Eight years after graduating with First class degree from Enugu state University of Science and Technology, ESUT an Enugu-born graduate has written to the governor of Enugu state, Peter Ndubuisi Mbah to help him secure lecturing job in the Ivory Tower.
Mr. Daniel Tochi Nneji, a native of Akpugo community in Nkanu West local government area of Enugu state graduated with first class from Enugu state University of Science and Technology, ESUT in 2017 in Industrial Mathematics with a GPA of 4.67 and since then has not got any formal sector job.
According to Mr. Nneji in his letter made available to WITHIN NIGERIA, he has been denied job at ESUT because his father is a carpenter.
The letter entitled “Nepotism in Employment at Enugu state University of Science and Technology, ESUT”
“Your Excellency, our daddy. I write this with a heart full of hope, but also heavy with a memory I have carried for years.
“My name is Nneji Daniel Tochi. I once believed, with every fibre of my being, that in Enugu State, hard work was the only key you needed to open the door to a better life. I was wrong.
“I graduated from Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) in 2017 with a first-class degree in Industrial Mathematics. A 4.67 GPA. The sleepless nights, the hunger I ignored to buy textbooks, the pride of funding my own education through carpentry and tutorials—it all felt worth it. I was the “Maths Atoka,” a testament to merit.
“I didn’t just study for myself; I organized tutorial classes, helping other students in need. I showed them that hard work, not “sorting,” was the path to excellence. My life was an open book, a motivation to many. But the system saw me differently.”
Explaining further, Mr. Nneji said that “after graduation, I was told my first-class degree wasn’t enough. I needed a teaching certificate. So, I spent my meager savings and earned a PGDE, 2020. “Now,” I thought, “surely now.”
“I returned, hope flickering in my chest, only to be told the goalpost had moved again. I needed a Master’s degree. The hope dimmed, but I refused to let it die. My then HOD, a kind man named Dr. Ezeugorie, saw my struggle and encouraged me. He became the first flicker of light in a dark corridor. I registered MSC 2020.
“But then, a lecturer called me into his office. “Who is your father?” he asked.
“I stood a little taller. “My father is Nneji Ogbonna,” I said, “a carpenter from Akpugo. A hardworking man. The room went cold. “You are stupid for that answer,” he said. “Who knows your father?”
“And in that moment, I understood. The key wasn’t hard work. It was a name. It was a connection. My first-class degree was just a piece of paper, worthless because my father’s calloused hands held wood, not influence.
“He told me to my face that I would never get a job at ESUT. He said, “Go to your Igwe, maybe he can speak for you.” He said this knowing that I am from Nkanu land, and ESUT is located in that same Nkanu Local Government. My own hometown institution and I needed a king to vouch for me to be recognized.
“Daddy, Governor, I walked out of that office a broken young man. I went home, and for the first time, I did not laugh off the struggle. I wept. I wept for the boy who believed in books. I wept for the candles I burned at midnight. I wept for all the students I had taught to believe in hard work, only to have the system show them a different, ugly truth.
“What was it all for? The sacrifices, the discipline? To be reminded that my father’s honest work was a source of shame? That the merit I championed was a joke?
“I tried to push through for my Master’s, but my spirit was broken. The lectures were inconsistent, the hunger was real, and the hope was gone. In 2023, I dropped out. The boy who got a first-class degree and taught others couldn’t finish his Master’s. The system didn’t just reject me; it broke me.
“Now, I am back to where I started. I swing a hammer during the day, doing carpentry, and at night, I pick up to build a new dream with code—HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Nextjs,Node.js, Solidity, Hardhat,Etherjs. I was not easy. I am broke, I am hungry, and the memory of that conversation is a wound that never heals.
“Daddy, you are a father. What do you tell your children? To work hard? Or to find a “big man”?
“I am not writing just for me. I am writing for every bright-eyed boy and girl I tutored and for all those in our state universities who are still naive enough to believe that their brilliance matters. The system is teaching them a cruel lesson, and many are learning it too well, turning to FRAUD and compromise. We are not lazy. We are being suffocated.
“But today, I choose to stop weeping and start asking for a Hand-up, not a Hand-out. I also appeal for a system that prevents others from suffering this same pain.
“My story is one of rejection, but it is also one of resilience. I have taught myself to code. I have skills that are in demand. I am not just a victim of the system; I am a builder, a problem-solver, and a first-class mind waiting for a chance. Therefore, I humbly and specifically appeal for four things:
“I appeal to your office to establish a clear policy, a Merit-Based Scholarship and Employment Pathway, for best-graduating students and academically brilliant youngsters in our state institutions. Let there be automatic scholarships for postgraduate studies and guaranteed graduate assistant roles for first-class graduates. This will encourage excellence and tell our youth that their hard work has a tangible reward.
“My deepest desire is to take a path in Computer Science. I am appealing for a scholarship to pursue an MSc in Computer Science path such as Blockchain, Ai. This will legitimize my passion and allow me to reach my full potential. I am actively ready to keep learning.
“I am ready to work. With over two years of self-taught experience, I am seeking a Developer role, a paid internship to role, or a project-based contract. My portfolio, which includes full-stack web applications and blockchain dapp is ready for review. My background in Industrial Mathematics makes me a uniquely analytical coder.
“To all Nigerians, the tech community, and kind-hearted individuals, I ask for your support. This could be through mentorship, a referral, better gadgets/laptop to work more efficiently or connections to anyone who can offer an opportunity. Your like and share can lead to immense change.”
Conclusively, Mr. Nneji stated that “My father is a great man. He taught me logic and honour. I will never be ashamed of him. I am unemployed today not because I am unemployable, but because a corrupt system valued connections over competence.
“I still believe in a better Enugu as our Governor say that tomorrow is HERE. I still believe in merit. I am asking you to help me prove that this belief is not a lie.
“Thank you for reading.”
