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Job advertisements and lived experiences of victims of job scams in Ibadan, Nigeria

Henry Uche Obuene (Department of Sociology, College of Business and Social Sciences, Landmark University, Omu Aran, Nigeria)
Oludayo Tade (Department of Sociology, Faculty of The Social Sciences, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria)
Bamidele Rasak (Department of Sociology, College of Business and Social Sciences, Landmark University, Omu Aran, Nigeria)
Ogadimma Arisukwu (Department of Sociology, College of Business and Social Sciences, Landmark University, Omu Aran, Nigeria)
Emeka E. Okafor (Department of Sociology, Faculty of The Social Sciences, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria)

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy

ISSN: 0144-333X

Article publication date: 2 July 2024

Issue publication date: 26 September 2024

42

Abstract

Purpose

An increase in informal job advertisements has been attributed to high unemployment. However, less scholarly attention has been placed on the experiences of victims of advertised job scams.

Design/methodology/approach

This explorative study investigates the lived experiences of victims of advertised job scams in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, adopting Durkheim’s Functionalism and Anomie Theory. Around 35 victims were purposively engaged in in-depth and telephone interviews.

Findings

The findings of the study indicated the link between functionalism and anomie, an increasing rate of advertised job scams and a high rate of unemployment and poverty as well as the desperation of victims in getting jobs. The value orientation of an individual is determined by the dynamics of the social institutions. The pattern of job scammers revealed extremists conditioned by the large number of youths seeking employment. The advertised scam jobs are usually unavailable. In addition, employers, through informal job advertisements, subject victims to extortions, exploitation, street begging, kidnapping and rituals as well as sexual harassment and rape. Owing to the high rate of unemployment, many genuine job offers are characterised by bribes, besides trivializing merit.

Originality/value

The government should design measures to tackle the rate of corruption and unemployment. This can be achieved by introducing entrepreneurship and skill acquisition programmes in the nation’s education system.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Editor and Reviewers for their constructive criticisms and to Mr Ajibola Ishola for proofreading this article.

Citation

Obuene, H.U., Tade, O., Rasak, B., Arisukwu, O. and Okafor, E.E. (2024), "Job advertisements and lived experiences of victims of job scams in Ibadan, Nigeria", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 44 No. 11/12, pp. 1123-1136. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-03-2024-0142

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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