Reading Vanguard Online News of "-Day" 11/04/2016 like I always do on daily basis as an unemployed graduate, a skilled writer and one that keeps track and records of the comrade Governor's giant strides of achievements in Edo and happenings in the State, I came across the headline "Understanding Oshiomhole's Industrilisation Policy" on the online publication. My take is that, I won't write less than what the Executive Director, Media and Public Affairs, Governor's Office, Edo State, Mr. John Mayaki has written. I strongly believe as the Comrade's tenure in office is coming to an end, a compendium should be Published to showcase the Transformation in Edo that even the blind can see it, the deaf can hear of it all over the state, He should also be given an opportunity to serve at the Federal Level.

While it is true that Edo State Government have created enabling environment for Businesses, Job opportunities and opportunity to invest in the "Bini Kingdom" of Africa through policies. It is also true that "dearth of statics has remained the bane of the nation". I strongly doubt your projected outlook that "100,000 job opportunities have been created over the course of the last seven years…" this is also as a result of the statistical-bane bedeviling our nation and bureaucratic-palaver in managing Government Job creation Statistically across MDAs and private organizations’. Saying "Wells Farm alone for instance, promises to employ over 80,000" Is just a promise that can be broken at anytime and not a done deal or can just end as a gist. If 100,000 persons are employed in Edo State, I don't think Edo indigenes or people in the State will be jobless. Unless we minus the promised (80,000) jobs from the 100,000 jobs created and I for one should be among the first 100 people employed under any genuine recruitment exercise in the state.

My attention focuses on the line that reads, "Some of the jobs directly created are in the Information and Communication Technology Agency, the Board of Internal Revenue, Edo State University, Central Hospital. These agencies among others, have employed and continue to employ thousands of youths many of whom would have remained in the labour market were these opportunities not opened up to them."

Sir, in June 2014, the Information Communication Technology Agency, ICTA Edo State, conducted a recruitment Aptitude Test I was among those who sat for it, I received an sms two weeks earlier containing my user ID and password. Knowing it was Computer Based Test (CBT), I was happy that Edo ICTA was taking a different approach to recruitment exercise in Nigeria, with thousands of applicants, each applicant was given a user ID and Password and scheduled for different days and time, I thought I was the first set to sit for it that Friday when I arrived the venue, until I learnt people have been taking the test since Monday. I was cleared after verification of the sms sent to me and allowed into one of the computer rooms.
Among many of us that went into the test hall I was the only that came out smiling, I tried to ask others but the look on their faces tells me the result, it was only one young man on wheelchair that I saw smiling. I know he also passed. The system automatically assesses you and shows your result on the screen when you click the submit button or your time elapses. I know in every assessment, speed and accuracy is what they are looking at. ICTA did just that. I am not the brightest of all, but I was well informed about the history of the State and Government Executives of the day which formed part of the question. I screamed and jumped off my sit when I clicked the submit button. On my screen was 70%, You Passed, Congratulations! I saw myself a step closer to the Job. The invigilator said "You people are looking at him, he has passed his own; your time is counting". Telling others that were looking at me being "happy for myself". We were all given our results, those that passed and those that failed who waited to collect it. I knew the process was stringent considering the number of applicants, some with 65% showed Fail. So, 70% and above was the take into the next stage of the recruitment exercise. The guy on wheelchair told me he had 70% and later same day, my dad said he heard late of on ICTA Job that he would have told me to apply, I smiled and said father, I just did the test and passed, that is why I came to Benin. I showed him the result.

Fellow Nigerians, this is April 2016, I am still waiting for the next stage of the recruitment exercise only for me to read that ICTA has recruited hundreds culminating into thousands of jobs that Adam Oshiomhole’s Government have created across the state. This is one of many cases in this our "ogbonge obodo Nigeria." I heard weeks later that of over 3,000 people that sat for the test, those that passed were not up to 300. I write this piece today, because I have the result as evidence to prove and show it to the world, if I didn't have it, they will say he has failed and want to hold someone responsible for his failure by writing some piece of trash. What about those that passed and were never contacted? What about those that don't have someone in Government or knows "Mr. Fix it"? What about those who passed job interview and don't have results to prove it? I know my wait for an answer will be endless, so I don't expect it! I know what has transpired in the system of "change."

Let's do things right in this country. We are not productive as a nation today because we’ve engaged the wrong people in job / field they don't deserve or appreciate it and treat such position with lackadaisical attitude and never putting their best into it. I am well informed of a firm in this country where most people work with different names other than theirs. And the thousands of ghost workers discovered on Federal Governments’ payroll. If the 36 States and FCT decide to harmonize their payrolls, the total number of ghost or spirit workers this country will produce will set a world record for a life time. The situation in Nigeria today is so bad that there is “No Vacancy” for those who need voluntary Jobs (without pay) or even those that are to applying to “die” for the country.

We don't need change as a mantra, we don't need change as a slogan, we need Radical Change, and an overhaul of the way we think, act and play our individual role in making the world better than we met it! This is not the Nigeria we want to leave for our grand children. We inherited from them, leave it better!
I will use this medium to beg other State Governments and the Federal Government to learn from the Edo State ICTA pattern of using CBT by generating user IDs and password, making recruitment test to be CBT for Graduates and not to learn from the "bad eggs" sabotaging Government effort by replacing those that passed with their slot that failed in a recruitment test.

Ehiz Emmanuel,

Writer, Public Affairs Analyst
Social / Public Speaker
ehizemmanuel@gmail.com