“Cumbersome,’ was the word Kenneth Okechukwu used to describe the online registration for the ongoing recruitment into the Nigerian Air Force.
He could have endured the stress to complete the registration but the outcome of the Nigerian Immigration Service test held last Saturday, dampened his spirit. Like the applicants for the NIS recruitment test, those for the NAF recruitment are also required to pay the sum of N1,000, excluding bank charges.
Specifically, the NAF mandates each applicant to get a military officer not below the rank of squadron leader or its equivalent in the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and a police officer of the rank of assistant commissioner of police, local government chairmen/secretaries, magistrates and principals of government secondary schools from applicants’ state of origin to attest their forms.
Besides, the applicants are asked to bring with them a letter of attestation of good character from any of the aforementioned officers to the zonal recruitment centres and final selection interview.
Despite meeting these conditions, a desperate job seeker’s fate still hangs in the balance regarding the processing of his or her application. This much the air force suggests in its declaration on the portal. It stated that it would not entertain any enquiries in respect of persons whose applications were rejected. Such rejection would however not take place until an applicant pays to access the portal.
The NAF recruitment registration which started on February 24 is expected to end on April 27, 2014.
A search on the Nigerian Army e-recruitment portal showed that applicants for its last recruitment in the tradesmen and non-tradesmen categories, were asked to purchase vouchers to access the portal at an undisclosed amount. As if to underscore the importance of the payment, it expressly warned that the Nigerian Army reserved the right to prosecute any individual or group found to have fraudulently gained access to its site or the information contained therein without using scratch cards obtained from two designated banks for the recruitment.
The agony of applicants for the NIS recruitment test was clearly intense. Some of them who reside in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states had to pay extra to sit for the examination. Investigations by SUNDAY PUNCH showed that because of the state of emergency in the three states, candidates there were asked to go to Gombe, Bauchi and Taraba respectively. Also, the candidates said the N1,000 registration fee was mild compared to the stress of obtaining a certificate of fitness from a government hospital and purchase of clothing suitable for exercises on the test day.
Due to the traffic on the website, many applicants either visited cafes many times or stayed awake for some nights before they could obtain the Validation Number to continue registration. The application fee generated controversy last year when the registration began. Those who opposed it questioned its rationale but the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, reportedly argued that it was the approved fee for the consultant handling the online registration for the exercise.
Almost all government agencies ask applicants to meet some conditions and upload all corresponding documents to back their applications. Often, no one can gain access to the portals to do all that is required without first meeting the stipulated financial obligation.
Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch, Mr. Onyekachi Ubani, decried the culture of asking applicants to pay for government agencies’ job vacancies.
Ubani said, “Several billions of naira are often generated by the consultants and the money doesn’t get into the federation account, but into the pockets of the consultants or contractors. It is a shame. Those who sit for public examinations are different, even though it’s wrong to sell more forms than necessary. For examination bodies, they are set up by law to conduct examinations and the exam fees are used for processing the examinations and other administrative purposes.’’
He said it was criminal for an agency that has spaces for 4,000 people to keep asking persons to apply in order to collect more money.
A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, also said the idea of asking applicants to pay for employment registration was a robbery by the state and an anomaly.
He added that since such was not historically known in Nigeria, it was surprising that it had suddenly become an innovation.
Ogunye said, ‘‘The system of governance has broken down in our country. People who occupy certain positions see them as their territories and opportunity to make money. That is why we now have all forms of commercial innovations. People outside government come with proposals to those occupying these positions on how to make money out of the masses.’’
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