Harrowing plight of Nigeria’s pensioners

The plight of Nigeria’s pensioners has continued to elicit commentaries from the broad spectrum of the public. No day passes without heart-rending news of these citizens undergoing numerous indignities in the quest to collect their monthly entitlements. Such trauma, which these senior citizens go through at the hands of public servants, whose duty is to ameliorate their plight is enough to rouse public indignation.
Daily, the various media show old and frail looking pensioners’ queueing for hours and even days under scorching heat begging to be paid their stipends. Definitely, we condemn in very strong terms, such belittling treatment of the country’s senior citizens. It bears repeating that a country’s level of development is a function of how it treats its retirees.
The plight of pensioners should be a major cause of concern for any well-organised society. Unfortunately, from having to endure a less than conducive work environment in their productive days, to waiting for unending months on the government to pay their gratuity; the poor pensioners are left with little or no hope when it comes to the prompt receipt of their monthly pensions. Sadly, according to reports, the backlogs of these paltry sums now run into months, and perhaps years without any sense of urgency on the part of those responsible for the payments.
When the Pension Reform Act came into force in 2004, it was hailed by all and sundry as lofty and commendable, with the aim at making all those who worked in the public or private sector receive their entitlements in timely manner. It was a reform designed to act as succour to retirees and bring sanity in the pension system. Incidentally, intention of the reform is yet to be become a reality. We are calling on the authorities to give priority to the welfare of these senior citizens who had dedicated their prime days to the service of the country.
Question, is why would the paltry entitlements of these senior citizens be delayed for months and sometimes years. It should be noted that many of the retirees are too old to seek alternative means of livelihood and so the trauma they are subjected to before getting their entitlements is uncalled for. Unwittingly, such treatment is reason that some corrupt civil servants engage in primitive acquisition of wealth while in active service so that by the time they retire, would not have to go through the pain of waiting for years for their pensions to be paid.
A country that deems it fit to award munificent financial gratuity and even build fairy tale mansions for former presidents, governors and military heads of state, even when their tenures brought massive corruption, nepotism, and cronyism; should also be expected to be serious in providing a permanent remedy to the suffering of its retirees, many of who are still responsible for the upkeep of their children.  It is pertinent to note that today’s retirees were yesterday’s workers who tirelessly worked hard to build the country to the point where the current working population could take over.