That Online Nanny’s Service

On December 9,
2014, the story about the alleged abduction of two kids by their nanny made headlines in many Nigerian tabloids.  A 24-years-old housemaid hired through a sale portal, OLX was said to have fled home with Rafael (3), and Micheal (14-months), the children of her bosses.
Four months later, we are faced with a similar incident.  This time, the nanny, Mary Akinloye, whose service was secured through the same OLX, online sales portal, allegedly kidnapped three kids of her employer in the Surulere area of Lagos State.  According to the story, Akinloye gave her employer the contacts of two people who she said were her relatives, the family took her in, hoping to formalize documentation with the purported relatives before the end of the week.  Incidentally that was not to be as Akinloye ran away with Ademola (11 months) Adedamola (4) and Demola (6) just two days after she was employed while their parents were away.
Although the children were reported to have been rescued and re-united with their parents, a lot of questions need to be asked. How proper is it for house helps to be surfed online? How could the parents of these kids abandon them with a nanny they barely know?  What precautions should be taken to avoid a re-occurrance of the heart-breaking incident in future?
With the present economic situation of the country, parents are struggling to make ends meet. Mothers who traditionally stayed at home while rearing children to cater for them and ensure their proper upbringing now join in hustling to ensure better lives for the families and that makes the services of house helps inevitable.
To some, getting house helps is very easy.  To others, it is a herculean task.  Some have spent huge sums of money on agents who promised to get them house helps but failed. Some house helps even when eventually they are found have horrible characters that their employers disengage them almost immediately.  Some women had lost their plum jobs due to their inability to combine their jobs with their domestic affairs as they had nobody to help them at home, not even their husbands.
In the face of all these, should parents throw caution to the winds when contracting a house help? Yes, we all know how difficult it is these days to secure house helps but must we seek them through all means  out of frustration and desperation?
Since the advent of Online sale portals in the country, there have been diverse accounts of peoples experiences with them.  While some praise them for their efficiency and timely delivery of goods, others condemn them for their ineptitude and lackadaisical attitude towards their customers.
Many also believe that in a nation like ours where there are no effective and functional data base, Online surfing of delicate services like house help should not be encouraged.  In some developed countries like America there is the green card just like they have national insurance number in the United Kingdom.  Without these you can hardly work or do anything in these countries.  Once your picture and finger print are on the database you can be identified anywhere in the country should you commit crime. No doubt, crime may not be eradicated totally through this measure but it can greatly reduce it.
With lack of proper national identification in Nigeria, verifying social security status of many domestic workers is nearly impossible, so it behooves on their employers to take all necessary precautions to ensure that they are bringing the right persons into their homes.  Research has shown that information most people post online about themselves are not correct.
So if you must secure the service of a nanny or any house help online, you must scrutinise him/her and do all the needful to ensure you do not bring criminals into your home. As opined by a human resources consultant, “If one can take reasonable care employing office personnel, isn’t it more important to replicate such with domestic helps?”
However, I want to align with those who believe that as much as possible house helps should be recruited from one’s village or neighbouring towns.    The main advantage of this is that the relatives can help in carrying out the background checks.  Even though there is no certainty of not engaging criminals through this means, it is still a lot better than employing a total stranger, whose personal data no one can vouch for.
I also think the police and other relevant security agencies should investigate the two cases cited earlier to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime are fished out and adequately dealt with. There is no way we can allow these delinquents to be toying with the lives of innocent children and the families.
It is expected that as the President-elect, Major General Muhamadu Buhari comes on board on May 29, kidnapping and other social vices will be adequately tackled in line with his promise of making Nigeria a better country.

Calista Ezeaku