As a Nigerian Professional resident in Doha, State of Qatar, I would like to draw the attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria, The Federal Ministry of External Affairs, and the National Assembly to the activities of some unscrupulous agents in Nigeria, with collaboration of some Nigerian elements in Doha offering Work Visa to unsuspecting Nigerians to work and live in Qatar. This practice has been on for some time but has recently reached a frightening dimension in the last few months.
There are now many Nigerians living roughly, some in detention, many living in uncompleted buildings earmarked for demolition, as a result of a scam going on in Nigeria about Qatar Work visas.
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Qatar is a tiny emirate in the Middle East. It is a country rich in oil and gas resources which have fueled the infrastructural and economic development of this Arabian Peninsula nation over the past decades. This economic boom has seen the migration of people from South East Asia, Europe, America and Africa to this small Gulf State. The local Qatari people are also friendly and receptive to foreigners of diverse languages, cultural and religious background. In anticipation of the influx of economic migrant to support the Nations growth, the government of the State of Qatar has an effective immigration system that has been designed to ensure that only legal immigrants are allowed to live and work in Qatar.
While Work Visa as it’s currently being secured for Nigerians by Local Nigerian agents in Qatar and their collaborators in Nigeria grants you the right to live in Qatar, there is no job attached to this Visa. The impression given is that once you arrive in Qatar, Jobs are waiting for you as there are opportunities everywhere. This is not the truth as there are many Nigerians on the streets of Doha today seeking employment without headway for months and in some cases over a year.
Some have returned home disappointed after borrowing money and selling properties to secure Qatar Work visa with high expectations of better life. They lived in harrowing conditions in slums and labour quarters before finding their way back to their motherland. The Agents, who procured the Visa disappeared and live these individuals to the mercy of friends and fellow Nigerians to assist to the best of their abilities. The saddening thing is that most of these unfortunate migrants left paid employment behind in Nigeria, to seek “greener pastures” as painted by this Work Visa Agents.
I must state clearly that, there are indeed job opportunities for qualified professionals in Qatar, and many Nigerians are gainfully employed and practicing their professions in Qatar, it is important to highlight the danger posed by the activities of these nefarious individuals not only to law abiding Nigerians in Qatar, but also the image of the Nigeria Nation. In addition, because of the bad publicity this has generated in government circle, stricter restriction on the issuance of Visa for Nigerians is in place. All hotels in Qatar no longer process Nigeria tourist Visa as applicable to Nationals of other countries willing to come to Qatar on holiday. Despite all these, there has been no official response to this malaise by the relevant Nigerian Embassies in the Gulf.
The implication of this is that, Nigerians with genuine business/holiday interest are refused entry visa. This was not the case five years ago, as you could apply for Visa for anyone by approaching any of the hotels in Doha.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
Monday, 17 March 2014
Immigration Jobs Shared To Governors, Others
Most of the Immigration jobs that hundreds of thousands turned up trying to get on Saturday have already been allocated to well-connected politicians, including state governors and federal lawmakers, sources told Daily Trust in Abuja yesterday.
Only 240 of the 4,556 slots at the Nigerian Immigration Service remained for the 522,6752 "ordinary" applicants who trooped to the test centres and caused a stampede in which at least 16 of them died.
The Immigration Service had said a total of 522,652 applicants turned up at the venues spread around the country, battling for 4,556 jobs.
A source briefed about the recruitment process, which is being handled by the Board of Immigration, Customs and Prisons, told Daily Trust that among those who were already allocated job slots are governors, senators, House of Representatives members and ministers.
"They shared all the positions among governors, senators and others. What remains for those ordinary job seekers was 240," the source said.
Another source from one of the top anti-corruption agencies said the money collected from all the applicants amounted to about N7 billion.
"Look, each applicant paid N1,000. From the record 7 million applied, so they generated about N7 billion," he said. When contacted, spokesman for the Immigration Service Mr. Chukwuemeka Obuah said he was not aware of sharing of the job slots, as the recruitment process was not even handled by the service itself.
"I don't know about that, I don't know about the issue of slots. The issue of this recruitment exercise was undertaken by the board, the Nigerian Immigration Service did not operate the board," Obuah said.
"What I know is that Nigerians lost their lives and it is tragic and unfortunate." Efforts to get Senate's position were not successful as chairman of the Senate Interior Committee Atiku Bagudu did not answer telephone calls. But the House of Representatives Interior Committee said if National Assembly members were given any allocation of job slots, they were entitled to them. Committee chairman Rep Umar Bature (PDP, Sokoto) told Daily Trust by telephone yesterday: "People can say whatever they want to say. The National Assembly members are members of the public. So if they are given slots, I think they are entitled to it. But that is the issue that we would look at when we meet with the Senate committee. But I think we should not be looking at the scapegoat," he said.
He said the committee would investigate to find out causes of the incident. On the criticism over monies collected from applicants, Bature defended the Immigration Service, saying all agencies routinely collect application form fees from job seekers.
"Moro, Parradang must go" Meanwhile, criticism has trailed the deaths of jobseekers on Saturday, with individuals and groups calling for the sack and prosecution of the Interior Minister Abba Moro as well as the Controller General of Immigration David Parradang.
In a statement in Abuja last night, a group of 55 senior activists and politicians said the minister and the controller must be held to account for the deaths. “If the lives of Nigerians mean anything, the leadership and management teams in the Ministry of the Interior and the NIS must be held to account for these deaths,” the statement said.
"This tragedy was needless, foreseeable, and avoidable. The failures of the Ministry of the Interior and NIS to adequately manage the process and safeguard the safety and security of the jobseekers is inexcusable."
