Posted by 9jabook.com on March 15, 2014 at 10:10pm
Stampede At Immigration Recruitment Centres
The pathetic state of Nigeria's unemployment became glaring on Saturday with the examination conducted by the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, for prospective officials across the country.
Stadia being used for the aptitude test were filled to the brim across the nation with stampede recorded at the 60,000-capacity Abuja stadium leading to the death of seven people so far, according to witnesses.
It was learnt that tens of thousands of Nigeria's youths stormed the stadia after obtaining the form for N4,000 each.
From Abuja, sources told Huhuonline.com that the stampede occurred as applicants surged into the main bowl of the stadium through the only entrance that was opened for them.
"Before the incident happened, the main bowl had been full to the brim and there was no space inside. But people continued to troop inside. That was how it happened,"Jimmy Ebiware, an applicant, told Huhuonline on phone adding that he had left the place to avoid being a victim.
He said the victims and those injured in the stampede have been rushed to the National Hospital, Abuja.
"I can't give the number of applicants now, but I can tell you that apart from the stadium that is filled, the number outside the stadium is almost double the number inside," he added.
At the Surulere, Lagos stadium where the exercise is holding, an official of the NIS told Huhuonline.com that the figure of applicants far exceeded 70,000.
"You can see for yourself what is happening. I can't give you the accurate number that we have here; but it is more than 70,000 and we are thinking of how best to handle this crowd," she said adding that the situation was the same all over the country. "It will only take the grace of God for us to carry out this exercise today."
Some of the applicants and other Nigerians, who took to social media to bare their frustrations, also complained about the porous security situation around their centres.
Gbenga Sesan said the positions being applied for may just be between 1,500 3,000, but that the estimated number of applications is 370,000.
"Don’t forget (that) many slots will go to folks who’re sleeping at home," he said.
In many of the centres, the test had not commenced at the time of this report as officials are still battling with the huge crowd.
The paramilitary agency is yet to give the full number of people who applied but it is estimated to run into hundreds of thousands since the country is battling with serious unemployment even though the government is believed to have under-estimated this problem.
The country's Minister of Finance and co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had earlier said the President Goodluck Jonathan administration created 1.6 million jobs in 2013.
But former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, took to Twitter on Saturday to lament as well as educate Nigerians after receiving situation reports from the centres.
She said, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria's unemployment rate was a record low of 5.3 Percent in December of 2006.
"According to National Bureau of Statistics, from 2006 to 2011, Nigeria unemployment rate averaged 14.6 Percent per annum...according to National Bureau of Statistics, unemployment rate reached an all time high of 23.9 percent in December of 2011.
"While over all unemployment rate is 23.9 percent, but for youth population, National Bureau of Statistics said 54 percent in 2012," she said.
She called the job problem in the country everybody's problem, but that it is the duty of the Federal Government to lead the fight.
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