25 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Caregiver in Nigeria

You will probably conduct this interview over a video call, across five time zones, for the most important hire of your life. Most families wing it — twenty minutes of pleasantries, a good feeling, a decision. This guide replaces the good feeling with an actual evaluation. Twenty-five questions, five areas, and — just as important — the answers that should end the interview on the spot.

A. Training and competence

1. What formal caregiving training have you completed, and can you show the certificate?
2. Walk me through how you manage a client's daily medications — from organising to recording.
3. What would you do if my mother refused her blood pressure medication two days in a row?
4. Have you cared for someone with [the specific condition — diabetes, dementia, stroke recovery]? Describe a typical day.
5. How do you safely help someone from bed to chair if their legs are weak?

B. Experience and references

6. Tell me about your last two care clients — how long, and why did each arrangement end?
7. Can I speak directly with the families of your last two clients?
8. What is the hardest care situation you have handled, and what did you do?
9. Have you ever had to escalate an emergency? Walk me through exactly what happened.
10. What does a family that is good to work with do differently?

C. Character and approach

11. My father is proud and may treat you as a house help at first. How will you handle that?
12. What do you do during quiet hours of a visit?
13. How do you handle a client who is verbally harsh on a bad day?
14. What would you never do, no matter what a family asked?
15. Why elderly care — of all the work you could do?

D. Reliability and accountability

16. How will I know you arrived and left on time — what proof, without me asking?
17. What exactly will you report to me after each visit, and in what form?
18. What happens when you are sick or need travel — who covers, with what handover?
19. Are you comfortable with every visit being documented and reviewed? (Watch the face, not just the words.)
20. If you noticed something small but "off" — quieter mood, a skipped meal — would you report it or wait? Why?

E. Verification (non-negotiables)

21. May I verify your government ID — NIN and one other?
22. May I verify your address and next of kin?
23. Will you consent to a background and guarantor check?
24. Are your certificates verifiable with the issuing institution?
25. Will you sign a written agreement covering duties, hours, pay, confidentiality, and conduct?

Answers that end the interview

Vagueness on references ("they travelled"). Offence at verification ("don't you trust me?"). Certificates that cannot be checked. Trash-talking former client families. Any hesitation — any — on question 19. A caregiver who resists accountability before being hired will not discover it afterwards.

The honest limitation

Even a perfect interview verifies a conversation, not a person. Reference calls can be staged; certificates forged; charm rehearsed. This is why verification and ongoing accountability — identity checks, guarantors, documented visits, structured reporting — matter more than interview performance, and it is the layer SabiCare365 provides as standard: every caregiver verified before you ever meet them, every visit documented after. Interview hard. Then verify harder.

Pair this guide with two companions: our training and certification guide covers what real qualifications look like, and our red flags guide covers the warning signs before, during, and after the hire.

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Know. Don't Guess. SabiCare365 coordinates trusted care for your loved one in Nigeria — vetted caregivers, verified visits, and a Care Summary you can read from anywhere in the world. Get started today — your first month is free.