Joblessness has never been something to be proud of. It is a state that reduces the status of a man in any society. That is why people strive to see that they are engaged in one profitable venture or another. However, all efforts made by government and individuals to arrest the monster of unemployment have not yielded much result, as the number of the unemployed continue to be on the increase every year.
That perhaps explains the high euphoria that greeted the announcement of the lifting of embargo on employment by the Delta State Government, some months ago. Prior to that decision by the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, there was palpable disillusionment among the rank of the unemployed, particularly the skilled ones among them.
The euphoria and high expectation may have evaporated, especially in the two Ika Local Government Areas, as there has been widespread accusation of under hand dealings in the recent recruitment exercise into the state teaching service, as reflected by the publication of successful candidates, which was said to have favoured some ethnic groups more than others.
Of particular concern according to some graduates from the two sister local government areas who spoke to Ika Weekly, was the fact that some names that were earlier published as having scaled through were found missing from the recent list published a few days ago. While arguing that powerful politicians from some ethnic nationalities may have tampered with the original list to favour their people, they queried the rationale behind giving a good percentage of the vacancies to a particular tribe, wondering if every Deltan does not have equal right in the distribution of the state’s resources.
The uneven distribution in the recruitment exercise in the state, they asserted, has once again raised the critical question of inequity in all sphere of human engagement in the state.
There is therefore widespread speculation that even unqualified persons from favoured tribes in the state were recruited in place of qualified graduates from Ika South and Ika North East Local Government Areas. This has therefore prompted the clarion call by Ika youths to the State Government to seriously look into the glaring anomaly with a view to correcting it, in the interest of fairness and development. The youths, who expressed strong displeasure over the development equally appealed to the Secretary to the State Government, SSG Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa to intervene on their behalf, as many of them who were otherwise qualified have been shortchanged and denied the opportunity of gainful employment.
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