They demanded the sacking of Moro and Parradang, and urged the Attorney General of the Federation, Inspector General of Police and Director-General of State Security Service to open a joint criminal investigation into the deaths. The statement was signed by Alhaji Bashir Othman Tofa, Dr. Ayesha Imam, Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim, Dr. Ishiyaku Mohammed, Dr. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, Dr. Hussaini Abdu, Mr. Femi Edun, Dr. Abubakar Siddique Mohammed, Mal. Abba Kyari, Dr. Kole Shettima, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, Prof. Ebere Onwudiwe, Mal. Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, Alhaji Yusuf Tuggar, Mr. Yemi Candide-Johnson, Alhaji Tajudeen Fola Adeola, Waziri Adio, Alhaji Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, Iniruo Wills, Mrs. Ayo Obe, Yunusa Yau, Nasir Ladan, Dr. Jeremy Weate, Prof. Nsongurua Udombana, Dr. Charmaine Perreira, Saka Azimazi, Dr. Bibi BakareYusuf, Mrs. Funke Adekoya, Jibrin Okutepa, Chief Ziggy Azike, Roland Ewubare, Mrs. Stella Ugboma, Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, Chukwuma Odelugo, Dr. Solomon Ebobrah, Afolabi Kuti, Mrs. Victoria Ibezim-Ohiaeri, Ms. Seember Nyagher, Dr. Joan Oviawe, Ikeazor Akaraiwe, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Doueyi Fiderekumo, Dakorim Boma Odunuga, Alaezi Nmezi, Dele Aloko, Mrs. Ozioma Izuora, Ms. Lola Shoneyin, Mal. Bilya Bala, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, Uba Saidu Malami, Obinna Anaba, Ms. Wumi Asubiaro, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu and Mr. Obi Akaraiwe.
Also yesterday, the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) said the jobseekers’ deaths were a direct consequence of "15 years of misrule by the PDP-led Federal Government."
In a statement in Lagos, APC spokesman Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the Interior Minister must bear direct responsibility for the incident and must step down from his position or be sacked. "Despite huge yearly budgets rolled out since 1999, the PDP-led Federal Government has failed to create jobs for our teeming youth, and the number of those who are jobless has now reached such an alarming rate that a job emergency may have to be declared to avert an impending cataclysm," the statement said. In his reaction, speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said in a statement there was need for the authorities concerned "to investigate the remote and immediate cause of the tragedy, and to map out strategies to prevent future occurrence."
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) described the deaths of applicants as a national disaster. TUC president Bobboi Kaigama, who said the congress is "extremely grieved" by the deaths, called for immediate investigation into the matter as well as a probe of allegations of money collected from applicants.
The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) also said the tragedy at the recruitment faulted government's claim of having created 1.6 million jobs in 2013. CNPP spokesman Osita Okechukwu said in a statement that the tragedy "is the outcome of Federal Government of Nigeria's nebulous and inchoate economic policy." ";Otherwise, if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led Federal Government had in the past 15 years invested our unprecedented oil and gas revenue to critical infrastructures like refineries, modern railways, power supply, there is no way over 4,000,000 youths will pay N1,000 to chase less than 3,000 jobs in a single department of the state across the country." In its reaction, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) urged President Goodluck Jonathan to order the arrest and prosecution Interior Minister Moro and the Controller General of Immigration.
HURIWA coordinator Emmanuel Onwubiko and the media director Zainab Yusuf also demanded the immediate dismissal of the top officials of the Nigerian Immigration Services and the Federal Ministry of Interior for "negligence which led to the high fatality rate at the ill-fated recruitment exercise by the NIS."
"The Federal Government must also pay heavy compensation of not less than N10 million to the families of each of the dead because their deaths were occasioned by the total official dereliction of function committed by officials," they said in a statement.
Moro: Probe panel coming Moro yesterday visited the National Stadium in Abuja, where some of the deaths occurred on Saturday, saying the stampede was unfortunate and a national tragedy." "The situation we have found here is very unfortunate, because if you look at the gate of the stadium and the surroundings, it is a clear indication that some people had the intention to break into the stadium forcefully," he said. "In the process people were trampled upon and unfortunately some persons" lost their lives. This is an exercise that was organised primarily to forestall this kind of incidence that we have seen today."
Moro said adequate security was provided to maintain orderliness in all the test centres, but that "people who did not apply for the exercise tried to cash in on the openness of the exercise. Several unauthorised persons came in here, especially pregnant women; and in a paramilitary examination that involves physical exercise, I am surprised that a pregnant woman will come to partake." He said a committee would be set up today to look critically at the situation.
How Interior Minister, Moro, Bungled NIS Recruitment
There are indications that Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, hurriedly organised the ill-fated recruitment tests for the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to cover up the suspected fraud in the process that resulted in the deaths of many applicants on Saturday.
Investigations by Daily Independent revealed that there was a subsisting order by the National Assembly for the minister to put the recruitment on hold and refund the N1,000 application fee collected from the job seekers.
Before the order was rescinded, the minister was said to have gone ahead to carry out the recruitment, refusing to also make refunds to applicants.
Scores of the applicants who presented themselves for the aptitude test nationwide on Saturday were either trampled to death during stampede or suffocated from tear gas and panic caused by sporadic shooting by security operatives at recruitment centres.
Daily Independent also reliably gathered that the Comptroller General of Immigration, David Paradang, was not aware of the planned recruitment tests until the week of the exercise, the same time the applicants got the notice from advertisements published by the ministry.
It was gathered that this is the first time the minister through the Civil Defence Fire Prisons and Immigration Board (CDFPIB) would be conducting recruitment across all ranks.
The normal rule is that the board jointly handles recruitment for Grade Level 8 upwards with the respective service management.
Whereas management of the Service handles recruitment for Grade Level 7 down, regarded as junior officers.
A little less than one million people filled the online application form for both the junior and senior cadre vacancies, each paying N1,000 to some dedicated bank accounts allegedly controlled by the wife of a most prominent Senator.
When the National Assembly queried the collection of N1,000 from applicants last year, the minister had replied that the money went to the consultant hired to organise the recruitment portal.
