned money in the name
of partnering with them.
“When I narrated my ordeal with this
scam group to a close friend of mine that also resides in Lagos, he said
a certain group also advertised that an urgent employment that
qualified persons should come to No. 9 Oremeji Isolo, Lagos with their
resumes for interview and employment.”
Juwon Ogunlade, a 2008 set Mass
Communication graduate from the Lagos State Polytechnic, also narrated
his own experience to our correspondent.His is also similar to Adebisi’s
experience, except for the company where he was called for the
interview.The text message sent to him read, “You are invited for a job
interview and aptitude test at Virtual Health Resources Limited, 15
Adekunbi Crescent, off Oluwaleyimu Street, Allen Avenue, Ikeja on Friday
25/03/2013 by 2:00pm.”
Ogunlade said he was promised a monthly
salary of about N80,000 but he had to pay N8,000 for their products:
drugs and other medicinal products.
At that point, he said he had to run away.
Unemployment and job scams
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated in a 2013 report that unemployment in Nigeria had risen to about 23 per cent.
According to the website of the National
Universities Commission (NUC), there are 128 accredited (federal, state,
and private) universities in Nigeria, all churning out thousands of
graduates into the labour market every year.
In a similar vein, there are over 100
polytechnics in the country, aside other tertiary institutions – all
bombarding the labour markets with so many graduates than the economy
could provide jobs for.
Saturday PUNCH’s findings also
include the fact that due to the high rate of unemployment in the
country, many so-called recruitment agencies have taken advantage of the
situation to rip off unsuspecting graduates and desperate job seekers
of their savings.
“I even borrowed the money I paid those guys,” said Adebisi.
Desperation: an avenue to getting trapped
A psychiatric nurse at the Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos told Saturday PUNCH that scammers do work on their victims’ emotions.
“That is why they tell you something and you believe easily without questioning it,” Mrs. Ife Adegoke said.
Scam texts, posters, and emails
In a word of advice for graduates, Ayo
Adesina, who runs a career development firm, told our correspondent that
graduates should be careful of suspicious text messages, posters, and
emails, especially from unofficial addresses.
He said, “What these scammers do is go
to the internet or NYSC’s profile books to scoop for people’s phone
numbers and email addresses. Then they pose as recruiting firms and send
mass texts and emails to many people.”
However, Ayo advised graduates against responding to such texts or emails.
“I almost fell into their hands once,
but I was careful enough. How could I receive a job interview message
from where I never applied to?” asked Adesina.He also encouraged
graduates to engage themselves while still looking for job.“Being
engaged at that time also helped me to avoid falling into scams,” he
said.
Any reported cases?
In a bid to find out if there had been
any reports of swindling to the police by those who were duped, the
Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command,
Damasus Ozoani, told our correspondent that he couldn’t speak on behalf
of his superior.
Calls put through to the PRO, Ngozi
Braide, were, however, not successful. Nonetheless, Ozoani said victims
of job scams could report such cases to police divisions.
When Saturday PUNCH however asked a job scam victim whether he reported the matter to the police, Adebisi said it was no use.
“Going to the police is a waste of time. Moreover, these scammers do not have permanent offices,” he said.
Signs of a job scam
- No registered business address: On job vacancy posters and leaflets, you will see no official business address. Text or call a particular number for company address: Just below the poster, there are usually phone numbers that you have to call or text for more information on the name and address of the company, and details of interview. Well, I don’t know a reputable company that does that.
- Outrageous salary: Money is an enticing agent. They know that as well. So they state your salary upfront even without having being interviewed. All the different categories of workers have their salaries stated, and there is even a promise of increase in income as time goes on. That is the big trap. Watch out!
- No job description: If you are always getting an ‘Everyone is qualified’ job, be careful. When the tone of the offer sounds like no qualification is necessary, but you should just apply, it’s a red alert.
- You have to pay a token for the job: These days, they don’t do it right from the start. It’s a gradual process. Why do you have to pay for one of a company’s products or services before you are offered employment? I do not know a reputable organisation that does that. It’s a tricky one, and they come in subtle ways these days. I have friends who have lost a few thousands in these funny companies. It wasn’t really their fault. Or maybe it was. They were desperately looking for jobs then, and couldn’t see these red alerts because of overwhelming emotions. There are surely more red signs to look out for when you’re seeking employment.
Do your research well and be sure to confirm it is a reputable company you’re applying to. Don’t fall into their traps, no matter the manner they appear.
Stay one step ahead of them. There are reputable recruiting firms and online jobs websites whose services you may check out. By this, you will be able to avoid paying ‘’salary’’ to those who claim to offer you job.
Source: Ayo Adesina
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