Vanguard gathered that the girls, up to 10 in number,
graduated from different tertiary institutions.
11 hours on the road daily
They spend up to 11
hours on the road everyday, with an hour break while they are paid per hour. Vanguard gathered
that they earn between N30,000 and N40,000 monthly.
It was an herculean
task getting to talk with the ladies for two reasons. One, they will not want
to lose precious work-time, and they will not want to incur the wrath of their
employers by speaking to the press.
However, authoritative sources told Vanguard that the
ladies, without exception, were there for mere survival.
According to the source, their salaries are calculated hourly and public holidays are deducted from
their pay.
One of them, a
National Diploma graduate from a Polytechnic, studied Insurance. When asked why
she was a flag-girl, she said: “Because
there is no job and I cannot be sitting at home doing nothing, that is why I am
here.
“I am a flag
girl. We resume as early as 6 a.m. and close 6 pm everyday except Sunday that we close at
3 pm. This job is stressful, but because I had worked with a security outfit, I
don’t find the job too stressful.”
Job satisfaction
When asked about job
satisfaction, she said: “There is none, I do this because there is no job. I will only beg the government to provide
jobs for young graduates. I am doing
this because I don’t want to depend on any man.” Advising other young
graduates, she said: “I will advise my
colleagues to think ahead, not sitting at home and they should not depend on
men because they will destroy their lives.
“They should know what they are doing before it is too late.
Whatever I realise here will be used for my HND
programme.”
Another graduate of
Esa-Oke College of Technology who studied Urban and Regional
Planning is a flag girl too. According to her, “I was pushed to the wall before I decided
to take this job. I came here to work in
order to get some money rather than sitting at home.
“I am not that happy about the job, but I am doing it
because of the situation. Standing in the middle of the road is very risky.
Many vehicles speed a lot and they could swerve and hit somone.
“They calculate 11
hours for us daily. It is supposed to be
12 hours but, we normally go for one hour break.”
Advising young
people, she said: “Whoever does not have family support should brace up for the
challenges. Whoever does not want to
mess around because it does not pay, should find something doing.”
Another flag-girl who is just 23, from National Teachers Institute said: “I
am from Ibadan, I just went to Kaduna for my NCE programme. It is because of
the condition of the country that made me come back here to work. One of my
friends was working with this company,
so she was the one that gave me her slot when she was leaving the place.
Paid per hour
“The salary is not
what you can say this is the amount I am collecting because they base it on
hours spent. “It is not that I don’t want to teach being a
professional teacher with NCE, but, the
salary offered by those private schools is too small.
“I will advise my
colleagues to manage what they have and be conscious of their tomorrow.
Vanguard
Wetin dem for do?
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