Old Age Inevitable, Please Sign Our Bill, Older Nigerians Beg Buhari

By Cami Ezenwa

Older Nigerians from across the different divides in the country, have a plea before President Muhammadu Buhari.

It is nothing other than: Please Sign Our Bill into law because old age is inevitable.

The older Nigerians speaking under the auspices of Graceful Ageing Fellowship (GRAF), made the plea to President Buhari today.

They say he should remember the inevitability of old age, and sign into law the Older Persons Rights and Privileges bill passed by the National Assembly.

The older Nigerians made the plea through the International Coordinator of GRAF, Senator Eze Ajoku in the midst of their 13^th year anniversary in Abuja.

Before then, however, they had commended Mr President for his gesture of signing the Senior Citizens Centre Act in 2017.

“Mr President has done well, commendably well by signing the Senior Citizens Centre Act in 2017 and inaugurating its board in 2021 and approved National Policy on Ageing.

“We hereby appeal to the President to cap all of this by signing the Older Persons Bill”

It was not only to the president that the older persons presented a plea.

They similarly wooed politicians and younger workers in the nation’s civil service for support.

Ambassador Ajadi ..speaks of grand programme for the older people

In this wise, they reminded all of the inevitability of old age, implying that signing the necessary bills would be like making the future better for all aged persons.

For example, they are worried that older persons do not really have options in terms of places they could go for recreation, hence they are asking the president to look into their case and bring about the desired change.

The Eagle can report that Nigeria is considered to have the highest number of older people in the continent of Africa.

Unfortunately however, many states of the federation still do not have very friendly policies for older people.

As a matter of fact, many are known to withhold the pensions of older people, which for them is a lifeline, as some do not have persons to take care of them retired.

An article in the November 2022 edition of an international journal, The Gerontologist, while affirming this assertion adds that there are increasing concerns for the older people in Nigeria where the population of people aged 65 and older is projected to nearly triple by 2050.

It said this was happening against the backdrop of extreme poverty, unsolved development problems, socioeconomic inequality, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and a decline in the traditional care and support of older adults.

“Additionally, the absence of an operational national aging policy or safety net services and programs poses a unique challenge to older Nigerians and their families”, the journal said.

Investigations show for example, that many states of the federation still owe pensioners several months of their terminal entitlements despite consistent pleas from these pensioners.

The story is also not new of older people protesting before government offices for being neglected, despite serving their states and nations at fullness of health.

A gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 general elections in the country however, Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, has been reiterating his desire to make a difference.

The Eagle is privy to his plans to put in place, an ambitious programme for the older Nigerians in the Gateway state, to ensure that not only are their pensions paid as at when due, but that other incentive are put in place to ensure their total wellbeing.

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Should Ajadi have the opportunity of implementing such a policy, he would have provided a great lifeline for the older people in our midst.

It is expected that such would throw a challenge before other office holders or seekers.