In Abuja, where you reside? could determine what type of job you get. Michael Oche writes that employers now turn down applicants who reside in border towns like Suleja
Victoria had applied for a job in one of the fast food joints in Wuse 11 part of Abuja. But she never imagined her place of resident could cost her a job she was duly qualified for. She didn’t believe it when the manager told her that his organisation does not employ people from Suleja.
Suleja used to be a choice area for most of the civil servants and residents of Abuja who fled the Capital city due to rising cost of accommodation and demolition exercise during the el- Rufai administration. The houses are cheap and cost of living is low. But that, too, has its dire consequences.
Victoria said, she had heard such remarks like, “we will get back to you” in most of the places she had applied to and attended interviews for job. But she never imagined that it was due to where she lived.
Today, many young job seekers who reside in Suleja would be surprised they are not favoured for employment in most of the offices in Abuja. And some who are fortunate to get employment often have to lie about their residential address.
Nkechi Anayo, a sales girl in one of the Boutiques around Central Business District said when she applied for a job at the boutique, she almost lost the opportunity but it was due to the timely intervention of one of the staff that she eventually got the job
She said, “When I came the first day with my CV, the prorietor of the shop said I should give them to one of the older sales girls. Luckily, the girl happens to speak the same language with me. Immediately she saw the Suleja address on my CV, she asked me to rush down to one of the business centres and print another CV and change the address from Suleja to Mpape.”
Suleja is 35 kilometres away from the Abuja city center. It normally should be a 45- minute drive, but due to the heavy traffic, it now takes more than three hours.
Mpape is the most preferred location for employers. First, it is located close to the city centre which means employees could report early to work.
Investigation by LEADERSHIP SUNDAY shows that most companies without staff bus prefer employees who reside at the farthest,? within lugbe or Mpape. It takes 10 minutes or less to get to town from these locations.
?Others with staff bus are also reluctant in sending their staff bus to very far distances to pick staff.
The reason why employers avoid Suleja or other far-flung employees, LEADERSHIP SUNDAY gathered is due to the heavy traffic along the routes. Most of the workers who reside along the routes, especially Suleja are known to report late to work. Though, not entirely their fault, employers are however, not interested.
Some civil servants who reside outside the city centre are said to be at work only three days in the week.
The culprits ,LEADERSHIP SUNDAY gathered are eateries and boutiques. Usually, these shops open as early as 8 am. And most employers conclude those employees who reside in Suleja cannot meet up with the early resumption.
“I would not employ a staff that would not work at full capacity. So I try to avoid employing them in the first place. I also think it is for their own good because the transport will be a huge drain on their meagre salary” a manager in one of the fast food joints along Wuse 11 told our reporter.
Another business owner who simply gave her name as Bisi told our reporter, “I used to have a staff that resides in Suleja. She is always reporting late to work. I understand it is not her fault because I learnt the traffic along that axis is very heavy. But I have a business that needs my staff working at full capacity. The resumption time here is 8am. And I cannot have employee turning up later than that”.
She said she preferred girls who reside in Mpape or Durumi.
Rising cost of living and accommodation has forced many residents to flee the city centre of Abuja to nearby settlements like Suleja. Others have resorted to living in neighbouring towns such as Maraba, Masaka and satellite towns like Lugbe, Kubwa, Dei-Dei, and Dutse; from where they embark on arduous commuting every day to the city centre.
?“I leave my house at 5.30 am and resume at 7.30 or 8am. Well, sometimes I am late to work because of the traffic” Angela Sunday admits.
Sunday, who lives in Suleja, said she lives there because her salary cannot sustain her living in the city proper. “The houses in town are too expensive and I cannot afford it,” he said. “But in Suleja, I pay N80,000 per annum for a self-contained room. A two-bedroom flat in the area goes for about N150-200,000 per annum.”
However, the ugly trend has forced many residents who hitherto fled to Suleja to relocate to some of the nearby squatters within the FCT. Places like Lugbe, Durumi, Gishiri and Mpape have witnessed a new surge of prospective residents coming in on daily basis.
It was only a matter of time before the rent in these areas rise to market levels. The place is now becoming very congested because of the influx of people from town and also demolished parts of Abuja.
Two years ago, a two-bedroom flat cost N200,000 a year at Lugbe. But now, it goes for N400,000. In Gwarinpa, a two-bedroom flat that was formerly let for N250,000 now goes for between N400,000 and N500,000.
The same trend is noticed in Dutse and Kubwa. In the Garki part of town, “a duplex in Area 11 will go for N2million a year,” says David, an estate agent. At Prince and Princess Estate, a one-bedroom flat goes for N450, 000; while a duplex with boys’ quarters goes for N1,200,000. Within the Games Village, a one-bedroom flat goes for N500, 000.
An Estate Valuer, Abiola Badmus, said that the price of houses in these areas has continued to rise by the year and presently the percentage of increase has risen to 150 per cent.
After the demolition exercise in some squatter towns in Abuja, most residents relocated to Suleja. Several years down the line, some of them wonder if they had made the right choice. The stress of coming to work in Abuja from Suleja is steadily on the increase. The psychological trauma is becoming unbearable.
It further creates a drain on their modest wages, as they spend a good part of their wages on transport costs to and from work. As a result of this, some civil servant are said to be at work only three days in the week. This means that staff productivity is far below full capacity
According to Daniel Amako who lives in suleja “I wake up as early as 5am to beat the morning traffic congestion, but still end up getting trapped on the road with other motorists coming from Suleja, Zuba and travellers from neighbouring states. I think the traffic situation in and around FCT, is a direct effect of the population explosion in Abuja and this is one of the challenges emerging cities face, as people are constantly migrating into Abuja.”
Residents who commute from Suleja to Abuja lamented the psychological trauma, stress and frustration which they often suffered daily as they set out to work. According to them, there is no way the residents who suffer this excruciating traffic hold up every day could give their best in their places of work.
The heightened security measures have worsened the situation as more and more workers are caught in the heavy traffic caused by the military check point at Dei-Dei junction.
In spite of these harsh and revolting realities, Abuja is still a spicy and alluring destination for many. While for some it is the land of opportunities. The promises indeed rattle the uncertainties.
Prof. Prince Efere, an expert in social housing said there is acute shortage of low cost housing schemes in Abuja. He said, “The housing shortage in Abuja in particular is so bad that almost half of the civil servants who work in Abuja live outside the city. As there are no houses they can afford to rent within the city of Abuja”.
He said the government must provide cheap housing within the city centre so as to boost productivity among the work force.