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Saturday 30 November 2013

FIRST LOVE (episode 5)

I had gone on one of my usual futile search at the Cafe to c whether any miracle has happened about my post utme result. A miracle indeed happened, not about my post utme result but about something better.

Wednesday 27 November 2013

FIRST LOVE (episode 4)

During my fling with Tope, I had travelled to a Federal University in the another part of Nigeria for my post -utme exam. At that time there was nothing like boko -haram and d state was so peaceful that you find people walking about freely in d midnight.
Till date, I still wonder the reason behind choosing d university as my choice school. During my registration for Jamb, I had chosen Lagos state university, for my dad had Long legs there. After the Exam I scored 266, and with that I felt I was good to go anywhere or so I thought.
I just woke up one day and told my Dad I wasn't interested in LASU any longer, and I wanted to change to a northern University. He asked y and I told him I wanted to explore my country. being the liberal type, he immediately granted my wish ,I bought the scratch card and changed my choice institution...all this was without my mama's knowledge.

She got wind of this pleasantly unpleasant development only after I had successfully changed it... all hell was let loose. Mama rained a flood if insults on my Dad blaming him, accusing him of giving me such an idea. My Dad being the calm type, laughed it off and dismissed it with a wave of a hand to the wind.....Days turned weeks and weeks to months. My post-utme result was no where to be found. I checked the school's website, but couldn't find my name. Since I knew no one in d school, I couldn't lodge a complaint to the faculty.


These development gave my Mama an aura of superiority as she seized the opportunity to rain more blames on my dad for wasting money, efforts and time. It wasn't as if she did not want my progress, but the fear of been separated from her son by a journey of over 18 hours by road was the beginning of wisdom for her. She swore that even if i were to be admitted, my enrollment in the School will be over her grave. Such was d kinda love a mother had for her child... d kind of love mothers have for their children... like some would say...The only True love is the love of a mother to her child!!!! do you agree?
At this point in time, my sisters seized the opportunity to taunt me, for they knew my decision to be faraway from home was partly informed by the desire to escape their devilish ways.
I kept going to d Cafe everyday, hoping for a miracle to happen. Whatever gave me such hope, I do not know. In the meantime, my fling with Tope was fading away albeit gradually, much to my delight... no thanks to my lackadaisical and lukewarm attitude towards her.
In the ember months of 2010, something happened, and that incidence till date makes me ask anyone facing a problem, d way a girl asked Mazi Omenuko...
'do u believe in fate? '




Tuesday 26 November 2013

FIRST LOVE (episode 3)


I needed no Messiah to tell me to hang up. I hanged up instantly and switched-off my phone. I even went to the extent of hiding it under my bed as if that would cut off all network connections.

For two days after that incident i switched on my phone only at night. I kept painting several pictures of what Funke will be passing through in the hands of her Mum for having the temerity to release her number to a guy.

When i called Wale much later to know why he gave me a wrong number. He told me he saw it in his sister's diary..y didn't he confirm d number before giving it to me ? I thought foolishly as if it were his business.

Seconds metamorphosed into minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, days to weeks,months and more months. I was rather jobless as a jambite , so my schedule for almost every day was wake,eat ,think about Funke all day, crying-wishing i could hear from her....
Such was how i spent my time until i finally made a decision!!!

What could be worse as a punishment to a teenager than solitary confinement? I grew up in the Barracks, d first 14 years of my life was spent there. My dad been a sucker for discipline and moral upbringing resigned his appointment mainly because he felt he needed to have time for us.
he resigned in 2008 and by the end of 2009 , we were on our way out of the barracks.

We moved into our own house, in a suburb of Lagos. and for the first time in my over 15 years of existence, I saw that houses were scattered around 200 kilometers apart from each other, I saw that people actually live in uncompleted buildings, I saw that there was more to fetching water than twisting the head of a tap.

This particular time in my life, turned me into an introvert -since I had no friends, and this gave me a lot of opportunity to brood in melancholy about a who girl cared less or didn't care at all about my existence or so I thought!!!

It was at this point in time that I decided to woo an ex-classmate of mine - Tope!!! I hope she forgives me wherever she is today!!!! 

Till date, I've not found any explanation for asking Bisola out. One thing is damn clear to me, even at that time, and that's the fact that she was no where close to the position Funke held in my heart. Silly me...
She, Tope, was d lively and friendly type . She do call me frequently at that time and so I decided to use her as a tool to wipe away the pain Funke had brought to my heart.
I called her and told I had something important to tell her, as usual, she became very anxious, having noticed the anxiety as her weakness, I capitalized on that and started beating about the bush, this time not with a stick, rather with a sweet mouth. I started by pouring out all the lies I had earlier rehearsed about how I felt towards her. When I noticed how sober she became as a result of that, I hit d nail on the head not with a hammer, but with my sugar coated mouth...
I expected her to play hard to get as women are wont to...she didn't for reasons best unknown to me...