“How can consultants recruit for a paramilitary body?” a senior official queried.
Meanwhile, of the almost a billion naira realised from application fees nothing was allegedly released to the NIS to mobilise for the recruitment tests nationwide.
Officers mobilised by the service to supervise the recruitment exercise in Lagos were said to be ignorant of modalities until the Lagos comptroller arrived the National Stadium, Surulere, at about 10.00 a.m. on Saturday.
“I really do not know anything about when or how the exercise will begin, we received orders to be at the stadium today and we are here; let’s wait and see what happens,” a senior officer of NIS said in reply to a question on Saturday in Lagos.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had the highest number of applicants that attended the recruitment test on Saturday with 68,941.
Lagos followed with 50,941, Rivers State had over 22,300 and Edo State had over 20,700.
Other states had less than 20,000 applicants but a few others had less than 10,000, according to impeccable source.
Seven people were confirmed dead in Abuja in the stampede that ensued in the poorly planned recruitment test.
Five persons were also feared dead in Rivers State during the exercise, which held at the Liberation Stadium, Elekahia, in Port Harcourt.
In Benin, one pregnant woman who came to attend the recruitment exercise at the main bowl of Sam Ogbemudia Stadium was confirmed dead.
Also in Minna, Niger State, at least three persons of the 11,000 candidates that showed up at Women Day Secondary School Minna slumped and died.
In Lagos also, the exercise was largely chaotic, as a crowd of applicants milled from the National Stadium to the public highway, making vehicular movement largely difficult.
Reports also indicated that no fewer than 10 persons were injured at various skirmishes that marred the exercise.
Due to the poor coordination, forms earlier submitted were thrown away and littered the floor, confirming fears that the recruitment exercise was just a sham, as slots had already been allocated to some public officials and influential Nigerians.
Even the exam question papers, also littered the main bowl, some of them torn apart, as people struggled to collect them when they sensed a purported plan to hoard the question papers, creating anxiety among applicants.
Spokesman of the Lagos command of the NIS, Muyiwa Odunubi, said he could not talk on the preparation made to accommodate the crowd that turned up.
“How do you think we can manage over 50,000 people? he asked, saying everything is clear for all to see.
He said his bosses are around and that he cannot speak for the command until he gets authority to do so.
But when asked if the command did not envisage the crowd that came, he had no answer.
Moro allegedly has governorship ambition.
Eighty per cent of the slots to be filled in the recruitment was said to have been allocated to prominent Nigerians.
This meant that the crowd of applicants that thronged the various recruitment centres were actually struggling for about 20 per cent of the entire vacancies.
Moro himself, however, spoke in Abuja on Sunday where he denied any wrong doing, especially over claim that over one million people applied for the job.
Fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja, Moro explained that the ministry and the NIS did all that was possible to avoid the tragedy. He explained that contrary to figures bandied, only 526, 650 people applied for various job positions in the NIS. He added that the ministry ensured that adequate logistic and security provisions were made to accommodate the number of applicants nationwide. The minister announced immediate suspension of the ill-fated recruitment exercise, assuring that a committee will soon be set up to thoroughly investigate the tragedy.
This is coming just as families of the dead at the job recruitment stampede in the FCT stormed the National Hospital, Abuja, on Sunday morning, demanding release of the remains of their loved ones for immediate burial.
One of the families, who are of the Islamic faith, said the continued stay of remains of their daughter and sister, Oiza Yusuf, in the hospital morgue was against the Islamic faith.
Her remains ought to have been interred on Saturday evening when she died, they contended.
Brother of the deceased, Mohammed Yekini, an engineer from Kogi State, said the family was distraught at the demise of 35-year-old businesswoman whom, he said, was one of the breadwinners in the family.
According to him, Oiza Yusuf was defrauded of N150,000 sometime last year over the same immigration job.
He said the manner the exercise was conducted left much to be desired, and wondered how exam could have been conducted for 68,000 persons in one day.
Meanwhile, Moro has directed immediate release of remains of the dead job seekers to their individual families by the hospital authorities.
He further directed that as soon all formalities for such releases were made, the remains should be released.
He consoled the bereaved families for the sad loss of their loved ones.
He pleaded with the affected families to keep in touch with the ministry for further assistance,
Moro who was accompanied by Comptroller General of the NIS, David Paradang, in an early morning call to see some of the injured at the hospital, said his ministry and the NIS will do all that is possible to ameliorate consequences of the stampede.
At the time of the visit about 11 persons, eight male and three female applicants, who sustained injuries were still at the hospital.
Only one male victim was still at the emergency unit of the hospital when Daily Independent called.
The minister also observed the pace of their recovery.
“Most of them have sufficiently recovered from the trauma of Saturday and are in stable condition. We have discussed with them, and we thank God Almighty that the situation has calmed down.
“I am also aware of the number of persons that died and identified. By their account here, we have five females and two males. Some members of families of the dead have also shown up and we have interacted with them.”
Moro dismissed any suggestion that survivors of stampede whose details were being collected by his aides would be given automatic employment, saying the exercise cannot go on in the present circumstances.
According to him, the focus of the ministry for now is to help the families of the dead applicants mourn their loved ones as well as ensure reduction of human suffering occasioned by the stampede.
But All Progressives Congress (APC) placed the blame for the tragedy squally at the doorstep of the minister, saying it was greatly distressed by the death of the job seeking youths.
In a statement in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, ‘the party said the Minister of Interior must bear direct responsibility for the needless deaths by immediately stepping down from his post, if he has any honour left, or be fired”.
The party added, however, the overall responsibility is that of President Goodluck Jonathan, “who now seems to be bent on leaving a dubious legacy of bad leadership that has led to a grim harvest of deaths from insecurity, widespread violence and now job stampede, among others”.
APC commiserated with families of the victims and wished those who were injured a speedy recovery.
