The Nigerian Senate is in the news again, but this time for the right reasons

monjola sotubo

November 8, 2016 4:47 PM

On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, the Senate began taking steps towards removing age restrictions attached to employment offers in the country.

Nigerian Senate in a session

The Nigerian Senate has very few fans among the country’s citizens, but it seems that’s about to change.

On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, the Senate began taking steps towards removing age restrictionsattached to employment offers in the country.

A motion to that effect was sponsored by Senator Matthew Urhoghide and supported by other Senators.

“Senator Urhoghide says it is not the fault of applicants that they weren’t employed earlier and should not suffer for it,” the Senate’s official Twitter handle wrote on Tuesday.

“Senator Urhoghide speaks on the harm that age & cognate requirements have on eligible job applicants even as Federal Character isn’t followed,” it added.

This is perhaps the first time that the 8th Senate has shown that it is feeling the pulse of young Nigerians and is concerned about their future.

Many qualified graduates have been left without jobs due to unnecessary barriers erected by employers including age limits and years of experience among others.

The practice is even more ridiculous because most Nigerian graduates are forced to go through a slow educational system that is plagued with strikes and delays that prevent them from graduating on time.

The situation has led many desperate graduates to claim fake birth dates and adopt “football ages” in order not to lose attractive job offers.

Nigerians have already begun praising the Senate for the move which they say has been a long time coming.

The 8th Senate has been severely criticized for buying expensive vehicles in a recession and trying to squash social media among other things, so getting praised by citizens must be a welcome change.

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If Nigeria’s Senators succeed in ensuring that these age barriers are removed, they might just finally earn the respect of the people who voted them into office.

monjola sotubo