Tope could only ask if I were sure about what i was saying...I, fully prepared with words spelt how sure I was to her in several sentences... this got to her.
Finally she made a request!!!! what a request!!!!

Coincidentally, I wooed Tope on valentines day, and that till today i still find as the best justification for her request.
She had requested that i send a Valentine's text message to her..Guys, when desperate can go any extent to prove their self worthy of a girl's love. Mine was actually different, I didn't send her any message...my reason for this is not far-etched, immediately I saw signs of acceptance from my conversation with her, I realized that, in my heart, there was no atom of feeling for her, not to talk of love. I therefore concluded that It'll be wrong to lead her on....if there were one thing I was so blessed with by the Creator, it's my conscience... my conscience is my personal police, it arrests me even when I'm right in a wrong way.

My defiance to her request I felt, will make her conclude that I was unserious, this I felt will naturally lead to her refusal. On that day, she inadvertently proved to me that the female homo -sapien is more emotional than logical.

She did the calling throughout the spell of what she felt as a relationship, I, on my part was on d run from my conscience, I didn't make promises, I didn't give her hope, I didn't lead her on.... neither did I break it off, for I was afraid of breaking a heart...with this my conscience tempered justice with mercy - for it only subjected me to occasional feeling of guilt.
During this period, there was a day she asked whether or not I'll forget her should my admission become a reality.... I simply told her time will tell... indeed!!! time actually told....

Time, the worst enemy of man... brings our fears closer to our face by each passing second!!!

Saturday 23 November 2013

5 COMMON BELIEFS AMONG NIGERIANS.




5 common beliefs among Nigerians.
This article is not meant to dispute or ridicule the following beliefs, it is just an observation about some commonly held beliefs among Nigerians.
1. 1.EVERYBODY IS CORRUPT.
2.      Most Nigerians tend to hold the view that corruption is in-born in every Nigerian. This is why many blatantly disagree to see anyone as a saint even without concrete evidence that such a person is corrupt. Majority of Nigerians also tend to justify official corruption by asking ‘if na you, you no go chop your own?’

2. FINANCIAL SUCCESS IS ONLY POSSIBLE WITH DISHONESTY.
This is another funny opinion held by many Nigerians, we tend to agree that outstanding financial success is impossible unless and until ingredients of dishonesty and illegality is employed in it’s preparation. This is one of so many reasons at one point in time or the other, accusing fingers have been pointed at popular successful Nigerians, even when the sources of income for such individual are open for all and sundry to see. Dangote, Femi Otedola , the late M.K.O Abiola and a host of others are victims of this belief.

3.‘CONNECTIONS’ ARE THE MOTHERS OF CARRIER SUCCESS.
Most Nigerians tend to posit that if you don’t have ‘long-legs’, you just might not get anywhere no matter how many ‘papers’ are in your folder. Many job seekers believe that they can never get a job unless and until they are connected to influential individuals within their carrier circle, in fact many job seekers prefer seeking connections than jobs. Same goes for students contractors, technicians and so on. One absurd question many people ask about the choice of a university applicant is : ‘do you have someone there?’. While this belief may be empirical on many occasions, some organizations still have transparency which beats this theory ‘hands down’.

4.THERE ARE THREE SOURCES OF FAST MONEY.
This particular belief is almost unanimously held by Nigerians. The society itself is a living witness to this as the populations of footballers and musicians among the youths is astounding, and will be more flabbergasting should a proper count be conducted. It is worthy of note, that one of the first owners of private jet in Nigeria is a footballer, this can pass for one among the many reasons for the rise of footballing as future ambition of many youths. A careful observer of talent hunt shows in Nigeria will agree the population of Musicians is almost equal to the population of music fans. The recently concluded MTN project fame serves as a successful case study. My university alone boasts of not less than 100 musicians who only see education as a second choice, need I add that almost every street in Lagos state has a musician? If you doubt this kindly attend one or two street Jamz in the month of December. When I paid a visit to the area where I grew up in 2011. I was surprised that 5 out of my 8 childhood friends were already full-time musicians, talent? right?
As for politics, we all know the story…

5. PRAYER SOLVES ALL PROBLEMS.
Many Nigerians would readily advice you to pray over anything. from the most complicated problems to the minutest of problems.little wonder why religious organizations have been converted into money spinning ventures over the years. Even Tai Solarin, a pioneer atheist in Nigeria when quizzed about the failure of the 'people's bank' in  the early 90s had to acknowledge that 'only God knows why'. In recent times, countless religious organizations and even the Government has sponsored several prayer sessions in a bid to stamp out corruption from the country, but a million-dollar question is left unanswered 'was corruption created by God?'

