My face is blank as I stare at the face of the man who's talking to me, but if only he could perceive the murderous anger I'm feeling towards him right now. On and on he went, "we will teach you web development, and give you some important online training for you to learn on the job, which will cause you like 15,000 naira out of your supposed 50,000 naira salary, from which taxes will also be deducted", "What do you say? will you go and think about it?"
That is just one out of many annoying situations Nigerian graduates have to go through in the process of getting a job, which is a far fetched cry from what they've dreamt of and expected when they were staying awake at night at the university to get a degree. The hope and happiness at getting a certificate begin to fade away when you search for jobs to apply for and the years of experience needed for that job mount from 5,7 to 10 years. For those who have 'connections' or 'long legs' as it is called might be lucky to get one; it doesn't matter if you studied microbiology, landing a job as a banker is good enough. For those without these connections, you keep attending interviews till you land a job (Most times, not the dream job you expect) or you keep praying for a miracle for that dream job.
It is quite unfortunate that Nigerian graduates have to be allowed to go through this struggle before getting a job, and I find myself wondering why, and who is to be blamed for this. It isn't even any better that most graduates come out of the university half baked and ill-prepared for the technicalities of the job they dream to have and most do not even have the means to better themselves.
If only the Nigerian educational system is better, and if only the society's economy is stronger, employers will be ready to pay better and if only, there were more than enough jobs to cater for the teeming number of graduates churned out from universities yearly. "If onlys" will not solve anything and Nigerian youths should realize the importance of having a vocational skill or developing their enterpreneurship skill to start a business of their own, probably there will be less graduates on the streets of Nigeria.
