The Nigerian Unemployed

Job! Job! Job! Everyone is searching.

With millions and more millions graduating each year, the competition gets tougher and tougher, the queues get longer and the desperation gets thicker.

The struggle is real and everybody wants to be on top of their game. An unemployed, job-seeking Nigerian is automatically in a fight-to-the-death boxing competition and they have to fight with millions of others out there. You need to have the stamina to take blows and dish one out yourself. The competition is fierce. The minute one vacancy spot opens up, thousands have already applied like fast ninjas. The journey is long and the road is hard.

One of the absolute worst is when big companies that have the unemployed salivating suddenly announce vacancies and millions apply, then none are taken. why? Because the so called oga at the top already have people to fill in the slot and are just trying to look like they actually create job opportunities to the government. Na wa! That one burns and pains.

Here are some characteristics:

The Nigerian unemployed has registered with a thousand job sites and everyday, they are forced to consider jobs outside their area of interest and expertise.

The Nigerian unemployed wishes their legs had more stamina to stand longer hours in queues, waiting for that interview. Maybe they should take along a novel, groundnuts, or bole to keep the time while waiting. Food for Thought.

The Nigerian unemployed wishes his grades would change to a first class because that is what most companies search for. The better jobs, hard as they are to come by, are only for the important few who burnt the midnight oil and candles.At least they get a foot in the door. It’s time for fasting and miracle hunting.

The Nigerian unemployed wonders just how old they can be for them to have ten or twenty years experience in order to qualify for a job. Nobody wants to hire a greenhorn. Do they expect them to have full time office jobs while they were still in school?

The Nigerian unemployed is tired of seeing their hard-earned printed CV thrown out by companies to groundnut sellers and bole roasters.

The Nigerian unemployed shrinks every time they hear that so and so company has fired two thousand staff. This means competition just got fiercer and more experienced people just joined the queue for rapidly shrinking jobs.

Long queues, crafting CVs and letters of applications, Registering with a million job sites because all companies suddenly NEED you to register before applying, networking, eternal hopes and prayers, connections and lack thereof, taxi hopping, interview pursuit, red tapes and bureaucracy, and the worst of all, trying to describe yourself in fun glowing terms so a potential employer can like you.

Let’s not forget the hope of being an entrepreneur and chasing your own dream, trying to start your own business, thinking of funding, time, resources and registration.

It’s a rat race, a vicious circle of hope, an unending swirling turbine and you’re just praying that somebody notices you by accident and pulls you out of the crowd.

Let’s also not forget the night vigils, midnight prayers, oil of favour and lucky pens, pastors handkerchief and the potency of a mother’s prayers.

So let’s all migrate. To a happy place filled with jobs for just about everybody. Do we abandon hope for Nigeria and abandon ship?