Nigerians are falling victim to a fraudulent scheme in which they are promised job opportunities in the UK as carers, only to arrive and find that no such work exists.
Blessing (not her real name) shared her story of paying an agent in Nigeria £10,000 to arrange a job as a carer in the UK, only to discover upon arrival that there was no work available.
Blessing is now reliant on food banks for survival, representing a wider issue of skilled worker visa abuse.
A Sky News investigation recently revealed how middlemen are being paid large sums of money to arrange non-existent carer jobs. Many Nigerians who are unable to find work are now turning to food banks and even becoming homeless.
Mary Adekugbe, the founder of the Nigerian Community Centre in Rochdale, described the situation as “shameful” and said that an increasing number of skilled worker visa holders are seeking support.
The UK government has issued over 170,000 skilled worker visas in the past year, with the health and care sector accounting for over half of all work visas issued.
The abuse of the visa system has led to desperate individuals seeking work in other sectors, often resulting in limited job opportunities and financial hardship.
The fraudulent scheme has caused concern within various communities, including those in Bradford, where people from Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities are struggling to make ends meet after coming to the UK to work.
Shop owners in Bradford, such as Moin Uddin Khan, report that desperate individuals often ask for work and are sometimes found to have no intention of working as carers, the job they were sponsored for.
The issue highlights the need for stronger regulation and checks within the immigration system to prevent further exploitation.
Reacting, Toyyib Adewale Adelodun wondered how wicked fellow Nigerians could be and yet blame the government for everything.
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“You are collecting £10,000 from your fellow brothers and sisters in Nigeria, and you know you don’t have shifts for them in the UK.
“Later we will all come online and say the Government is the problem. Some of us are heartless and greedy!
“I pray they catch you all and you face the law,” Adelodun wrote on X.
Confirming the fraudulent scheme, many Nigerians have swamped his comment section to share one heartbreaking experience or the other. Follow the conversation here.
You are collecting £10,000 from your fellow brothers and sisters in Nigeria, and you know you don’t have shifts for them in the UK.
Later we will all come online and say the Government is the problem. Some of us are heartless and greedy!
I pray they catch you all and you face…
— Toyyib Adewale Adelodun (@taadelodun) August 23, 2023
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