‘’Despite huge yearly budgets rolled out since 1999, the PDP-led Federal Government has failed to create jobs for our teeming youth, and the number of those who are jobless has now reached such an alarming rate that a job emergency may have to be declared to avert an impending cataclysm.
‘’Massive mindless looting of the public treasury has seen funds that could have been used to create millions of jobs end up in the deep pockets of corrupt government and PDP officials, without any consequence for the thieves, while the incompetent Federal Government led by a clueless President continues to deceive the public with cooked figures showing job creation where indeed there have been job losses.
‘’Today, sadly, the truth has been laid bare: 5,000 or so vacancies declared by NIS have attracted over six million applicants, from which over half a million was shortlisted, according to published reports, and the desperation of our youth to eke out a decent living has been exploited by a villainous government that forced each applicant to cough out 1,000 Naira, thus raking in 6 billion Naira from jobless people,’’ the party said.
It said the Ministry of Interior has many questions to answer over the apparently-shoddy arrangements made for the job tests in 37 venues nationwide.
‘’Is it true that the Minister directly presided over the recruitment and money-making venture? Could this have been part of the government’s fund-raising measures for the 2015 elections?
“Why will a government seek to profit from a malaise it created by charging hapless job seekers 1,000 Naira each? Why was a huge number of applicants invited for only 5,000 jobs or less?
“Why was such a shoddy arrangement made for the test when so many people were invited?
“Could the test not have been done in batches to avoid a stampede? How much indeed was realised from this glaring extortion of job seekers? What happened to the money?
“These are some of the questions begging for answers.
‘’An investigation into the needless deaths of our youth, under a government that has failed them in every respect, must seek to answer those questions and recommend ways to avoid a recurrence.
“At least if a government cannot create jobs, it must neither profit from its incompetence nor send the victims of its ineptitude to their early graves,’’ APC said.
Trade Union Congress (TUC) called for a probe into the stampede at the recruitment centres.
Describing the incident as a national disaster and embarrassment to the country, TUC said such probe should equally involve the alleged sums of money collected from the applicants with a promise to give them employment.
In a statement jointly signed by TUC President, Bobboi Bala Kaigama, and General Secretary, Musa Lawal, the union wondered why everything about Nigeria is always problematic.
Another group, Education Rights Campaign (ERC), called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the TUC to organise a mass protest over “the avoidable waste of the lives of scores of unemployed Nigerian youths”.
ERC in a statement by its National Coordinator, Hassan Soweto, and National Secretary, Michael Ogundele, on Sunday urged the labour movement to organise a mass procession to protest and demand a probe in the tragedy.
In the same vein, a pro-democracy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), condemned what it called the malpractice of demanding payment of N1, 000.00 from each job applicant by the management of the NIS.
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said “charging job applicants before taking test to be recruited into the para-military outfit is not only a criminal scheme that undermines national security but also economically impoverishes the Nigerian youth who are deceived into parting with their scarcely available financial resources for job slots that are only available for only a hand full”.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, has described stampede that resulted in the death of applicants at the recruitment centres as unfortunate.
In the same vein, he described as a great loss to the nation, the demise of former President General of the pan-Igbo socio-political group Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ralph Uwechue.
Tambuwal spoke in two separate statements signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Imam Imam, on Sunday.
Condemning the untimely death of the job seekers, the Speaker said the death of the innocent youths was sorrowful and regrettable considering the fact that they were at the screening centres in search of jobs that will better their lots and that of their loved ones.
He asked the authorities concerned to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the tragedy, and advised them to map out strategies to prevent future occurrence.
Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, similarly condoled with the families of the dead and wounded applicants at the NIS recruitment examination centres.
In a statement in Abuja, Ndoma-Egba bemoaned the high level of unemployment in the country and pleaded with government to create employment opportunities for Nigerian youths.
He said “as a nation, this is an unimaginable tragedy. These deaths are coming at a time when the nation is grappling with the unwarranted deaths of innocent citizens at the hands of the Boko Haram sect”.
The Senate Leader regretted that “this is a tragic reminder that our nation must do something very urgently to create opportunities for young men and women; we must do everything to generate employment.”
Investigations by Daily Independent revealed that there was a subsisting order by the National Assembly for the minister to put the recruitment on hold and refund the N1,000 application fee collected from the job seekers.
Before the order was rescinded, the minister was said to have gone ahead to carry out the recruitment, refusing to also make refunds to applicants.
Scores of the applicants who presented themselves for the aptitude test nationwide on Saturday were either trampled to death during stampede or suffocated from tear gas and panic caused by sporadic shooting by security operatives at recruitment centres.
Daily Independent also reliably gathered that the Comptroller General of Immigration, David Paradang, was not aware of the planned recruitment tests until the week of the exercise, the same time the applicants got the notice from advertisements published by the ministry.
It was gathered that this is the first time the minister through the Civil Defence Fire Prisons and Immigration Board (CDFPIB) would be conducting recruitment across all ranks.
The normal rule is that the board jointly handles recruitment for Grade Level 8 upwards with the respective service management.
Whereas management of the Service handles recruitment for Grade Level 7 down, regarded as junior officers.
A little less than one million people filled the online application form for both the junior and senior cadre vacancies, each paying N1,000 to some dedicated bank accounts allegedly controlled by the wife of a most prominent Senator.
When the National Assembly queried the collection of N1,000 from applicants last year, the minister had replied that the money went to the consultant hired to organise the recruitment portal.
“How can consultants recruit for a paramilitary body?” a senior official queried.
Meanwhile, of the almost a billion naira realised from application fees nothing was allegedly released to the NIS to mobilise for the recruitment tests nationwide.
Officers mobilised by the service to supervise the recruitment exercise in Lagos were said to be ignorant of modalities until the Lagos comptroller arrived the National Stadium, Surulere, at about 10.00 a.m. on Saturday.
