This report is the culmination of weeks of
investigation into the scam that is disguised
as tests for unsuspecting job seekers in the
banking sub-sector of the Nigerian economy.
The findings are shocking as much as they are
bound to affect your sensibilities of decency
and morality. Because of the sensitive nature
of this matter, more so the broad scope of our
on-going investigations, particularly the need
not to jeopardize this work, we have
deliberately decided not to reveal the
identities of the job-seekers and the bank in
question – mind you, some other banks are
involved in this scam. However, as we gather
more facts and by the time the investigation
runs its full course, we may then be able to
disclose the identities of all the parties
concerned.
Sometime in 1986, the then minister for
labour and productivity, then Rear Admiral
Patrick Sebo Koshoni, during his ministerial
press briefing announced that about one
million Nigerians were unemployed.
Even at that time, the figure he gave was
regarded as an under estimation of the
problem of unemployment which became visible
in many Nigerian homes about three years
earlier.
Indeed, during the last days of the civilian
presidency of President Aliyu Usman Shehu
Shagari the problem grew fangs, but it was the
government of military president Ibrahim
Babagida that officially took steps to address
the issue of unemployment especially among
the youths. The Babagida administration
through his ministers of labour sought and got
the assistance of the International Labour
Organisation to create jobs in the informal
sector. The consequence of which was the
setting up of the National Directorate of
Employment to create jobs in the informal
sector.
Apart from this, another minister of labour in
the Babagida administration, then Brigadier-
General Ike Nwachukwu, during a ministerial
briefing called on banks to use part of the
huge profits to engage a number of young
graduates. All of these efforts didn’t do much
to tackle the unemployment problem as it got
compounded with the high number of
graduates turned out by the universities.
The influx of foreign investors into Nigeria
did not stem the tide of unemployment either.
Rather, it was the era in which Nigerians were
subjected to the worst working conditions in
the name of attracting foreign investors. Many
of these so-called investors have subjected
Nigerians to dehumanizing working conditions.
The Ikorodu factory fire of 2002 in which
workers were roasted comes to mind. That
wasn’t an isolated case. A particular company
owned by the Chinese located in Ogba Lagos,
had its machine chop off hands and fingers of
employees and the organization has not been
sanctioned in any form.
It was also an era in which the so-called “ New
Generation Banks” came into business. Banks
pretending to be doing business in a manner
unknown to the older banks. These ‘ new
generation banks’ barred their employees from
trade union activities. They also do not belong
to the Nigeria Bankers Employers Group or
even the Nigeria Employers Consultative
Association ( NECA).
It was and still is a culture of impunity.
Even with the pretensions to new ways of
banking, they are not known to have created
jobs that have been of any significant impact
on the economy.
However, a current development in a bank
prompted an investigation which culminated in
this report.
Ms. Josephine ( actual name withheld) a
graduate of the University of Lagos some two
years ago, while desperately searching for a
job, she got on line to a company “ U Connect” .
The company on its web site listed its services
as “ Recruitment, Outsourcing, Placement,
Training , Quality and Management”.
This graduate was then invited along with
others to come and write tests for a job.
President Jonathan and Emeka Nwogu,
Minister of Labour and Productivity. while
at the the background job seekers
scramble for few job opportunities.
“We were not told what type of job it is” she
said. “After we had about three tests, some of
us were shortlisted and then invited for
another round of tests when the recruiting
officer told us we were being engaged on
behalf of a bank”.
After the first round of tests, Josephine and
others were told that U Connect has concluded
its own side of the recruitment and that the
Bank (name withheld) though quite accessible
would take over. The bank did.
After another round of tests, the applicants
were congratulated for scaling through. If
they thought their problems of joblessness
were over, and a new life was ahead, they were
dead wrong.
The applicants, young graduates (men and
women), were told to go and find for the bank
10 customers who must open new accounts with
the bank and deposit at least N100,000 ( One
hundred thousand Naira). In other words, they
were to source for the bank One Million Naira.
Simple, No money, no job.
Ngozi, (real name withheld) was able to find
new customers who deposited about
N850,000 . With that, she thought she would
be commended. Rather, she was booted out.
She was disqualified from the training
programme, the next phase of her tests
because she failed to find customers who
could deposit One million Naira.
