After decades of service to the nation, retired public servants should not be left to battle poverty, hunger and neglect in old age.
By Otunba Dele Ologbese
A nation’s greatness is measured not only by the opportunities it creates for its young people or the wealth it generates, but also by how it treats those who have spent their productive years building it.
For Nigeria, that test is being presented in the most painful way today: in the plight of millions of pensioners struggling to survive on benefits that have been badly eroded by inflation and the rising cost of living.
These are men and women who served the country when they were young, energetic and productive.
They taught in our schools, cared for patients in our hospitals, administered government institutions, maintained public infrastructures and performed countless other duties that kept the machinery of government running.
Today, many of them are elderly, retired and physically incapable of returning to active employment.
Yet, instead of enjoying the dignity and security that should come after decades of honest service, they are being forced to confront the harsh realities of an economy in which the cost of basic necessities has risen dramatically.
Food is more expensive. Medicines are more expensive.
Transportation, electricity and housing have become increasingly unaffordable. For pensioners who require regular medical care and medication, the situation is particularly distressing.
A pension that may once have been adequate can no longer provide even the most basic necessities of life.
This is not merely an economic problem. It is a question of justice, dignity and social responsibility.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the 36 State Governors must urgently initiate a comprehensive review of pension benefits to reflect current economic realities.
Such a review should not be presented as a favour to pensioners. It is an obligation.
Pensioners earned their benefits through years-often decades- of dedicated service.
Many spent 25, 30 or even 35 years working for government and contributing to the development of the country. Their pensions are therefore not gifts from government; they are part of the rewards for services already rendered.
At an advanced age, most retirees have neither the physical capacity nor the economic opportunity to start their working lives all over again. It is therefore unacceptable for people who devoted their productive years to public service to be forced into dependence on their children, relatives, religious organisations or public charity
Nigeria can and must do better.
What is required is not simply an announcement of increased pensions that may soon be overtaken by inflation.
Governments must develop a sustainable pension system capable of responding periodically to major changes in the cost of living.
If governments can sustain multiple administrative structures and allocate substantial resources to various socio-political and economic programmes, then the welfares of citizens who spent the prime of their lives serving the public deserves equally serious attention.
The question should not always be whether government can afford to support pensioners. We should also ask whether government can afford the moral cost of abandoning them.
Caring for retired public servants should never be regarded merely as an expenditure item in a government budget. It is a moral responsibility and one of the clearest measures of responsible leadership.
A government that expects young Nigerians to devote their lives to public service must be able to assure them that they will not be forgotten when they retire
That assurance is crucial.
Teachers, civil servants, health workers, engineers, administrators and other public servants need to know that the country they serve will stand by them in their later years.
The National Assembly and the various State Houses of Assemblies also have an important role to play.
As representatives of the people, they should enact and strengthen legislations establishing sustainable mechanisms for periodic pension adjustments based on inflation and significant changes in the cost of living.
Pensioners should not have to take to the streets, stage protests or repeatedly plead with government before receiving benefits to which they are legitimately entitled.
The welfare of pensioners goes beyond increasing monthly payments.
Governments must also strengthen healthcare support for retirees, particularly for those with limited incomes and serious age-related needs. The prompt payment of gratuities and outstanding pension arrears must become a priority.
Unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles that force elderly pensioners to travel long distances, queue for hours or repeatedly produce documents to establish their entitlements should also be eliminated.
Technology and efficient administrative systems should make the process easier-not more difficult-for senior citizens
The dignity of pensioners must be protected.
These are people who once stood at the front of classrooms educating generations of Nigerians. They worked in hospitals caring for the sick. They served in ministries and government agencies
They maintained institutions and performed the countless tasks required to keep the country functioning.
They gave Nigeria their strength
Nigeria must not abandon them in their weakness.
There is a broader principle at stake here.
The way a society treats its elderly citizens tells us something about the values of that society.
When people who spent their productive years serving the public are left to struggle with hunger, inadequate healthcare and financial insecurity, the problem goes beyond pensions. It becomes a reflection of our national priorities
Nigeria has the human and natural resources to provide a better life for its citizens.
What is required is prudent management of public resources, a stronger commitment to social welfare and, above all, political will on the part of our leaders
Pensioners do not need sympathy alone. They need action.
They need a pension system that recognises the realities of today’s economy. They need access to affordable healthcare. They need their legitimate entitlements paid promptly. Most importantly, they need the assurance that their years of service were not forgotten.
President Tinubu and the governors have an opportunity to demonstrate that government can still put humanity at the heart of public policy
They should seize that opportunity.
Our pensioners have paid their dues.
They served Nigeria when the nation needed them most
It is now Nigeria’s turn to honour its obligation to them.
*Otunba Dele Ologbese writes on public affairs, governance and social development.*
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