Friday 22 November 2013

FIRST LOVE (episode 2 )


Graduating from secondary school means transition to the real world. right from my days as a kid I had this kinda deep reflection which betrays my age. people never believe my real age cos I've always found myself among people older than me.
I did well in my Jamb and all my papers save for Yoruba and maths.... my mother tongue has never being my best tongue and mathematics has never being my friend. i expected such a result since no form of assistance was supplied to us during the Exams.
Graduating from secondary school is actually a step higher but detaching one's mind from d previous step seems a great difficulty. that was my case, Yeah!!! just forgetting about my secondary where I had carved my own niche seems impossible. this situation was probably due to Funke!!! a substantial part of me was With her.... I searched on Facebook, called my friends to get me her number...I tried all tricks to no avail. my heart was lost.. Yeah i did not know when It'll find it's way home...
I was in this state of mind... when a friend of mine called...
'guy how far? ' I started
'I dey... u remember Funke?' he asked
'yes na.. .wetin do her?....talk na....
'guy ansa na '
'calm down y ur blood dey hot? wale asked amidst hysterical laughter.
'I just wan tell u say I get her number ' he finally said.
'u serious? abeg send am shapally .
The call was from Wale, some minutes later, my phone beeped and my instincts naturally told me it was a message from Wale, sure it was.
I saved d number with utmost immediacy, in such a way that my inner mind asked me mockingly whether my life depends on it. Of course it does, it would be disastrous for me to continue living when my heart is elsewhere. That was me, and that has been me ever since I started feeling something in me for Funke...
i stood up from my bed and raced outside to my neighbour's. place... Mama Chisom to buy card... did I say buy? I actually went to beg for credit on credit. After much pleading... she gave me d credit.. prolly cos it was my 1st time
..
'Hello... who is this? ' female voice picked up.
'Funke!! it's me senior Wasak ' I answered with a shaky voice and a heart beating like it were pounded with a pestle .
'this is not Funke! it's her mother and what do u want from her '


WHAT?
To be continued soon... stay tuned

Thursday 21 November 2013

NEWS



As casualisation kills Nigeria

By Josef Omorotionmwan
Some organisations, public and private, are hanging perilously in the air, waiting to drop dead, and die they will, except urgent steps are taken. The idea we have here will benefit from predictions:
There are some media outfits in Nigeria. Some day, soon, their General Manager will be picked form among the casual workers. The Editor-in-Chief will be a youth corps member, and down the line, every worker in the establishment will be a contract staff or temporary employee, by whatever name called.
This much we owe to government policy of attrition — workers are leaving, dying and retiring but they are not being replaced. Rather, establishments have conveniently chosen the path of casualisation, which is cheaper in the short run but hopelessly more expensive and destructive in the long run.
We are now busy mortgaging the future of our labour force to casualisation. The practice of casualisation is pervasive. At the local government level, there is what they call “hire and fire”. Under this scheme, some highly unskilled staff are employed on a paltry wage of some N3000 a month. They are to be found as auxiliary workers at the health centres. They do all the dirty jobs and get the peanuts.
Incidentally, too, the Youth Employment Schemes, YES, that they parade at the state and federal levels are all euphemisms for casualisation. There is really no alternative to a regular employment where the employee can take part in union activities and fully express his constitutional rights of free movement and association.
The major industries have since arrived here. The practice at that level is to farm out the major operations – production, bottling, security, catering, etc- to the Shylocks around who in turn, take advantage of the heavy unemployment in the system to engage these youths and pay them slave wages while they work under conditions that are sometimes not good enough even for lower animals.
The banks are the worst culprits. The young girls are employed under what passes for corporate prostitution scheme. Whereas in government, contract staff are older people who have worked and retired from the system but either because of their competence and the essential nature of their assignments, they cannot be easily dispensed with, they are therefore retained on a small stipend; the banks engage their employees as contract staff right from the very beginning. These contract staff are expendable at will. They are also paid slave wages while the employments last and it is only the lucky ones among them that ever get elevated to the permanent status.
We cannot continue to take everything out on labour. Over the years, tariffs have risen astronomically and the general cost of production has also skyrocketed. The easiest way out for most organisations has been to cut down on employment by resorting to casualisation. This is unacceptable.
Under the employment statistics, a casual worker is an unemployed person. He is supposed to take the temporary job while looking for a permanent one. But what do we find in Nigeria? Some casual workers have remained so for upwards of 20 years. After some time, they get used to their misfortune and they therefore live and die as casual workers, under the illusion that they are real workers.
For them, it is work, work and work. They end up dying in penury — no health facilities, no retirement and its benefits, no housing, no houses, no homes. Their journey through life has been one of suffering and smiling.
From time, organised labour in the construction sector has been crying out that the abuse of expatriate quota and casualisation are killing the industry and denying Nigerians of jobs. There is a complete disregard of the Nigeria Content Development Act and a refusal by most employers from China, Korea and other Asian countries to respect our labour laws. In the educational sector, many institutions — public and private — are now resorting to the use of auxiliary teachers. What we are now faced with is modern day slavery and exploitation.
The saddest aspect of it all is that we are not even developing for the future, the type of vibrant labour force which we inherited from our founding fathers. In the past, a man was either employed or unemployed — no hangers-on and no midway. Without the necessary training and development, who would blame this casual employee if one day he sends out a circular, signed on behalf of the Chief Executive that “two Communities is fighting”? A nation gets the type of public service it deserves and it is easy to foresee the type of public service we are bequeathing to the future.
If we must survive the apocalypse ahead, the buck must stop with the labour unions. The problem is real and urgent. It is no longer enough for the labour unions to watch on and only call out their members on strike if the salary arrives late. They must be interested in the full structure and welfare of the hangers-on. The problem at hand is pressing and should not be left for when you pop champaign at annual general meetings.
The unions must constantly be on the neck of the legislators to put in place definite regulatory framework to revive this dying labour force. We cannot continue like this. Contract and casual employments must be viewed as crimes against humanity. Those jobs are exploitative and dehumanizing. Our laws must ensure fair and sufficient compensation as well as good welfare packages for all categories of workers through unrestricted legitimate rights to union activities, collectives bargaining and other statutory engagements. These cannot be achieved by cheap shots but by consistent engagements with the lawmakers.
It is relatively easy to enact laws but implementation is where the major problem lies. The labour unions must also be constantly on the throats of the various organisations to ensure full compliance. Until every situation stabilises, the courts cannot also be at rest. Casualisation should not be allowed to kill this country!
culled from vanguard