“I really do not know anything about when or how the exercise will begin, we received orders to be at the stadium today and we are here; let’s wait and see what happens,” a senior officer of NIS said in reply to a question on Saturday in Lagos.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had the highest number of applicants that attended the recruitment test on Saturday with 68,941.
Lagos followed with 50,941, Rivers State had over 22,300 and Edo State had over 20,700.
Other states had less than 20,000 applicants but a few others had less than 10,000, according to impeccable source.
Seven people were confirmed dead in Abuja in the stampede that ensued in the poorly planned recruitment test.
Five persons were also feared dead in Rivers State during the exercise, which held at the Liberation Stadium, Elekahia, in Port Harcourt.
In Benin, one pregnant woman who came to attend the recruitment exercise at the main bowl of Sam Ogbemudia Stadium was confirmed dead.
Also in Minna, Niger State, at least three persons of the 11,000 candidates that showed up at Women Day Secondary School Minna slumped and died.
In Lagos also, the exercise was largely chaotic, as a crowd of applicants milled from the National Stadium to the public highway, making vehicular movement largely difficult.
Reports also indicated that no fewer than 10 persons were injured at various skirmishes that marred the exercise.
Due to the poor coordination, forms earlier submitted were thrown away and littered the floor, confirming fears that the recruitment exercise was just a sham, as slots had already been allocated to some public officials and influential Nigerians.
Even the exam question papers, also littered the main bowl, some of them torn apart, as people struggled to collect them when they sensed a purported plan to hoard the question papers, creating anxiety among applicants.
Spokesman of the Lagos command of the NIS, Muyiwa Odunubi, said he could not talk on the preparation made to accommodate the crowd that turned up.
“How do you think we can manage over 50,000 people? he asked, saying everything is clear for all to see.
He said his bosses are around and that he cannot speak for the command until he gets authority to do so.
But when asked if the command did not envisage the crowd that came, he had no answer.
Moro allegedly has governorship ambition.
Eighty per cent of the slots to be filled in the recruitment was said to have been allocated to prominent Nigerians.
This meant that the crowd of applicants that thronged the various recruitment centres were actually struggling for about 20 per cent of the entire vacancies.
Moro himself, however, spoke in Abuja on Sunday where he denied any wrong doing, especially over claim that over one million people applied for the job.
Fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja, Moro explained that the ministry and the NIS did all that was possible to avoid the tragedy. He explained that contrary to figures bandied, only 526, 650 people applied for various job positions in the NIS. He added that the ministry ensured that adequate logistic and security provisions were made to accommodate the number of applicants nationwide. The minister announced immediate suspension of the ill-fated recruitment exercise, assuring that a committee will soon be set up to thoroughly investigate the tragedy.
This is coming just as families of the dead at the job recruitment stampede in the FCT stormed the National Hospital, Abuja, on Sunday morning, demanding release of the remains of their loved ones for immediate burial.
One of the families, who are of the Islamic faith, said the continued stay of remains of their daughter and sister, Oiza Yusuf, in the hospital morgue was against the Islamic faith.
Her remains ought to have been interred on Saturday evening when she died, they contended.
Brother of the deceased, Mohammed Yekini, an engineer from Kogi State, said the family was distraught at the demise of 35-year-old businesswoman whom, he said, was one of the breadwinners in the family.
According to him, Oiza Yusuf was defrauded of N150,000 sometime last year over the same immigration job.
He said the manner the exercise was conducted left much to be desired, and wondered how exam could have been conducted for 68,000 persons in one day.
Meanwhile, Moro has directed immediate release of remains of the dead job seekers to their individual families by the hospital authorities.
He further directed that as soon all formalities for such releases were made, the remains should be released.
He consoled the bereaved families for the sad loss of their loved ones.
He pleaded with the affected families to keep in touch with the ministry for further assistance,
Moro who was accompanied by Comptroller General of the NIS, David Paradang, in an early morning call to see some of the injured at the hospital, said his ministry and the NIS will do all that is possible to ameliorate consequences of the stampede.
At the time of the visit about 11 persons, eight male and three female applicants, who sustained injuries were still at the hospital.
Only one male victim was still at the emergency unit of the hospital when Daily Independent called.
The minister also observed the pace of their recovery.
“Most of them have sufficiently recovered from the trauma of Saturday and are in stable condition. We have discussed with them, and we thank God Almighty that the situation has calmed down.
“I am also aware of the number of persons that died and identified. By their account here, we have five females and two males. Some members of families of the dead have also shown up and we have interacted with them.”
Moro dismissed any suggestion that survivors of stampede whose details were being collected by his aides would be given automatic employment, saying the exercise cannot go on in the present circumstances.
According to him, the focus of the ministry for now is to help the families of the dead applicants mourn their loved ones as well as ensure reduction of human suffering occasioned by the stampede.
But All Progressives Congress (APC) placed the blame for the tragedy squally at the doorstep of the minister, saying it was greatly distressed by the death of the job seeking youths.
In a statement in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, ‘the party said the Minister of Interior must bear direct responsibility for the needless deaths by immediately stepping down from his post, if he has any honour left, or be fired”.
The party added, however, the overall responsibility is that of President Goodluck Jonathan, “who now seems to be bent on leaving a dubious legacy of bad leadership that has led to a grim harvest of deaths from insecurity, widespread violence and now job stampede, among others”.
APC commiserated with families of the victims and wished those who were injured a speedy recovery.
‘’Despite huge yearly budgets rolled out since 1999, the PDP-led Federal Government has failed to create jobs for our teeming youth, and the number of those who are jobless has now reached such an alarming rate that a job emergency may have to be declared to avert an impending cataclysm.
‘’Massive mindless looting of the public treasury has seen funds that could have been used to create millions of jobs end up in the deep pockets of corrupt government and PDP officials, without any consequence for the thieves, while the incompetent Federal Government led by a clueless President continues to deceive the public with cooked figures showing job creation where indeed there have been job losses.
