From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, has said that until due considerations are accorded the aged category of the country’s population, goals of reducing poverty and hunger by Year 2020 will remain a mirage.
Oba Adeyemi stated this on Monday while addressing elderly people from the four local governments that constitute Oyo Federal Constituency who paid him a courtesy visit.
He added that this concept continues to break down due to factors like the dwindling economic fortunes of most of the working members of the family, eroding impact of inflation, increasing work redundancy and high youth unemployment rate.
“”Coincidentally, the public pension schemes as a major component of social welfare programme did not fare better in lifting the old age from the shackles of poverty, hunger and deprivation. The scheme that could have played a significant role in ensuring that other people have sufficient income to enjoy a sufficient standard of living in retirement was marred by large inconsistencies like soaring gap between pension obligations and revenues. ‘’
This, the paramount ruler pointed out, often resulted into payment procedure that was very tedious, cumbersome as well as weak governance practices and overall delay or lack of payment of benefits.
‘’Even the new Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), which was strategically designed to avert old age crisis of poverty and other forms of insecurity, is marred with large scale corruption as being witnessed in the pending probe of the pension scheme.”
Alaafin submitted that Chapter 2, Section 16 (2) (d) of the 1999 Constitution clearly stated that “The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum wage, old age care and pension, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled
are provided for all citizens.”
“Nigeria is currently the most populous country in Africa and the ninth in the world with a total population of about 144.7 million people by the 2006 population census carried out by the National Population Commission. This population is estimated to grow at the rate of 3.2 per cent per annum. Nigeria is also estimated to have the highest number of dependent population in Africa which consists of age
categories 0-14 and 65 and above. While the age category 0-14 represents 44.1 per cent (63, 812, 700) of total population, the 65 and above age category represents 2.9 per cent (4, 196, 300) of total population’’.
This, according to him, further shows that the issue of aging is a further concern to Nigeria, as it has a large retinue of active age population which accounted for 53 per cent (about 76, 691, 000) of total population by the 2006 census.
Alaafin further asserted that an investigation into age projections in Nigeria shows that by the year 2025, the population with age 60 and above will constitute six per cent of the total population, adding that the United Nations Population Division in 2005 argued that Nigeria has
the potential for a rapid growth rate of the older population as this was projected to increase to 9.9 per cent by year 2050.
Oba Adeyemi, therefore, called for social welfare system that is financially sound to guarantee and provide sustainable basis such as income replacement that would close any emerging income gap and as well guarantee access to goods and services necessary to meet those unexpected needs.