As casualisation kills Nigeria

on   /   in The Hub 1:08 am   /   Comments
By Josef Omorotionmwan
Some organisations, public and private, are hanging perilously in the air, waiting to drop dead, and die they will, except urgent steps are taken. The idea we have here will benefit from predictions:
There are some media outfits in Nigeria. Some day, soon, their General Manager will be picked form among the casual workers. The Editor-in-Chief will be a youth corps member, and down the line, every worker in the establishment will be a contract staff or temporary employee, by whatever name called.
This much we owe to government policy of attrition — workers are leaving, dying and retiring but they are not being replaced. Rather, establishments have conveniently chosen the path of casualisation, which is cheaper in the short run but hopelessly more expensive and destructive in the long run.
We are now busy mortgaging the future of our labour force to casualisation. The practice of casualisation is pervasive. At the local government level, there is what they call “hire and fire”. Under this scheme, some highly unskilled staff are employed on a paltry wage of some N3000 a month. They are to be found as auxiliary workers at the health centres. They do all the dirty jobs and get the peanuts.
Incidentally, too, the Youth Employment Schemes, YES, that they parade at the state and federal levels are all euphemisms for casualisation. There is really no alternative to a regular employment where the employee can take part in union activities and fully express his constitutional rights of free movement and association.
The major industries have since arrived here. The practice at that level is to farm out the major operations – production, bottling, security, catering, etc- to the Shylocks around who in turn, take advantage of the heavy unemployment in the system to engage these youths and pay them slave wages while they work under conditions that are sometimes not good enough even for lower animals.
The banks are the worst culprits. The young girls are employed under what passes for corporate prostitution scheme. Whereas in government, contract staff are older people who have worked and retired from the system but either because of their competence and the essential nature of their assignments, they cannot be easily dispensed with, they are therefore retained on a small stipend; the banks engage their employees as contract staff right from the very beginning. These contract staff are expendable at will. They are also paid slave wages while the employments last and it is only the lucky ones among them that ever get elevated to the permanent status.
We cannot continue to take everything out on labour. Over the years, tariffs have risen astronomically and the general cost of production has also skyrocketed. The easiest way out for most organisations has been to cut down on employment by resorting to casualisation. This is unacceptable.
Under the employment statistics, a casual worker is an unemployed person. He is supposed to take the temporary job while looking for a permanent one. But what do we find in Nigeria? Some casual workers have remained so for upwards of 20 years. After some time, they get used to their misfortune and they therefore live and die as casual workers, under the illusion that they are real workers.
For them, it is work, work and work. They end up dying in penury — no health facilities, no retirement and its benefits, no housing, no houses, no homes. Their journey through life has been one of suffering and smiling.
From time, organised labour in the construction sector has been crying out that the abuse of expatriate quota and casualisation are killing the industry and denying Nigerians of jobs. There is a complete disregard of the Nigeria Content Development Act and a refusal by most employers from China, Korea and other Asian countries to respect our labour laws. In the educational sector, many institutions — public and private — are now resorting to the use of auxiliary teachers. What we are now faced with is modern day slavery and exploitation.
The saddest aspect of it all is that we are not even developing for the future, the type of vibrant labour force which we inherited from our founding fathers. In the past, a man was either employed or unemployed — no hangers-on and no midway. Without the necessary training and development, who would blame this casual employee if one day he sends out a circular, signed on behalf of the Chief Executive that “two Communities is fighting”? A nation gets the type of public service it deserves and it is easy to foresee the type of public service we are bequeathing to the future.
If we must survive the apocalypse ahead, the buck must stop with the labour unions. The problem is real and urgent. It is no longer enough for the labour unions to watch on and only call out their members on strike if the salary arrives late. They must be interested in the full structure and welfare of the hangers-on. The problem at hand is pressing and should not be left for when you pop champaign at annual general meetings.
The unions must constantly be on the neck of the legislators to put in place definite regulatory framework to revive this dying labour force. We cannot continue like this. Contract and casual employments must be viewed as crimes against humanity. Those jobs are exploitative and dehumanizing. Our laws must ensure fair and sufficient compensation as well as good welfare packages for all categories of workers through unrestricted legitimate rights to union activities, collectives bargaining and other statutory engagements. These cannot be achieved by cheap shots but by consistent engagements with the lawmakers.
It is relatively easy to enact laws but implementation is where the major problem lies. The labour unions must also be constantly on the throats of the various organisations to ensure full compliance. Until every situation stabilises, the courts cannot also be at rest. Casualisation should not be allowed to kill this country!
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/casualisation-kills-nigeria/#sthash.fRag1xf9.dpuf