‘’Today, sadly, the truth has been laid bare: 5,000 or so vacancies declared by NIS have attracted over six million applicants, from which over half a million was shortlisted, according to published reports, and the desperation of our youth to eke out a decent living has been exploited by a villainous government that forced each applicant to cough out 1,000 Naira, thus raking in 6 billion Naira from jobless people,’’ the party said.
It said the Ministry of Interior has many questions to answer over the apparently-shoddy arrangements made for the job tests in 37 venues nationwide.
‘’Is it true that the Minister directly presided over the recruitment and money-making venture? Could this have been part of the government’s fund-raising measures for the 2015 elections?
“Why will a government seek to profit from a malaise it created by charging hapless job seekers 1,000 Naira each? Why was a huge number of applicants invited for only 5,000 jobs or less?
“Why was such a shoddy arrangement made for the test when so many people were invited?
“Could the test not have been done in batches to avoid a stampede? How much indeed was realised from this glaring extortion of job seekers? What happened to the money?
“These are some of the questions begging for answers.
‘’An investigation into the needless deaths of our youth, under a government that has failed them in every respect, must seek to answer those questions and recommend ways to avoid a recurrence.
“At least if a government cannot create jobs, it must neither profit from its incompetence nor send the victims of its ineptitude to their early graves,’’ APC said.
Trade Union Congress (TUC) called for a probe into the stampede at the recruitment centres.
Describing the incident as a national disaster and embarrassment to the country, TUC said such probe should equally involve the alleged sums of money collected from the applicants with a promise to give them employment.
In a statement jointly signed by TUC President, Bobboi Bala Kaigama, and General Secretary, Musa Lawal, the union wondered why everything about Nigeria is always problematic.
Another group, Education Rights Campaign (ERC), called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the TUC to organise a mass protest over “the avoidable waste of the lives of scores of unemployed Nigerian youths”.
ERC in a statement by its National Coordinator, Hassan Soweto, and National Secretary, Michael Ogundele, on Sunday urged the labour movement to organise a mass procession to protest and demand a probe in the tragedy.
In the same vein, a pro-democracy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), condemned what it called the malpractice of demanding payment of N1, 000.00 from each job applicant by the management of the NIS.
In a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said “charging job applicants before taking test to be recruited into the para-military outfit is not only a criminal scheme that undermines national security but also economically impoverishes the Nigerian youth who are deceived into parting with their scarcely available financial resources for job slots that are only available for only a hand full”.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, has described stampede that resulted in the death of applicants at the recruitment centres as unfortunate.
In the same vein, he described as a great loss to the nation, the demise of former President General of the pan-Igbo socio-political group Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ralph Uwechue.
Tambuwal spoke in two separate statements signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Imam Imam, on Sunday.
Condemning the untimely death of the job seekers, the Speaker said the death of the innocent youths was sorrowful and regrettable considering the fact that they were at the screening centres in search of jobs that will better their lots and that of their loved ones.
He asked the authorities concerned to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the tragedy, and advised them to map out strategies to prevent future occurrence.
Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, similarly condoled with the families of the dead and wounded applicants at the NIS recruitment examination centres.
In a statement in Abuja, Ndoma-Egba bemoaned the high level of unemployment in the country and pleaded with government to create employment opportunities for Nigerian youths.
He said “as a nation, this is an unimaginable tragedy. These deaths are coming at a time when the nation is grappling with the unwarranted deaths of innocent citizens at the hands of the Boko Haram sect”.
The Senate Leader regretted that “this is a tragic reminder that our nation must do something very urgently to create opportunities for young men and women; we must do everything to generate employment.”
Thursday, 13 March 2014
LORD HAVE MERCY! PROPHET PREDICTS DEATH OF NADIA BUARI, YVONNE NELSON, OTHERS
A Ghanaian prophet has revealed during his appearance at a radio show that some of the country’s most-loved celebs are on the death list.
Prophet Samuel Baffour of El Shaddai Prayer Centre stated that God has shown him the names of the stars who are in danger. The list included Jim Iyke’s girlfriend, Nadia Buari, Yvonne Nelson, Samini, Obour, Kabobo and Lil’ Win.
The prophet also described how they might die:
Nadia Buari
This death would be similar to Suzzy William’s. Suzzy, a budding actress, perished in a vehicles accident along the Labadi-Tema road.
Yvonne Nelson
Some haters in Ghana would love the actress to be dead. They plotting against Yvonne, so her progress and carrier growth would be stalled. Such crisis would sink so low that nobody recognises her anymore. This will eventually result in her death.
Lil’ Win
Another death on the road has been predicted. Kumawood actor’s life might end in bizarre circumstances. He will either die by knocking down somebody with his car, which will result in his lynching, or he will drive his car into a tree or an electric pole.
Obour
The President of Musicians Union in Ghana is also at risk, according to the prophet. When Obour visits a funeral ceremony of a fellow musician, some haters would poison him. Therefore, toxins would kill Obour.
Samini
The prophet warned that some persons in the music industry are planning the death of the ‘African Dancehall King’, Samini. His name was actually first seen by the prophet. Some people are envious of artiste’s talent and success, so they may harm him, which will lead to his death.
Prophet Samuel Baffour of El Shaddai Prayer Centre stated that God has shown him the names of the stars who are in danger. The list included Jim Iyke’s girlfriend, Nadia Buari, Yvonne Nelson, Samini, Obour, Kabobo and Lil’ Win.
The prophet also described how they might die:
Nadia Buari
This death would be similar to Suzzy William’s. Suzzy, a budding actress, perished in a vehicles accident along the Labadi-Tema road.
Yvonne Nelson
Some haters in Ghana would love the actress to be dead. They plotting against Yvonne, so her progress and carrier growth would be stalled. Such crisis would sink so low that nobody recognises her anymore. This will eventually result in her death.
