From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Coalition of Societies for the Rights of Older Persons in Nigeria (COSROPIN), has advocated an increased attention to the plights of the aged people, to enable them live longer in good health and useful to themselves and the society.
The Coalition, thus, cautioned against the increased practice of regarding elderly people in the society as witches and wizards who ought to be kept in an obscured location awaiting God’s call (death).
President of COSROPIN, Senator Eze Ajoku, who spoke at the opening ceremony of a workshop on elderly care in Abuja, expressed concerns about the growing social and moral decadence in Nigeria, linking it to the neglect of the aged whose wealth of knowledge and wisdom are required for the reshaping of the younger generation and the society in general.
He commended the efforts of members of the Coalition whose years of efforts culminated in the creation of the National Senior Citizen Center (NSCC) to which COSROPIN is a BOT member and also the Federal Executive Council (FEC) signing of the National Policy on Ageing.
He said the primary objectives which the bill seeks to achieve include; to confer privileges and benefits on older persons that are aimed at enhancing their quality of life; strengthen and protect the rights of older persons; prescribe preventive measures where older person’s rights are derived.
He added: “It’s also aimed at addressing the social and economic challenges triggered by ageing and the need for government to formulate policies that will incorporate the elderly.”
He said the bill was tailored to meet the critical needs and concerns of the elderly in Nigeria, and also seeks to provide certain rights and privileges for them in order to ensure health, economic relief and protection for their social and civil rights.
Senator Ajoku, noted that older persons, depending on age are going through social isolation, and therefore will require interactions, networking and socializations across all generations, to improve their health, psychological, social and physical wellbeing, hence the decision of COSROPIN to organize the recent senior citizen hangout.
He promised to support all member organisations in their individual programmes, and also encourage them to implement national programmes of COSROPIN.
A representative of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Salifu Abdul, extended the goodwill of the Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouk, to COSROPIN, with assurance from the Minister that the Ministry will continue to support them in all effort to improve the living conditions of the aged in Nigeria.
A representative of Oxfam Nigeria, Ijeoma Okwor, told journalists that the organization was interested in the welfare and wellbeing of the aged people, hence their interest in sponsoring the workshop that will provide platform to discuss issues that concern the elderly people.
She commended the determination and commitment of several organizations, at their level, to change the societal perception that the aged are not longer useful to the society, and they should be relegated to the background awaiting death.
She promised that Oxfam, through one of its programmes called Voice, will continue to support and drive any course that will herald improved welfare and wellbeing of the elderly people in Nigeria.
Executive Director, Dewdrop Foundation, Agatha Nnaji, suggested that the plights of the aged people should be amplified to get the attention of all stakeholders. “Ageing is a blessing and not a curse, and should be seen to be so. Many youths don’t understand that ageing comes with different issues, hence they make life miserable for the aged among them.”
She advocated increased access to information about ageing and the approach to use. “Many aged are not prepared for what visited their are facing, financially and otherwise, so, they need knowledge and information. Our goal is to ensure that elderly people get the necessary information to help them go through the period of old age.”