Nigerian Job Stampedes Kill 16: Half A Million Applied for 5,000 Positions

By Daniel Distant, Christian Post Reporter Monday, March 17, 2014

Nigerian job stampedes around the desperately unemployed African nation caused 16 deaths Sunday and may amount to more, according to reports. The government invited over half a million people to apply for less than 5,000 jobs when about a fourth of the country is out of work.

The Nigerian job stampedes took place at Abuja National Stadium, Minna, Port Harcourt, Dutse and Benin City when the 500,000 people were invited to apply for 4,556 jobs at the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Associated Press reported. After all applicants paid their 1,000 naira fee (about $6) Saturday to sit for aptitude tests at the application centers, but the influx of people was far too high, with all centers full to capacity.

Abuja National Stadium can seat 60,000, but 65,000 were invited to apply; the stampede was partially facilitated by there only being one entrance open. Seven died as a result, 16 died in total at all of the centers, and the death toll could rise because many more are injured and in critical condition, Tayo Haastrup, a National Hospital spokesman, told The Guardian.

The government blames the applicants for the deaths. They "lost their lives through their impatience," Interior Minister Abba Moro told the News Agency of Nigeria.

Applicants "jumped through the fences of affected centers and did not conduct themselves in an orderly manner. … This caused stampedes and made the environment unsecured," he added.

However, the Education Rights Campaign said the deaths are the government's fault. Activists for the campaign said the government should refund the $3 million they collected from applicants and fire Moro.

Nigerian unemployment is currently at 24 percent, according to official statistics, which is 41 million out of 170 million jobless. For young people under 24, many of which were seeking the government training and careers over the weekend, 38 percent are unemployed, with another estimate from the World Bank going as high as 80 percent.

Nigeria is the second most populous country on the African continent and has an economy that continues to grow because of its oil industry. Even though the country's economy is projected to grow by seven percent this year, jobs have not increased as rapidly.