Nigeria’s Senior Citizens Deserve Better Treatment

Victor E. Dike

Comparative study of nations provides a framework with which to measure the value system of a society and how it affects the people. Some societies have good value system and others don’t. There are many problems facing Nigeria today but that which involves the non-payment (or delay in payment) of gratuity and pension to the senior citizens are incomprehensible. Despite daunting circumstances, including non-payment of basic salaries, they spent greater part of their productive years working for the development of Nigeria. But after being used and abused the society abounded them to boil to death. And they are today suffering untold hardship. Is there any greater social injustice? Nigeria’s senior citizens deserve better treatment.

In organized and humane societies senior citizens are respected and adored. For instance, in the United States, the seniors are worshiped because they built the great society. Therefore, they do not beg for their retirement and social security benefits, which come in the mail, and promptly too. There is varied medical insurance coverage for the elderly, and the social services departments, which are alive to their duties, assist the needy to pay their bills. They receive discount in almost every social activities, including in public transportations and restaurants. Even the older Nigerians, who migrated to the United States with the aid of their children, benefit from the wonderful social services, which Nigeria denied them. Is there any wonder why life expectancy is high in the United States?

People fight against social injustice because political struggles are about social justice, which is most often guided by a person’s ideological ethical and ideological conviction. However, many of the political leaders in Nigeria are not concerned about social justice because they care mostly about how much public money they could steal and whom to kill to remain in power.

Social justice could be interpreted in varied ways, including redistribution of national wealth. As the economy of an organized society grows and economic productivity increases, everybody (not a few) gets some benefit. However, social justice is an “ideal condition” where the people of a society have “the same basic rights, security, opportunities, obligations and social benefits” and the laws of a nation are aimed at promoting and protecting these rights. As Al Camp 1999 notes “social justice is a concept focusing on each citizen’s equality of life and the equality of treatment of all citizens.” Therefore, Plato noted in The Republic that an ideal state would operate on four virtues such as wisdom, courage, moderation and justice.

Although those on the lowest social ladder benefit least from economic growth, Nigeria does not operate on any of the virtues prescribed by Plato because the poor and old do not have basic security, economic opportunities and social benefits. The plight of Nigeria’s senior citizens is pitiful. Denying them access to the nation’s resources is a violation of their human rights; they deserve better treatment. However, why are Nigeria’s senior citizens begging for their gratuity and pension? Is it because of Nigeria’s skewed value system or the sharp social-class divisions in the society? Is it because of the society’s apparent disregard for human life?

However, pension is a regular payment to people by their former employers (government and the private sector) on retirement from service and gratuity is a lump sum of money paid to a retiree for his or her service. Delay in payment (and non-payment) of pensions and gratuity of the retirees makes life after retirement in Nigeria a nightmare. Modern traditional means of social protection of the retirees in Nigeria is not functional. Earlier, there was the Public Service Pension Scheme, Private/Public Sector Occupational Schemes, and National Provident Fund that has since collapsed. However, in 2004, the civilian administration of Chief Obasanjo enacted the Pension Reform Act of June 2004. The Act created three agencies - the Pension Fund Custodian (that houses the Fund) Pension Fund Administrator (that administers the Fund) and the National Pension Commission (that regulates the Custodians and Administrators). The problem with Nigeria is that most of its laws are only good on the paper. Despite the Pension Act of June 2004 the retirees are not getting paid. Consequently, many of them have died of hunger, diseases and frustration.

Is Nigeria a cruel society? Why can’t Nigeria appreciate the contributions of the seniors? The system has turned many of the retirees into beggars and destitute! Recently, the government blew its usual political trumpet that a sum of N75 billion has be earmarked to settle the arrears of pensions owed the nation’s senior citizens. However, because of lack of proper identification many of the seniors who are fragile, hungry and sick were paraded for hours like criminals for a verification exercise. Not only that, there were pitiful sites of many highly educated retired Nigerians queuing up, bowing and prostrating before the new Minister for Finance worshipfully shaking her hands to pick up their pittance checks. Yet, some Nigerians think the Finance Minister has made a great feat for paying some of the arrears of what the government owes? Tufiakwa!

Currently, the Nigerian Pension Fund is estimated to worth over N250 billion, yet the seniors can’t get paid fully. What prevent the administrators from paying the poor citizens? Is the government alleviating poverty or creating it? If the government is paying some of the arrears now, when will it pay the current ones? And how can the poor citizens determine their future when they are not paid their salary, gratuity and pension? How would the youth be encouraged or motivated to fight for Nigeria (if need be) when the retirees who contributed to the development of Nigeria are being treated shabbily? A society that does care about the welfare of the citizens should not expect the workers to be honest, dedicated, productive patriotic and loyal. The Nigerian system encourages corruption and other social vices. Would any person blame the workers for stealing when they are not getting paid their basic salaries/wages and retirement benefits? A bad system begets bad citizens and vice versa! Nigerians will continue to leave in drove in search of greener pasture in the West if nothing is done to improve the condition of things in the society. Despite hard and harsh life confronting some Nigerians in the Diaspora many them are taking solace in the fact that their new country will not abound them at old age after contributing to the system.

