Aiwa Tersoo (not real name), a Benue State indigene, did not know what fate had in store for him when he left home for his SIWES programme at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State, in 2017.

On getting to Ibadan, Tersoo fell in love with IITA’s beautiful environment and vegetation areas. The prospects of gaining practical experience as a student also excited him.

Considering IITA’s unending commitment to brand polishing and image making, anyone could have been Tersoo.

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In fact, since its establishment in 1967, the institute has nourished its public image through social empowerment schemes, awards and a visually appealing head office.

However, and as Tersoo would soon discover, IITA’s glistening image is manured with the tears, sweat and blood of junior employees, contract and associate staff members.

In 2023, Tersoo would eventually be laid off by the institute after a six-year working experience that was regularly punctuated with episodes of sickness, depression and inhuman treatment.

While speaking with FIJ, Tersoo did not only narrate a story of verbal and mental abuse but also a traumatic experience.

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“When I came, it felt easy to settle into the environment. The IITA environment was a gorgeous sight to behold. After spending a few days at the institute however, I suffered the very first verbal attack when my supervisor, Mr. Jonathan, mocked me by calling me ‘Boko Haram’ and ‘Nasarawa,”‘ said Tersoo.

“He would also make some really weird jokes about my people’s relationship with cattle. This happened at the time of heightened insurgency in the country. He would call me those names because I carried a long beard and was schooling at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, then.

“The more I told him I didn’t like being called the names, the more he continued.

“Looking back now, condoning and bottling the continued verbal abuse contributed adversely to my mental well-being. I would find out years later that the act of abusing junior officers was a tradition in IITA.

“If you ask about 10 people who also worked at IITA during my time there, about seven to eight will reveal how people like Jonathan constantly abused junior staff without being questioned or punished.”

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‘SENIOR STAFF WILL PUNISH YOU ONCE THEY DON’T LIKE YOU’

When Tersoo completed his SIWES program in 2017, IITA, through Jonathan, assessed him poorly, scoring him an F.

Tersoo attributed the failure to the resistance he put up against being called “unacceptable names” by the supervisor. He described his last months as an industrial trainee at the institute as hell.

Tersoo told FIJ that the inhumane treatment of junior staff members took a turn for the worse when he continued working at the institute after completing his SIWES.

It was also during this period in 2021 that he got diagnosed with high blood pressure. He attributed this sickness to the extremely frustrating working condition he constantly faced while at work.

“I was sick to the point that I had to be rushed to the IITA clinic,” said Tersoo.

“The physician who attended to me, one Dr. Adeleke, observed that my blood pressure was too high for someone with my medical history. He also recommended that I take a break from work.

“Despite the clinic and the human resource department authorising the much needed rest, my supervisor, a lady called Dajie, punished me when I resumed work.

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“She prevented me from getting directly back to work, claiming that I should have taken permission from her personally before embarking on leave.”

NGOZI’S TALE

Like Tersoo, another IITA staff member, who simply chose to be referred to as Ngozi, spoke to FIJ on how she was maltreated by her superiors at the institute.

“IITA only has a fair and employee-inclusive labour policy on paper,” said Ngozi.

“Senior staff members at the institute often find loopholes in the company policy to punish the junior employees they don’t like unduly.”

Ngozi described her time at the institute as depressing.

“I was so depressed that I had to leave. It does not matter if you are diligent. Anyone who cares about their mental health should not stay and work at a place like IITA. They will treat you like a nobody,” she said.

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PLACE OF WORSHIP

Alabi (not real name), a permanent employee at IITA, described the institute to FIJ as a “worship place”.

“That place is designed for people worship,” Alabi said. “You have to worship your superiors to be safe from being harassed at the institute.”

Alabi said that IITA had consistently short-changed him. “The institute never pays members of my unit the naira equivalent of the salary we are supposed to be earning monthly,” he said.

“Working conditions have deteriorated over time. Despite being a permanent staff member, I also constantly see these things happen. Junior staff members are constantly threatened by senior staff members. If you choose not toe a particular line, you may lose your job.”

PUNISHED FOR ANOTHER PERSON’S UNDERPERFORMANCE

Tolu (not real name), another junior staff member, told FIJ that she was once punished for another person’s underperformance at the institute.

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She also said she was once punished for requesting for a better gadget at her work space.

‘YOU DO NOT COMPLAIN IF YOU DO NOT WANT TROUBLE’

Despite having a reportage policy that guarantees employee safety, FIJ gathered that lodging complaints in IITA, especially against senior staff members, attracts witch-hunting and, sometimes, punishment.

FIJ also gathered that on many occasions, staff complaints are dismissed and never attended to.

Speaking on the complaints management procedure, Tersoo told FIJ he had never seen IITA managers comply with the management’s policies.

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“You cannot report if you don’t want trouble. I didn’t dare to until when I was left with no options,” Tersoo said.

“I took my complaint to the management in June 2023. I knew my job was at risk. But people would have asked why I did not speak up if something had happened to me. I told the institute’s deputy director general, Dr. Kenton Dashiell, and he assured me that my job was safe.

“In July however, I was laid off three work days before the expiration of my contract. They cited reasons such as laziness and causing unrest in the office, among other things, for my sack.”

Alabi, a permanent staff member at the institute, corroborated Tersoo’s story.

“You are sure to be bullied if you complain. The HR team, or culture team as they are called, are usually only interested in covering up for the management,” said Alabi.

Olayinka (not real name), another employee, told FIJ that employee welfare had become worse despite the several complaints made by junior employees at the institute.

“There is also no job security in the institute, as employees can be threatened with non-renewal of contract by the management,” Olayinka said.

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“The officer in charge of contract renewal may also choose not to do the right thing if he or she does not like the staff member involved. It gets even worse when you complain. When you do that, you are just a few steps away from becoming unemployed.”

NO RESPONSE FROM IITA

FIJ sent text messages to management staff — two human resource managers and a senior managerial staff member — at the IITA on July 31. While the two human resource managers did not respond to the messages, the senior managerial staff member, who requested anonymity, redirected FIJ to the institute’s help desk.

FIJ later sent an email to the institute’s official email address, [email protected], on July 31, but it had not been responded to at press time.