As casualisation kills Nigeria

on   /   in The Hub 1:08 am   /   Comments
By Josef Omorotionmwan
Some organisations, public and private, are hanging perilously in the air, waiting to drop dead, and die they will, except urgent steps are taken. The idea we have here will benefit from predictions:
There are some media outfits in Nigeria. Some day, soon, their General Manager will be picked form among the casual workers. The Editor-in-Chief will be a youth corps member, and down the line, every worker in the establishment will be a contract staff or temporary employee, by whatever name called.
This much we owe to government policy of attrition — workers are leaving, dying and retiring but they are not being replaced. Rather, establishments have conveniently chosen the path of casualisation, which is cheaper in the short run but hopelessly more expensive and destructive in the long run.
We are now busy mortgaging the future of our labour force to casualisation. The practice of casualisation is pervasive. At the local government level, there is what they call “hire and fire”. Under this scheme, some highly unskilled staff are employed on a paltry wage of some N3000 a month. They are to be found as auxiliary workers at the health centres. They do all the dirty jobs and get the peanuts.
Incidentally, too, the Youth Employment Schemes, YES, that they parade at the state and federal levels are all euphemisms for casualisation. There is really no alternative to a regular employment where the employee can take part in union activities and fully express his constitutional rights of free movement and association.
The major industries have since arrived here. The practice at that level is to farm out the major operations – production, bottling, security, catering, etc- to the Shylocks around who in turn, take advantage of the heavy unemployment in the system to engage these youths and pay them slave wages while they work under conditions that are sometimes not good enough even for lower animals.
The banks are the worst culprits. The young girls are employed under what passes for corporate prostitution scheme. Whereas in government, contract staff are older people who have worked and retired from the system but either because of their competence and the essential nature of their assignments, they cannot be easily dispensed with, they are therefore retained on a small stipend; the banks engage their employees as contract staff right from the very beginning. These contract staff are expendable at will. They are also paid slave wages while the employments last and it is only the lucky ones among them that ever get elevated to the permanent status.
We cannot continue to take everything out on labour. Over the years, tariffs have risen astronomically and the general cost of production has also skyrocketed. The easiest way out for most organisations has been to cut down on employment by resorting to casualisation. This is unacceptable.
Under the employment statistics, a casual worker is an unemployed person. He is supposed to take the temporary job while looking for a permanent one. But what do we find in Nigeria? Some casual workers have remained so for upwards of 20 years. After some time, they get used to their misfortune and they therefore live and die as casual workers, under the illusion that they are real workers.
For them, it is work, work and work. They end up dying in penury — no health facilities, no retirement and its benefits, no housing, no houses, no homes. Their journey through life has been one of suffering and smiling.
From time, organised labour in the construction sector has been crying out that the abuse of expatriate quota and casualisation are killing the industry and denying Nigerians of jobs. There is a complete disregard of the Nigeria Content Development Act and a refusal by most employers from China, Korea and other Asian countries to respect our labour laws. In the educational sector, many institutions — public and private — are now resorting to the use of auxiliary teachers. What we are now faced with is modern day slavery and exploitation.
The saddest aspect of it all is that we are not even developing for the future, the type of vibrant labour force which we inherited from our founding fathers. In the past, a man was either employed or unemployed — no hangers-on and no midway. Without the necessary training and development, who would blame this casual employee if one day he sends out a circular, signed on behalf of the Chief Executive that “two Communities is fighting”? A nation gets the type of public service it deserves and it is easy to foresee the type of public service we are bequeathing to the future.
If we must survive the apocalypse ahead, the buck must stop with the labour unions. The problem is real and urgent. It is no longer enough for the labour unions to watch on and only call out their members on strike if the salary arrives late. They must be interested in the full structure and welfare of the hangers-on. The problem at hand is pressing and should not be left for when you pop champaign at annual general meetings.
The unions must constantly be on the neck of the legislators to put in place definite regulatory framework to revive this dying labour force. We cannot continue like this. Contract and casual employments must be viewed as crimes against humanity. Those jobs are exploitative and dehumanizing. Our laws must ensure fair and sufficient compensation as well as good welfare packages for all categories of workers through unrestricted legitimate rights to union activities, collectives bargaining and other statutory engagements. These cannot be achieved by cheap shots but by consistent engagements with the lawmakers.
It is relatively easy to enact laws but implementation is where the major problem lies. The labour unions must also be constantly on the throats of the various organisations to ensure full compliance. Until every situation stabilises, the courts cannot also be at rest. Casualisation should not be allowed to kill this country!
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/casualisation-kills-nigeria/#sthash.fRag1xf9.dpuf

