Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Thursday, December 20, 2012

The best and the brightest

When over 50% of the non-farm jobs in a country are government jobs, no one should be surprised that attracting applicants is easy. But even Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission was surprised when it advertised some entry-level openings.

What does this response tell us about Nigeria's economy and political culture?

The report comes from the Daily Trust in Abuja.

800,000 Jostle for 1,500 INEC Jobs - Ph.D Holders Seek Graduate Slots

About 800,000 graduates have submitted applications to the Independent National Electoral Commission seeking to be employed to fill only 1,500 available job slots in the commission…

Only applicants with first degrees, Higher National Diplomas and National Certificate of Education (NCE) were invited to submit applications, but an official at the commission told Daily Trust that a number of PhD and master's degree holders also applied.

The official said INEC was alarmed by the huge inflow of applications into its website, as well as the calibre of applicants, some of whom are clearly "over qualified" for the jobs they applied for.

"In the first week alone, we had about 300,000 applications. We were alarmed," the official said…

He also disclosed that INEC contracted the recruitment… consultant, NEXIR, which is expected to sort out the applications and invite only 8,000 applicants for examination. That translates into just 1,000 out of every 100,000 applicants… And I am sure that some, especially those with PhD and master's degrees, will be screened out because they are over qualified. Don't forget that the positions advertised are entry points into the civil service."…