The restructuring and stabilization process in the economy should begin with the government' fulfilling its obligations to the citizens by paying their basic salaries and retirements benefits promptly and providing them the basic necessities of life. This cruel and unusual punishment negatively affects the entire economy. The health of the retirees and that of the entire nation is, in many ways, a function of where they live (social and political condition) and what they earn (economic condition). Disease and death is intricately intertwined with social conditions. When people are immersed in harsh social conditions they get sick, stay sick and die younger!

What should the society do to fix the broken system? A faulty system must be fixed for it to work. Firstly, Nigeria must be restructured into a complete and functional society. A society is like any mechanical system that has components. As in any other system the success of a society depends on the ability of the leaders (and followers) to integrate the components to form a complete and functional system. Thus, Nigeria is “dysfunctional” because its component parts are not well-integrated; and the leaders’ lack of understanding of their responsibilities has worsened the situation.

The Pension Fund should be managed by competent and honest professionals (technocrats from within or without) who can properly redistribute the wealth of the nation. In organized societies (United States, Britain, etc) retirement Funds are prudently managed to make life in retirement less stressful. To achieve and sustain social justice in Nigeria the nation should be restructured into a truly democratic state and then Nigerians would fight for policies that impact positively on their lives. And for the politicians to talk about policy the nation’s politics must be transformed into an issue-based politics.

Political struggle is about social justice and for that serious political mobilization is important. Thus, to achieve and sustain social justice in Nigeria the seniors in the society must organize into a powerful political force with their unions becoming active participants in politics. In the United States, for instance, the senior citizens are organized into strong political force and politicians running for elective offices would ignore them at their peril because the politicians must explain to them how their policies would impact their welfare.

Human right abuses, such as non-payment of retirement’s benefits and basic salaries and wages, are serious problems in Nigeria and the people should begin now to sue the violators of human rights. Labor relations and human rights attorneys should take up the challenge and provide access to justice to those that cannot afford an attorney. The degree to which a political system protects the rights of the citizens is a good measure of a nation’s value system and how well it is administered or governed.

Some of the unscrupulous individuals holding and administering the nation’s retirement Funds are known to be trading with them, and therefore, the society should begin to make them pay interests on the arrears. Reportedly, the government paid only about N10 billion out of the N75 billion it owed, leaving a balance of N65 billion. (Interests should begin to accrue on the N65 billion.) Let’s do a little arithmetic. With the rising interest rate in Nigeria (between 7% -15% per annum -and fixed deposit is even higher) N65 billion would yield a handsome amount. The administrators should made to pay arrears of interests on the N75 billion on the number of years they have held the money. It imperative to point out that payment of interests on borrowed funds is normal because, according to the BusinessDay of August 4, 2006, Nigeria paid N815 . 3 billion for debt service in five years to external creditors.

Those entrusted with the responsibility of paying retirement benefits and salaries/wages of the workers should quit (or be forced to quit) if they fail to deliver. Are Nigerians not tired yet of having “rogues” to watch over their treasury? Nigeria needs honest and better democratic thinkers to manage the affairs of the nation and not the unscrupulous politicians that kill others to remain perpetually in power. Nigeria should build a system that would meet the medical and social needs of the needy (senior citizens, poor and sick, etc) as obtained in many organized and advanced nations. Wealthy individuals in Nigeria should create some good-deeds foundations, for the poor and needy in the society. However, this writer believes that Nigeria is rich enough to give every Nigerian some form of medical coverage, pay unemployment benefit and pay the workers promptly. Happy and healthy workers are a highly productive society!

The system should be changed from the ground up so as to reduce the extreme economic and political inequalities in the society. And this should take the form of legislative and administrative measures. The growing gulf between the rich and poor in the society may create a serious problem in the near future if the trend is not checked. The government should sincerely condemn the evil practice of non-payment (or delay in payment) of any entitlements due the citizens and formulate and implement a comprehensive policy to eliminate it. The media should take positive step in educating the people of their rights and the human rights commission should be strengthened to really promote and protect the people’s human rights. And henceforth any government official that abuses his or her official position should be prosecuted, and sanctioned, if found guilty. Nigeria should build a system that appreciates the contributions of the nation’s senior citizens in the growth and development of Nigeria. And they deserve better treatment; making them to queue up for hours under the scourging heat of Nigeria for their retirement benefits is cruel. Paying them their gratuity and pension promptly will make them smile for the rest of their live and not to suffer and cry to their graves! Nigeria needs a system where everyone would receive a fair share of the ‘national cake.’ That is the essence of social justice!

Victor E. Dike, CEO, Center for Social Justice and Human Development, Sacramento, California, is the author of Democracy and Political Life in Nigeria (2^nd edition, forthcoming, iUniverse Inc, 2006).