As casualisation kills Nigeria

on   /   in The Hub 1:08 am   /   Comments
By Josef Omorotionmwan
Some organisations, public and private, are hanging perilously in the air, waiting to drop dead, and die they will, except urgent steps are taken. The idea we have here will benefit from predictions:
There are some media outfits in Nigeria. Some day, soon, their General Manager will be picked form among the casual workers. The Editor-in-Chief will be a youth corps member, and down the line, every worker in the establishment will be a contract staff or temporary employee, by whatever name called.
This much we owe to government policy of attrition — workers are leaving, dying and retiring but they are not being replaced. Rather, establishments have conveniently chosen the path of casualisation, which is cheaper in the short run but hopelessly more expensive and destructive in the long run.
We are now busy mortgaging the future of our labour force to casualisation. The practice of casualisation is pervasive. At the local government level, there is what they call “hire and fire”. Under this scheme, some highly unskilled staff are employed on a paltry wage of some N3000 a month. They are to be found as auxiliary workers at the health centres. They do all the dirty jobs and get the peanuts.
Incidentally, too, the Youth Employment Schemes, YES, that they parade at the state and federal levels are all euphemisms for casualisation. There is really no alternative to a regular employment where the employee can take part in union activities and fully express his constitutional rights of free movement and association.
The major industries have since arrived here. The practice at that level is to farm out the major operations – production, bottling, security, catering, etc- to the Shylocks around who in turn, take advantage of the heavy unemployment in the system to engage these youths and pay them slave wages while they work under conditions that are sometimes not good enough even for lower animals.
The banks are the worst culprits. The young girls are employed under what passes for corporate prostitution scheme. Whereas in government, contract staff are older people who have worked and retired from the system but either because of their competence and the essential nature of their assignments, they cannot be easily dispensed with, they are therefore retained on a small stipend; the banks engage their employees as contract staff right from the very beginning. These contract staff are expendable at will. They are also paid slave wages while the employments last and it is only the lucky ones among them that ever get elevated to the permanent status.
We cannot continue to take everything out on labour. Over the years, tariffs have risen astronomically and the general cost of production has also skyrocketed. The easiest way out for most organisations has been to cut down on employment by resorting to casualisation. This is unacceptable.
Under the employment statistics, a casual worker is an unemployed person. He is supposed to take the temporary job while looking for a permanent one. But what do we find in Nigeria? Some casual workers have remained so for upwards of 20 years. After some time, they get used to their misfortune and they therefore live and die as casual workers, under the illusion that they are real workers.
For them, it is work, work and work. They end up dying in penury — no health facilities, no retirement and its benefits, no housing, no houses, no homes. Their journey through life has been one of suffering and smiling.
From time, organised labour in the construction sector has been crying out that the abuse of expatriate quota and casualisation are killing the industry and denying Nigerians of jobs. There is a complete disregard of the Nigeria Content Development Act and a refusal by most employers from China, Korea and other Asian countries to respect our labour laws. In the educational sector, many institutions — public and private — are now resorting to the use of auxiliary teachers. What we are now faced with is modern day slavery and exploitation.
The saddest aspect of it all is that we are not even developing for the future, the type of vibrant labour force which we inherited from our founding fathers. In the past, a man was either employed or unemployed — no hangers-on and no midway. Without the necessary training and development, who would blame this casual employee if one day he sends out a circular, signed on behalf of the Chief Executive that “two Communities is fighting”? A nation gets the type of public service it deserves and it is easy to foresee the type of public service we are bequeathing to the future.
If we must survive the apocalypse ahead, the buck must stop with the labour unions. The problem is real and urgent. It is no longer enough for the labour unions to watch on and only call out their members on strike if the salary arrives late. They must be interested in the full structure and welfare of the hangers-on. The problem at hand is pressing and should not be left for when you pop champaign at annual general meetings.
The unions must constantly be on the neck of the legislators to put in place definite regulatory framework to revive this dying labour force. We cannot continue like this. Contract and casual employments must be viewed as crimes against humanity. Those jobs are exploitative and dehumanizing. Our laws must ensure fair and sufficient compensation as well as good welfare packages for all categories of workers through unrestricted legitimate rights to union activities, collectives bargaining and other statutory engagements. These cannot be achieved by cheap shots but by consistent engagements with the lawmakers.
It is relatively easy to enact laws but implementation is where the major problem lies. The labour unions must also be constantly on the throats of the various organisations to ensure full compliance. Until every situation stabilises, the courts cannot also be at rest. Casualisation should not be allowed to kill this country!
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/casualisation-kills-nigeria/#sthash.fRag1xf9.dpuf

