TRIBUNE
Like several others in the streets of Nigeria’s major cities, Glory Effiong Ekanem, a university graduate, hawks sachet water for survival. Glory buried her certificates in her wardrobe and settled for trudging the streets and campuses of higher institutions to hawk her wares because she has mouths to feed.
Glory’s existential story became handy when Saturday Tribune sighted her hawking with two transparent plastic buckets. She stuffs one with iced sachet water and soft drinks balancing it on her head while holding firmly to another containing snacks around the University of Uyo classrooms. Ironically, the 43-year-old mother-of-four, who’s now hawking before undergraduates, graduated from the University of Calabar some 25 years ago.
This is her story: “My name is Mrs Glory Effiong Ekanem from Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area. I am a married woman with four children and my husband is working with the State Ministry of Works. I am 43 years old. My first child is 14 years old and she is in Senior Secondary (SS2).
“I am a graduate of the Department of Animal Science, University of Calabar, Cross River State. I graduated in 2000.
“After my National Youth service, I went for an interview in the Ministry of Health, Akwa Ibom State, but I couldn’t get a job there. I went to the State’s Fire Service, wrote their recruitment exams, came third but they didn’t take me.
“I went for another one after some time and we were asked to pay the sum of N300,000 to get the job. I don’t want to mention the place, but what I don’t understand is why would these people ask us for money when we were looking for a job?
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