Another applicant who was able to raise a
million Naira from four depositors was
knocked off the next state. Why?
She was told that she had not met the
requirement of securing for the bank 10
depositors.
Another applicant, Akintoye (real identity
protected) was able to source for 10
Customers who met the deposit target of One
million but his aches had just started. The
young graduate, was told that to be allowed to
participate in the training programme to be
conducted somewhere in Ikeja, he must source
for the bank, a Guarantor who must deposit
with the bank N2,000,000 (Two million Naira).
Why?
”We were told that the training programme is
quite expensive and that it would be
conducted by Havard Business School. We
were also told that we would have to sign a
bond that we would not quit the services of
the bank for any reason within two years. If
we do, then the Guarantor forfeits his
deposit”.
Sunday Vanguard obtained a copy of the
letter issued to the would be employees.
It states “ Thank you for honoring our
interview invitation; please be informed that
you are required to do the following:
”Option 1: Open 10 accounts with a total
cumulative balance of N1million (Minimum of
N100,000 in each of the accounts) OR ”Option
2. : Open a fixed deposit of N5million for 180
days.
For whichever option you choose, please go to
any Bank branch closest to you to obtain
account opening forms for this exercise.
This exercise
A minimum of 10 account opening forms for
Option 1
a minimum of 1 account opening form for
Option 2
”All accounts must be tagged for reference
and easy tracking.
Also, find below the format for which the
details of the account opening exercise should
be sent to the underlisted email
addresses…………..
(A list of the bank’s staff email addresses are
provided for the applicants but because of the
scope of this investigation we are not at this
moment going to reveal some details about the
bank as this may jeopardize on-going
investigations into this scam).Deadline for the
exercise is : 18th October 2013 by 12 noon
The format to send the details of account
shows: S/N, Name, Account Number and
Amount ( N).
However, the letter was not signed. All efforts
to speak with Corporate Affairs Manager of
the bank were unsuccessful as the line was not
available.
Having gone through Nigeria’s labour laws, one
cannot find a single sentence that supports
these conditions given to applicants by the
bank.
Further investigations showed that U-Connect,
the company where this started sent this SMS
to the affected applicants “You are invited for
an interview ( GRADUATE TRAINEE LEVEL 1)
on Thursday 27/06/13 by 12 noon at U-
Connnect, 5, Ogbunike str, behind Avalon
House, off admiralty way, Lekki 1, Lagos. Come
with photocopies of all credentials , CV and
passport.
Sunday Vanguard called U-connect to ask if it
is registered with the ministry of labour and
productivity.
A female voice responsed, “ yes we are” but
she seemed not sure and said, “I will connect
you to the Human Resource Dept. I’m only a
front desk officer”.
At the back ground, a male voice instructed
her to tell the caller to “call back”. She got
back on the phone and asked that we call back
in 30 minutes.
The call was made to U-connect on October
10, 2013.
Since then, it had not been possible to reach
the company on the phone again.
Because of the nature and sensitivity of this
development, the outcome of further
investigations suggested that U-CONNECT
may not be a registered member of the Human
Capital Providers Association of Nigeria
(HuCaPan) which is affiliated to the Nigeria
Employers Consultative Association.
HuCaPan has a Code of Coduct which was
launched early this year by the permanent
secretary, federal ministry of employment,
labour and productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh.
Objectives of the Code of Conduct – “ This
Code of Conduct sets out the principles that
shall guide the Private Employment Industry.
The standards in this Code of Conduct shall be
observed by all those involved in Private
Employment industry in Nigeria. This principle
based approach is intended to maintain and
enhance consistency, fairness, transparency,
accountability and diversity in recruitment
practices. This Code provides Private
Employment Agencies with a clear and concise
guide to the approach it must take to ensure a
fair, open and transparent process that
produces a quality outcome and commands
public confidence. It is intended to contribute
to the development of best practice in the
field of recruitment and general human capital
development.
”This Code of Conduct shall provide a
framework based on the global best practice
employment principles. It recognizes that
Private Employment Agencies require
flexibility to deal efficiently and effectively
with the diverse range of services they
provide. Accordingly, the Code shall enable
Private Employment Agencies to adopt
strategies and develop processes to implement
the principles effectively. All agreements
signed under this Code must also comply with
relevant employment and equality legislation in
Nigeria”.