As casualisation kills Nigeria

on   /   in The Hub 1:08 am   /   Comments
By Josef Omorotionmwan
Some organisations, public and private, are hanging perilously in the air, waiting to drop dead, and die they will, except urgent steps are taken. The idea we have here will benefit from predictions:
There are some media outfits in Nigeria. Some day, soon, their General Manager will be picked form among the casual workers. The Editor-in-Chief will be a youth corps member, and down the line, every worker in the establishment will be a contract staff or temporary employee, by whatever name called.
This much we owe to government policy of attrition — workers are leaving, dying and retiring but they are not being replaced. Rather, establishments have conveniently chosen the path of casualisation, which is cheaper in the short run but hopelessly more expensive and destructive in the long run.
We are now busy mortgaging the future of our labour force to casualisation. The practice of casualisation is pervasive. At the local government level, there is what they call “hire and fire”. Under this scheme, some highly unskilled staff are employed on a paltry wage of some N3000 a month. They are to be found as auxiliary workers at the health centres. They do all the dirty jobs and get the peanuts.
Incidentally, too, the Youth Employment Schemes, YES, that they parade at the state and federal levels are all euphemisms for casualisation. There is really no alternative to a regular employment where the employee can take part in union activities and fully express his constitutional rights of free movement and association.
The major industries have since arrived here. The practice at that level is to farm out the major operations – production, bottling, security, catering, etc- to the Shylocks around who in turn, take advantage of the heavy unemployment in the system to engage these youths and pay them slave wages while they work under conditions that are sometimes not good enough even for lower animals.
The banks are the worst culprits. The young girls are employed under what passes for corporate prostitution scheme. Whereas in government, contract staff are older people who have worked and retired from the system but either because of their competence and the essential nature of their assignments, they cannot be easily dispensed with, they are therefore retained on a small stipend; the banks engage their employees as contract staff right from the very beginning. These contract staff are expendable at will. They are also paid slave wages while the employments last and it is only the lucky ones among them that ever get elevated to the permanent status.
We cannot continue to take everything out on labour. Over the years, tariffs have risen astronomically and the general cost of production has also skyrocketed. The easiest way out for most organisations has been to cut down on employment by resorting to casualisation. This is unacceptable.
Under the employment statistics, a casual worker is an unemployed person. He is supposed to take the temporary job while looking for a permanent one. But what do we find in Nigeria? Some casual workers have remained so for upwards of 20 years. After some time, they get used to their misfortune and they therefore live and die as casual workers, under the illusion that they are real workers.
For them, it is work, work and work. They end up dying in penury — no health facilities, no retirement and its benefits, no housing, no houses, no homes. Their journey through life has been one of suffering and smiling.
From time, organised labour in the construction sector has been crying out that the abuse of expatriate quota and casualisation are killing the industry and denying Nigerians of jobs. There is a complete disregard of the Nigeria Content Development Act and a refusal by most employers from China, Korea and other Asian countries to respect our labour laws. In the educational sector, many institutions — public and private — are now resorting to the use of auxiliary teachers. What we are now faced with is modern day slavery and exploitation.
The saddest aspect of it all is that we are not even developing for the future, the type of vibrant labour force which we inherited from our founding fathers. In the past, a man was either employed or unemployed — no hangers-on and no midway. Without the necessary training and development, who would blame this casual employee if one day he sends out a circular, signed on behalf of the Chief Executive that “two Communities is fighting”? A nation gets the type of public service it deserves and it is easy to foresee the type of public service we are bequeathing to the future.
If we must survive the apocalypse ahead, the buck must stop with the labour unions. The problem is real and urgent. It is no longer enough for the labour unions to watch on and only call out their members on strike if the salary arrives late. They must be interested in the full structure and welfare of the hangers-on. The problem at hand is pressing and should not be left for when you pop champaign at annual general meetings.
The unions must constantly be on the neck of the legislators to put in place definite regulatory framework to revive this dying labour force. We cannot continue like this. Contract and casual employments must be viewed as crimes against humanity. Those jobs are exploitative and dehumanizing. Our laws must ensure fair and sufficient compensation as well as good welfare packages for all categories of workers through unrestricted legitimate rights to union activities, collectives bargaining and other statutory engagements. These cannot be achieved by cheap shots but by consistent engagements with the lawmakers.
It is relatively easy to enact laws but implementation is where the major problem lies. The labour unions must also be constantly on the throats of the various organisations to ensure full compliance. Until every situation stabilises, the courts cannot also be at rest. Casualisation should not be allowed to kill this country!
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/casualisation-kills-nigeria/#sthash.fRag1xf9.dpuf

