Beyond Numbers: Sad Tales of Nigerians who lost their jobs because of COVID-19
After schools resumed for the first term of the 2020/2021 academic session after a long closure forced by the coronavirus, Emmanuel Adeoye, 14, and Timothy Adeoye, 16 were seen roaming the streets of Badore, Ajah, Lagos, on Thursday, November 26.
The teenagers could not go to school because their mother, Florence Adeoye, could not afford it. Their father died of a stroke in 2010 and since then, their mother, a private school teacher, has been responsible for their upkeep.
She was, however, sacked from work following the long closure of schools by the federal government to contain the spread of COVID-19, three weeks after Nigeria recorded its first case on February 28.
Mrs Adeoye told our correspondent that she was let go from work a month after the schools’ closure and since then, life has been unfair to her. She explained that feeding her kids has since been subject to the generosity of her neighbours. Before then, she earned N30,000 monthly.
“The year has really been horrible for me and my two children following the COVID-19 outbreak. The last salary I got was that of March. My children attend the same school where I used to work as a Literature teacher,” she narrated.
“After the closing of school, I was paid just a month’s salary and that was the last time I got paid. The school tried online classes on WhatsApp but parents weren’t paying, hence, the school suspended it and teachers stopped getting paid.”
She explained that upon resumption, she got a text message from the school that her employment has been terminated, a development that currently put the education of her children on hold.
“I have tried to apply at different places but yet to get any positive response. Many organisations are yet to respond, so the little money I could raise from neighbours and church members goes into feeding and house rent,” she said.