Code of Conduct- Principle 3 Respect for
Transparency of Terms of Engagement states
“PEAs shall ensure that workers are given
details of their working conditions, the nature
of the work to be undertaken, rates to pay
and pay arrangements and working hours. This
principle obligates Private Employment
Agencies to inform employees of the
conditions applicable to the contract or
employment relationship”.
Principle 4 Respect for free-of-charge
provision of services to jobseekers “PEAs shall
not charge directly or indirectly, in whole or in
part, any fees or costs to prospective
employees and workers, for the services
directly related to temporary assignment or
permanent placement”.
All that is required is registration with the
federal ministry of labour and productivity.
Trade Unions kick, call for CBN sanction
The acting general secretary of the Nigeria
Labour Congress, Comrade Chris Uyot said, “
Labour is concerned but government should be
interested too. This is a serious matter. The
situation in the country should not be an
excuse for multinationals and banks to exploit
our youths. We’ll hold the Central Bank of
Nigeria responsible.”
Comrade Uyot vowed that NLC will support
whatever action the unions in the banking
sector take.
He emphasized, “This act is a form of
corruption. They are making prostitutes of
youths. It is simply Corporate Prostitution. It
is not enough for the government to claim to
be tackling corruption without addressing
issues like this. We condemn it in totality. The
banks should not be allowed to turn Nigerians
to slaves”.
The President of the Association of Banks,
Insurance and Allied Institutions, Comrade
Olusoji Salako also condemned the conditions
given by this accessible bank in totality.
He told Sunday Vanguard, “We are against
such things. It is alien to our sector. By the
time you make money a condition for
employment, why are we talking about money
laundering. So, even armed robbers, and 419
people can make deposit with such a bank”.
Salako condemned in strong terms the
conditions attached to the training of new
employees.
“ Placing value on training is improper. The
duty of the organization is to train people. We
are against this. If it is true, it is uncalled
for . It is against the standard in the industry.
The Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) should call
the bank to order”.
So, why do these banks get away with non-
compliance with labour laws, what can ministry
of labour do?
Comrade Salako said, “the federal government
should develop the political will to enforce our
law”.
He said, unfortunately, those who run these
businesses where unions are not allowed ,
where labour laws are violated with impunity
make up the government’s National Economic
Management Team.
“They are the big donors to the government’s
party and programmes”.
He recalled that during the administration of
President Umar Musa Yar’Adua,
representatives of labour were included in the
Economic Management Team but the
administration of President Goodluck
Jonathan excluded labour’s representatives.
Contact with Government
Sunday Vanguard contacted the minister of
labour and productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu via
an sms and he replied that the ministry had
noted it. It is expected that action would be
taken.
NLC condemns employers’ tactics in banks .
Rising from its national executive council
meeting in Kaduna,
The Nigeria Labour Congress, in a communiqué
signed by its President, Comrade Abdulwaheed
Omar and Ag. General secretary, Chris Uyot in
its observation on casualisation condemned the
cash for jobs policy in the banks.
It stated: NEC-In-Session observes that
there is a resurgence of casualisation of
workers in the public and private sectors
across the country. This unholy practice
induces slave labour, prostitution,
psychological trauma and the violation of the
rights of these workers and does not in any
way stimulate productivity .
What employers of Labour are trying to do is
take undue advantage of hapless applicants or
workers. Exploiting the weak defences of this
category of people is not only morally
reprehensible but defies logic. Even if the
private sector, out of corporate greed,
indulges in this unwholesome practice what
justification does government have in doing
so?
Some banks have gone to the extent of
compelling their employees to meet a target of
6million a month and securing of bonds that
make a mockery of plantation slave labour.
Congress does not see how this terrible
practice stimulates productivity.
NEC resolves that the Nigeria Labour
Congress shall henceforth lead its affiliate
unions against any employer identified to be
engaged in these unwholesome practices by
employing all known trade union actions until
such employer retraces its steps”.
For hundreds of thousands of youths hoping to
make a career in banking, their dreams may
never be realised.
It is clear now that possession of the requisite
qualification isn’t enough, he or she has to be
connected to those who are able to save
millions of Naira otherwise, no job.
It’s simply an era of Cash for Jobs.