As casualisation kills Nigeria

on   /   in The Hub 1:08 am   /   Comments
By Josef Omorotionmwan
Some organisations, public and private, are hanging perilously in the air, waiting to drop dead, and die they will, except urgent steps are taken. The idea we have here will benefit from predictions:
There are some media outfits in Nigeria. Some day, soon, their General Manager will be picked form among the casual workers. The Editor-in-Chief will be a youth corps member, and down the line, every worker in the establishment will be a contract staff or temporary employee, by whatever name called.
This much we owe to government policy of attrition — workers are leaving, dying and retiring but they are not being replaced. Rather, establishments have conveniently chosen the path of casualisation, which is cheaper in the short run but hopelessly more expensive and destructive in the long run.
We are now busy mortgaging the future of our labour force to casualisation. The practice of casualisation is pervasive. At the local government level, there is what they call “hire and fire”. Under this scheme, some highly unskilled staff are employed on a paltry wage of some N3000 a month. They are to be found as auxiliary workers at the health centres. They do all the dirty jobs and get the peanuts.
Incidentally, too, the Youth Employment Schemes, YES, that they parade at the state and federal levels are all euphemisms for casualisation. There is really no alternative to a regular employment where the employee can take part in union activities and fully express his constitutional rights of free movement and association.
The major industries have since arrived here. The practice at that level is to farm out the major operations – production, bottling, security, catering, etc- to the Shylocks around who in turn, take advantage of the heavy unemployment in the system to engage these youths and pay them slave wages while they work under conditions that are sometimes not good enough even for lower animals.
The banks are the worst culprits. The young girls are employed under what passes for corporate prostitution scheme. Whereas in government, contract staff are older people who have worked and retired from the system but either because of their competence and the essential nature of their assignments, they cannot be easily dispensed with, they are therefore retained on a small stipend; the banks engage their employees as contract staff right from the very beginning. These contract staff are expendable at will. They are also paid slave wages while the employments last and it is only the lucky ones among them that ever get elevated to the permanent status.
We cannot continue to take everything out on labour. Over the years, tariffs have risen astronomically and the general cost of production has also skyrocketed. The easiest way out for most organisations has been to cut down on employment by resorting to casualisation. This is unacceptable.
Under the employment statistics, a casual worker is an unemployed person. He is supposed to take the temporary job while looking for a permanent one. But what do we find in Nigeria? Some casual workers have remained so for upwards of 20 years. After some time, they get used to their misfortune and they therefore live and die as casual workers, under the illusion that they are real workers.
For them, it is work, work and work. They end up dying in penury — no health facilities, no retirement and its benefits, no housing, no houses, no homes. Their journey through life has been one of suffering and smiling.
From time, organised labour in the construction sector has been crying out that the abuse of expatriate quota and casualisation are killing the industry and denying Nigerians of jobs. There is a complete disregard of the Nigeria Content Development Act and a refusal by most employers from China, Korea and other Asian countries to respect our labour laws. In the educational sector, many institutions — public and private — are now resorting to the use of auxiliary teachers. What we are now faced with is modern day slavery and exploitation.
The saddest aspect of it all is that we are not even developing for the future, the type of vibrant labour force which we inherited from our founding fathers. In the past, a man was either employed or unemployed — no hangers-on and no midway. Without the necessary training and development, who would blame this casual employee if one day he sends out a circular, signed on behalf of the Chief Executive that “two Communities is fighting”? A nation gets the type of public service it deserves and it is easy to foresee the type of public service we are bequeathing to the future.
If we must survive the apocalypse ahead, the buck must stop with the labour unions. The problem is real and urgent. It is no longer enough for the labour unions to watch on and only call out their members on strike if the salary arrives late. They must be interested in the full structure and welfare of the hangers-on. The problem at hand is pressing and should not be left for when you pop champaign at annual general meetings.
The unions must constantly be on the neck of the legislators to put in place definite regulatory framework to revive this dying labour force. We cannot continue like this. Contract and casual employments must be viewed as crimes against humanity. Those jobs are exploitative and dehumanizing. Our laws must ensure fair and sufficient compensation as well as good welfare packages for all categories of workers through unrestricted legitimate rights to union activities, collectives bargaining and other statutory engagements. These cannot be achieved by cheap shots but by consistent engagements with the lawmakers.
It is relatively easy to enact laws but implementation is where the major problem lies. The labour unions must also be constantly on the throats of the various organisations to ensure full compliance. Until every situation stabilises, the courts cannot also be at rest. Casualisation should not be allowed to kill this country!
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/casualisation-kills-nigeria/#sthash.fRag1xf9.dpuf