Lil’ Win
Another death on the road has been predicted. Kumawood actor’s life might end in bizarre circumstances. He will either die by knocking down somebody with his car, which will result in his lynching, or he will drive his car into a tree or an electric pole.
Obour
The President of Musicians Union in Ghana is also at risk, according to the prophet. When Obour visits a funeral ceremony of a fellow musician, some haters would poison him. Therefore, toxins would kill Obour.
Samini
The prophet warned that some persons in the music industry are planning the death of the ‘African Dancehall King’, Samini. His name was actually first seen by the prophet. Some people are envious of artiste’s talent and success, so they may harm him, which will lead to his death.
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Ronaldo And Bale Both Score against Shalke As Chelsea Draws Galatasaray
Madrid rout Schalke, Chelsea draw in Greece. Real Madrid cruised to a rare victory on German soil as they romped to a 6-1 win at Schalke 04 in Wednesday’sChampions League’s last 16, first-leg clash.
Chelsea earned a 1-1 draw in Istanbul, in their testy match with Galatasaray.
But the scoresheet gave Chelsea an upper hand.
The visitors led at half-time thanks to an early goal from Fernando Torres, but Galatasaray improved in the second half and restored parity after the hour mark when Cameroon defender Aurelien Chedjou found the net.
A draw was a fair reflection of the way the game went, but Chelsea will now hope to finish the job in the return at Stamford Bridge on March 18.
Real are now all but guaranteed a quarter-final place regardless of the return leg in Madrid on March 18 after Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale both netted twice in the rout.
Real’s Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo also scored twice to see him take over from Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the competition’s top-scorer with 11 European goals this season.
Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a 91st-minute consolation goal for Schalke, but the Royal Blues still suffered their heaviest defeat in European competition.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Real are now unbeaten in their last 27 games dating back to October.
The huge victory went some way to correcting Real’s terrible away record in Germany as they made the Royal Blues of Schalke look anything but regal.
This was only Real’s second win in 26 visits to Germany after 18 defeats, including their 4-1 drubbing at Borussia Dortmund in last season’s Champions League’s semi-final.
Real needed just 13 minutes to take the lead at the Veltins Arena as their star-studded attack clicked into gear.
Wales winger Bale cut in from the right, Ronaldo flicked his pass into space and Benzema beat the Welshman to the loose ball and fired past Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann.
Schalke almost immediately equalised as teenage midfielder Max Meyer fired over the bar with the goal at his mercy after Ilker Casillas had blocked Julian Draxler’s shot.
Schalke were punished for wasting their rare opportunity and with 21 minutes gone, Bale held off two Schalke defenders to make it 2-0 with La Liga leaders in full control.
Schalke’s situation was not helped by Ronaldo effortlessly switching with Bale from the left to the right wing midway through the first half, only to revert back after the break.
Schalke came out all guns blazing for the second-half as Kevin-Prince Boateng forced Casillas into a rare save.
But Ronaldo finally got on the scoresheet at the fourth attempt to claim his 10th European goal of the season in his sixth Champions League match.
He effortlessly turned Cameroon centre-back Joel Matip inside, then out before tucking the ball just inside the far post with 52 minutes gone.
Just five minutes later, his deft backheel fell into Benzema’s path for the Frenchman to drill home his second of the night and Real’s fourth past the despairing Faehrmann.
It was one-way traffic by now and Bale scored his second and Real’s fifth when Sergio Ramos’s through ball was driven low into the bottom left-hand corner on 69 minutes.
Ronaldo then grabbed his second on 89 minutes to leave him with 36 goals in 33 games for Real before Huntelaar finally put Schalke on the board just before the final whistle.
The Royal Blues face another tough challenge ahead of the return trip to Spain as they face European champions Bayern Munich away in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Chelsea earned a 1-1 draw in Istanbul, in their testy match with Galatasaray.
But the scoresheet gave Chelsea an upper hand.
The visitors led at half-time thanks to an early goal from Fernando Torres, but Galatasaray improved in the second half and restored parity after the hour mark when Cameroon defender Aurelien Chedjou found the net.
A draw was a fair reflection of the way the game went, but Chelsea will now hope to finish the job in the return at Stamford Bridge on March 18.
Real are now all but guaranteed a quarter-final place regardless of the return leg in Madrid on March 18 after Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale both netted twice in the rout.
Real’s Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo also scored twice to see him take over from Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the competition’s top-scorer with 11 European goals this season.
Netherlands striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a 91st-minute consolation goal for Schalke, but the Royal Blues still suffered their heaviest defeat in European competition.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Real are now unbeaten in their last 27 games dating back to October.
The huge victory went some way to correcting Real’s terrible away record in Germany as they made the Royal Blues of Schalke look anything but regal.
This was only Real’s second win in 26 visits to Germany after 18 defeats, including their 4-1 drubbing at Borussia Dortmund in last season’s Champions League’s semi-final.
Real needed just 13 minutes to take the lead at the Veltins Arena as their star-studded attack clicked into gear.
Wales winger Bale cut in from the right, Ronaldo flicked his pass into space and Benzema beat the Welshman to the loose ball and fired past Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann.
Schalke almost immediately equalised as teenage midfielder Max Meyer fired over the bar with the goal at his mercy after Ilker Casillas had blocked Julian Draxler’s shot.
Schalke were punished for wasting their rare opportunity and with 21 minutes gone, Bale held off two Schalke defenders to make it 2-0 with La Liga leaders in full control.
Schalke’s situation was not helped by Ronaldo effortlessly switching with Bale from the left to the right wing midway through the first half, only to revert back after the break.
Schalke came out all guns blazing for the second-half as Kevin-Prince Boateng forced Casillas into a rare save.
But Ronaldo finally got on the scoresheet at the fourth attempt to claim his 10th European goal of the season in his sixth Champions League match.
He effortlessly turned Cameroon centre-back Joel Matip inside, then out before tucking the ball just inside the far post with 52 minutes gone.
