By peter uzoma
Last Tuesday, it was a fanfare of credential exhibition as over five thousand Imo State Youth applicants thronged the state Civil Service Commission at the state secretariat, Owerri, to pick and complete the form CSCI which the commission is issuing to Imo applicants preparatory to employment following the lifting of ban on employment by the Okorocha-led government.
At the Commissions notice board, Trumpeta saw over sixty-five advertised vacancies of various cadres pasted on it. The applicants where struggling to have a glimpse at the notice board so as to know where they fall.
Right inside the block housing the commission, the applicants “littered” everywhere struggling to assess the forms which were issued out by staff of the commission operating behind a door protector of the commission’s conference hall. The applicants besieged every window of the hall.
Some pregnant applicants and those cuddling their babies were seen standing aloft and watching helplessly from their vantage positions while the females who are “freer” and the male counterparts fight for the forms.
At about 2pm, three of the applicants collapsed because of the intensity of the sun but were quickly revived by some good Samaritans.
There was another stampede some hours later when an aggrieved applicant started sprinkling the pure water sachet he was drinking following a message which spread like wild fire that only those who had the “Youth Must Work” appointment letters or NYSC discharged certificate would benefit from the exercise.
The stampede culminated into a near riot as the applicants embarked upon destruction spree breaking doors and windows, tables and chairs when it was discovered that a lady had started suffering miscarriage as a result of the struggle. The youths became more aggrieved when officials of the commission started asking for money before issuing out the CSCI forms.
Some of the applicants who spoke to Trumpeta under strict anonymity wondered why the forms CSCI were not sent to the “Youth Must Work” beneficiaries in their places of deployment for them to fill and return to the commission.
Others who spoke described the entire exercise as political gimmick Governor Okorocha is using to lure the youths to vote for him come 2015. They wondered the rationale behind the lifting of ban on unemployment few months to election since he condemned the 10,000 job opportunities Ohakim gave to Imo youths through an organized process.
Meanwhile, an inside source in the commission told Trumpeta that political appointees have hijacked the forms for distribution to some youths who would assist them come 2015.
The source revealed that the exercise at the commission was just a smoke screen.
