Survivors relive ordeal at NIS

Some of the survivors relived yesterday their “horrible experience”.

Blessing Uzor and Chinemen Isaac, who were recuperating at Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) and Glory Hospital Ogbunabali in Port Harcourt, said the stampede at the Elekahia stadium was caused by the directive of the immigration officers that applicants should squat.

Uzor said she could recall when some military officers told them to squat which led to the disaster as those standing fell on them.

She said: “The only thing I can remember now is when soldiers who were assisting the Immigration officers ordered some of us to squat and while we were doing that many candidates were standing at our back.

“Five minutes later, the crowd fell on us. I regained consciousness at 4:45 am on Sunday. I began to ask for my bag and the other writing materials I took to the recruitment centre. I thank God that I can talk now.”

At the Glory Hospital, Isaac, who is still struggling with the shock , said it would be better to be alive and remain unemployed than to die unemployed.

“I didn’t know when they fell on me. I was squatting as directed because they were sharing question papers.

“Some people started pushing to make way for themselves. That was how they fell on top of one another. About 15 persons fell on me.

In Abuja, Kunle Ojelabi said: “I see it as a day when the unemployed in Nigeria all gathered to update themselves on how they are hustling to make a living. It would have been a better opportunity for the Bureau of Statistics to get accurate figure through head count of those who are jobless in Nigeria.

“The recruitment, which was meant to put smiles on faces, saw people struggling to enter the stadium. How does NIS expect to conduct a good recruitment test in a place like this?”

Some applicants who were invited for the recruitment examination in Lagos described it as a sham.

A large turnout of unemployed graduates who paid N1,000 each for the registration, caused massive traffic on Ikorodu Road and the Western Avenue which lead to the National Stadium, venue of the exam.

A candidate, who does not want to be named, said the main bowl of the stadium was nearly filled – with many unable to gain entry. The source said many candidates had to climb over locked gates to gain entry and to get out; the question papers were inadequate and many could not take the examination; even many of those that took could not submit because the officials were not available.

He said: “The exam was a sham. Those who organised it just did it to fulfill righteousness. They first told us they must sign our confirmation slips (which contained our identity details). I laughed because I knew it was impossible for them to sign all because of the crowd. When they got tired of signing, they told us all to submit the confirmation slips. We struggled to submit. After the exam, we saw the pile of slips scattered on the football pitch.

“Many people had to fight for question papers. While I looked for an official to submit my script to, some others had not got question paper to write.”

Another candidate, Yinka Adebisi said though there were three categories of questions, the officials made no distinctions on how they should be written.

“I eventually got to write the exam after much struggle. It got to an extent that the officials started throwing the questions on the field for candidates to scramble and pick. In fact, the whole thing was a sham. It was not well organised.

“There were three question types. I think Type 1 was for BSc holders; Type 2 for HND, and Type 3, ND holders. But the officials did not even specify which one was for which,” he said.

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