Just five minutes later, his deft backheel fell into Benzema’s path for the Frenchman to drill home his second of the night and Real’s fourth past the despairing Faehrmann.
It was one-way traffic by now and Bale scored his second and Real’s fifth when Sergio Ramos’s through ball was driven low into the bottom left-hand corner on 69 minutes.
Ronaldo then grabbed his second on 89 minutes to leave him with 36 goals in 33 games for Real before Huntelaar finally put Schalke on the board just before the final whistle.
The Royal Blues face another tough challenge ahead of the return trip to Spain as they face European champions Bayern Munich away in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Ike Uche Lacks Technical Discipline And Won't Go To The World Cup - Stephen Keshi
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has closed the door on striker Ikechukwu Uche for the World Cup, saying he lacks tactical discipline.
Uche has been one of Nigeria’s reliable goal scorers and has scored 12 goals this season for Villarreal.
On Monday night, the striker returned to action after he was sidelined by injury for two weeks.
He last featured for Nigeria in the final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations against Burkina Faso.
Keshi speaking to MTNFootball.com from his base in the United States said, "Ikechukwu Uche is not a player I have not seen play. Ike Uche problem is not knowing how to play football.
“His problem is that he wants to dictate how we play in Super Eagles, he wants to tell us the system we’re playing is not good.
"Uche he has a very bad habit, that if you put him in the game he is not playing to instructions and he did that in the final of AFCON against Burkina Faso, he almost cost us.
“Again he did that against Zambia, in the second match when (Efe) Ambrose was given a red card. What we told him to do, he was doing the opposite."
Keshi added: "And if you don't respect your team mates and you don't respect the team, then there is no point. I know he cannot do that in his club, then why do it in the national team?
"I don't think I need a player like that in the team."
Uche has been one of Nigeria’s reliable goal scorers and has scored 12 goals this season for Villarreal.
On Monday night, the striker returned to action after he was sidelined by injury for two weeks.
He last featured for Nigeria in the final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations against Burkina Faso.
Keshi speaking to MTNFootball.com from his base in the United States said, "Ikechukwu Uche is not a player I have not seen play. Ike Uche problem is not knowing how to play football.
“His problem is that he wants to dictate how we play in Super Eagles, he wants to tell us the system we’re playing is not good.
"Uche he has a very bad habit, that if you put him in the game he is not playing to instructions and he did that in the final of AFCON against Burkina Faso, he almost cost us.
“Again he did that against Zambia, in the second match when (Efe) Ambrose was given a red card. What we told him to do, he was doing the opposite."
Keshi added: "And if you don't respect your team mates and you don't respect the team, then there is no point. I know he cannot do that in his club, then why do it in the national team?
"I don't think I need a player like that in the team."
After Boarding School Massacre Nigerian Senate Orders Army To North East
With school children dead in Yobe State, the Senate Defence Committee ordered the Nigerian Army to the North East today to provide protection.
On Wednesday, school children at a boarding school in Yobe state were burned or shot when the Islamist group, Boko Haram set the school on fire.
Boko Haram means “Western education is sinful,” in the Hausa language.
President Goodluck Jonathan called the attack “callous and senseless murder…”
The Senate Defence Committee, chaired by Senator George Thompson Sekibo suspended budget hearings to pass a resolution which ordered the Nigerian Army to the North East.
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah was ordered to provide security for all schools and health institutions in the Boko Haram affected areas to include Maiduguri and Yobe.
General Minimah thanked the Committee for its concern and said, “…it will be the last of such from the insurgents.”
The resolution, introduction by Senator Ojudu from Ekiti Central, was critical of the military’s failure to pick up intelligence before the attack and its slowness to respond to the attack for five hours.
Ojudu said, “The North East calls for special attention and we should not be seating down here in Abuja discussing budget while our young ones are being slaughtered in cold blood.”
The motion by Senator Ojudu, was seconded by Senator Jubrilla Bindo, Vice Chairman of the Committee.
The resolution condemned the atrocities caused by Boko Haram and the Committee regrets the killing of school children in Yoba.
It ordered the army to develop a strategy to curb to the attacks of Boko Haram using all military resources, and relocate to Maiduguri temporarily.
All schools and health institutions to be provided with special security.
And the Committee of Defense invited the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide the Armed Forces with what it needs.
The Committee of Defence will tour the three affected states when the Senate resumes it plenary.
The budget hearing was suspended until a future dat
On Wednesday, school children at a boarding school in Yobe state were burned or shot when the Islamist group, Boko Haram set the school on fire.
Boko Haram means “Western education is sinful,” in the Hausa language.
President Goodluck Jonathan called the attack “callous and senseless murder…”
The Senate Defence Committee, chaired by Senator George Thompson Sekibo suspended budget hearings to pass a resolution which ordered the Nigerian Army to the North East.
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah was ordered to provide security for all schools and health institutions in the Boko Haram affected areas to include Maiduguri and Yobe.
General Minimah thanked the Committee for its concern and said, “…it will be the last of such from the insurgents.”
The resolution, introduction by Senator Ojudu from Ekiti Central, was critical of the military’s failure to pick up intelligence before the attack and its slowness to respond to the attack for five hours.
Ojudu said, “The North East calls for special attention and we should not be seating down here in Abuja discussing budget while our young ones are being slaughtered in cold blood.”
The motion by Senator Ojudu, was seconded by Senator Jubrilla Bindo, Vice Chairman of the Committee.
The resolution condemned the atrocities caused by Boko Haram and the Committee regrets the killing of school children in Yoba.
It ordered the army to develop a strategy to curb to the attacks of Boko Haram using all military resources, and relocate to Maiduguri temporarily.
All schools and health institutions to be provided with special security.
And the Committee of Defense invited the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide the Armed Forces with what it needs.
The Committee of Defence will tour the three affected states when the Senate resumes it plenary.
The budget hearing was suspended until a future dat
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