The absence of effective unions, policies, checks and balances, make the domestic job sector a very risky one to both employers and employees. Here in Nigeria, where the poverty rate exceeds 70%, many citizens flock towards unprotected and unpredictable domestic jobs. Many employers, mostly of middle and elite class, powerful in wealth and authority, can be intimidating to financially desperate and educationally deprived domestic workers. There are domestic workers who excel at their jobs and become family members or move on to more significant jobs and there are domestic workers, who mostly out of extreme poverty are out to steal and to covet another human’s life. In many cases, the success stories have good, proactive employers and the most evil cases, have terrible, negligent employers. Either side may lack one of the most critical necessities of the job. Humane love. There have been cases of child abuse, food poisoning and other catastrophic acts. Some workers go in to steal liquid assets, some go in to steal a spouse and some go in to steal a child. Let’s not forget the group of domestic workers that have been reversely enslaved, raped and brutalized, inclusive of those who travel out in search of greener pastures and experience extreme racism. Where do we start in humanizing the sector? We need humane leaders, widespread education, functional industries and many more jobs. We need happy citizens, less financial insecurity, less crimes and a strong focus on Greater Nigeria. We need new caliber of good leaders.
I’m Olatorera Majekodunmi-Oniru. The importance of humane love and humane leadership cannot be over emphasised as told in our examples of domestic employment cases. As we journey to the polls across Nigeria in a few weeks, I’m hopeful that citizens would take the critical time to employ the most humane candidates. The key to Greater Nigeria is in the hands of every Nigerian. We are the employers of leadership.
