nepotism
Nepotism means giving jobs, contracts or favours to family and friends instead of the most qualified person, and it decides more careers than any CV ever will.
In plain English
Every family has that one cousin who got the job nobody advertised. One phone call to an uncle in the office, and by Monday he has a desk, a laptop and a lanyard, while ten other candidates who sat the aptitude test and dressed sharp for the interview are still waiting for an email that never comes.
That is nepotism, and it is not always dramatic. Sometimes it is small and calm, like a manager slotting his wife's nephew into the one vacancy in accounts before it is even posted online, so the rest of the applicants are competing for a seat that was filled before they applied.
In Nigeria it shows up in government parastatals, banks, and even church organisations, where surnames sometimes open doors that certificates cannot. A first class graduate from Ibadan can send out fifty applications and hear nothing, while someone with a weaker result gets hired in a week because his father golfs with the managing director.
It is not only a Nigerian story. In the United Kingdom, family run businesses and even some corporate boardrooms have calmly passed leadership from father to son, or slipped a director's daughter into a graduate scheme ahead of stronger candidates, proving that blood ties can outrank merit anywhere in the world.
For the diaspora Nigerian sending money home, nepotism can sting differently. You hear that your hard earned transfer helped your brother settle into a role he did not truly earn, while a more deserving neighbour's child, with no connections, is still hustling for interviews.
The real cost of nepotism is more than the one unfair hire. It is the slow erosion of trust, when talented people stop believing effort pays and either leave the country, lower their ambition, or start playing the same connection game themselves.
A company advertises a marketing role paying ₦350,000 a month and receives 200 applications. The position goes to the managing director's nephew, who has no marketing experience, while a candidate with five years of relevant work and a strong portfolio is told the role has been filled.
Questions people ask
Is nepotism illegal in Nigeria?
Not usually in private companies, since employers generally have wide freedom to hire who they choose. It becomes a legal problem mainly in public sector recruitment where fairness and due process are required by law, and cases of favouritism there can be challenged or exposed through petitions and reports.
Is nepotism always a bad thing?
Not automatically. A family business hiring a capable relative who genuinely earned the role through skill is different from placing someone unqualified simply because of blood ties. The harm comes when competence is ignored and better candidates are shut out purely because they lack the right surname or connection.
How do you deal with nepotism when job hunting?
Build your own professional network deliberately, keep your skills sharp so you are ready when a fair opportunity appears, and do not assume every hire around you was earned unfairly. Sometimes the door opens through merit, patience and consistent visibility rather than family favour.
Last reviewed