The world is imbalanced. Financial markets are in turmoil, wars are progressing unhindered, famine is extinguishing a race and young people have been rioting on the streets. From Cairo to Mogadishu to London, the story is largely the same. America is imploding and is sending jitters all across the globe and perhaps even into space. The middle east is showing its worst…the craziest form of dictator who without hesitation turn machine guns at their own people and tell the rest of the world to back off. And we back off. Yes we back off and speak words of condemnation under our breath pretending to be concerned. It’s all deception; a rat race to self-aggrandisement.
In Nigeria this deception manifests in shades that are both obscene and depressing. We’ve been known for our scam mails and phony wealth bestowing letters. As the system is modified to hamper our operations, we evolve into more deadly forms. We are like parasites, no, cannibals. We are happy and eager to feed off our fellow impoverished country men without blinking. So we device this new scam and target it at that which years of failed leadership has made our lot; unemployment.
Yes unemployment is a problem globally, but in Nigeria is a predicament. Hundreds of thousands of us graduate annually to no jobs. Legions are of the employable age but never saw it through school. Many more do not even yet appreciate the deep shit they are in. So like sheep without a shepherd we sit gullible, our eyes darting in all directions for help, our brains thinking of not the good but of a short cut. From amongst us, the more ingenious ones think up fantastic short cuts and in front of a laptop with Internet connection begin to broadcast good news to the rest of us; false good news letters reeking with falsehood and shame.
I write about the false job sites, false job interview invitations and false employment letters that are making the round. I have heard of it, of how some negatively ingenious ones amongst us have been feeding off our collective gullibility and offering phony jobs at a fee but I never met a real life victim until last Friday. This lady appeared where I work brandishing a letter of employment which claimed that she had been offered employment in the company at quite a juicy salary rate and she was to resume.
I looked at the lady and the years of job search was visible on her. But more obvious was the shattering effect the news that what she had in her hand was not worth the value of used tissue paper had on her. No word will effectively capture it. She obviously also felt embarrassed that she had been ‘jobed.’ She had parted with six thousand five hundred naira ‘processing fee’ paid into some obscure bank account for the worthless paper. She had travelled all the way from PortHarcourt to Lagos for nothing. She had shared the news of her good fortune with friends and family when really there was nothing to cheer about.
So the scammer sat back and made his cool cash. Six thousand five hundred naira seems small but then, imagine the number of people who fell for it. A quick check with the company Human Resources Department revealed that there have been many like her. Many who have turned up enthusiastic and armed with all their credentials ready to resume work only to be told the company is not only not recruiting but that the office the scammer has recruited them for does not even exist in the company.
If only we take some time to double check the veracity and authenticity of some claims. If one we asked some questions. It’s like getting that e-mail that tells you you’ve won a million dollars in some lottery when you know you never played one. Your eyes spark up at the sight of the money and you forget to verify. Same way you get that e-mail or phone call inviting for a job interview into a company you never applied for. You are asked to pay and you rush and do so. The e-mail address is one of the unpaid free public e-mails and you don’t question it given that a company of such repute should have its own company e-mail. You get an employment letter on a paper that is so poorly designed and you don’t doubt. The letter itself has grammatical errors and it’s just fine. You rejoice and head off to the address to resume work.
I am at a loss as to whom to really blame; the scammer or the gullible job seeker? The failed government or the lukewarm people? I blame both. But because I am on the other side of the divide, the victims or potential victims side of life, I prefer to sympathise with my constituency. I ask us to be more vigilant. I ask us to bring our friends and family up to speed on this issue. Do not rush to believe everything you see online. There are a million and one fake job sites online operated by a million and one non-existent recruitment agencies. Confirm all employment claims and when you know you’ve been scammed furnish the relevant security agency with the requisite information to nab them. Let us collectively help many others not to fall easy prey.
Published in DailyTimes of Thursday 18th August 2011.
I think nothing which is fake will help you in the long run.