Prostitution has different facets in Nigeria and one of the key aspects is known as corporate prostitution, where banks employ beautiful ladies and covertly make them to trade their” prized possession” in order to meet up their targets. Thus, the female bankers have turned to prostitution by condition and not by choice. The toll this ugly” flesh trade” has taken on the private lives of those concerned, the self worth of the persons concerned and by extension, the entire moral status and image of the nation is quite great and it makes the issue hot and cantankerous.
The economic adversity in the country has turned the female bankers into chippies just to survive. It is quite axiomatic that banks in Nigeria have resorted to numerous unethical practices in a desperate bid to enhance their capital base. The banks set starry-eyed targets for their marketing staff, especially their female staff, insisting that they either live up to their expectation by meeting up their specified targets or they lose their jobs.
More so, to further entrench this debased strategy of making money, most banks have bought official cars for some of these ladies who move around in skimpy revealing dresses to hook high net customers to make huge deposits. Thus, the banks have literally turned most of these female bankers into sluts and reasons given by the management of these banks as regards to meeting targets cannot be sustained within the parameters of logic, hence, it is warped, immoral and unjust.
By extension, most of these banks CEOs always respect prudential guidelines, credit administration procedures and other key banking ethnics. However, they fail to respect the dignity of human person as it concerns their female employees, they use them as carrots by overtly turning them into whores just to make money for the banks. Too bad! To further strengthen their target realization, some of these banks have introduced monthly performance report(MPR) whereby a marketer is called by the board to give account of what he or she has done so far. All these strategies are aimed at making sure that targets are realized at a specific period of time.
When one takes a closer look and analysis of the targets given to these female marketers and also their male counterparts, it is quite obvious that they are not only unrealistic, unreasonable and unattainable, but indeed, they are also irrational, illogical, impetuous and wicked.
It is constructive to note that this is not an attempt to assault or beset the banking sector, but rather it is a clarion call to the banks to retool their policies by soft-pedaling on this key worrisome issue of setting targets for their marketing staff, especially the female ones. This will enhance the dignity of human person in the banking sector and above all, project the dignity of womanhood.
There is need to urgently unleash an earthquake of unprecedented stringent policies from Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), to mandate commercial banks to stop this immoral marketing strategy and impose fines to banks that might default.
I call on all stakeholders in this country to join the crusade in charting the course of an enduring agenda of ethical and moral re-armament where the dignity of human person is held sacrosant. Together, as leaders let us extend this unique clarion call to the management of commercial banks in Nigeria to stop this demeaning trend of using female marketers as baits to achieve their set targets, because the accompanying debacle is great and quite dehumanizing from all ramifications. Hence, our values, cherished norms and the dignity of our daughters and sisters in these banks cannot be sacrificed on a platter of crass materialism, just to satisfy the whims and fancies of the banks at the detriment of our collective sense of morality and dignity as people of a great nation.
Nazif is the senator representing Bauchi North