Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke
The failure of government to meet the pension payment and expectations of retirees has shattered the plans of many and induced economic trauma for others, which in some cases have led to fatalities.
Stories have been told of how some senior citizens who had worked so hard usually collapsed and died while on queues waiting to get their pension.
The plight of pensioners in Nigeria especially in Osun state has recently taken a pathetic and worrisome dimension as the recent verification exercise conducted by the state exposed the sad reality that pensioners are truly living in penury and pains.
Many analysts have described the plight of pensioners as a ‘Nation Forgotten,’ where retired public servants are grossly neglected as many of them lack funds to attend to their basic needs.
Recently, no fewer than three members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) Osun State chapter were reported to have collapsed during a staff audit exercise of the state workforce held in Osogbo, the state capital.
The incident, it was gathered, threw members of the union into confusion as the healthy among them ran helter skelter to revive their collapsed colleagues who reportedly came for verification audit.
It took the intervention of the medics of the State Ambulance Service that were on ground to revive and stabilise the victims most of who were aged and sick.
During the verification exercise, about 2,000 old men and women were physically present. Some of them were aged, frail and in some cases looked very sick. They reportedly converged on the premises of the Center for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo, venue of the screening exercise.
A number of them who could not endure standing for a long time, were seen either lying down, sleeping or sitting on the bare floor to avoid any eventuality.
Our correspondent who was at the venue of the screening exercise reports that many of the pensioners were visibly angry for what they described as inhumane treatment by the handlers of the exercise.
One of the pensioners, Samuel Aduroja decried the arrangement and the eventual treatment of his colleagues who came for the exercise from across the State.
Though he agreed that the exercise as sanctioned by the State government was desirable, but in his opinion the process could have been made easier like getting it done on local government or zonal basis.
The staff audit had earlier been suspended for weeks by the state House of Assembly over inhuman treatment meted to the civil servants by the consultant, but the suspension was lifted after she promised to correct her mistakes.
It was learned that pensioners had for long been calling on the State government to, as matter of urgency, decentralize the staff audit of the state workforce to save them from the cumbersome nature of the audit exercise .
The pensioners under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Osun State chapter had at various fora said they were in total support of the staff audit, but government should put the aged and helpless retirees into consideration by decentralizing it.
The State chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Osun State , Alhaji Ganiyu Salawu during the 2023 Elders Day Anniversary, held in Osogbo appealed to government to make things easy for the senior citizens who had laboured and deserved to have the pension paid as at when due without much ado .
Salawu said: “Osun pensioners are in support of the audit verification exercise by this government, it is the right way to go. But Sir, permit me to plead on behalf of our members especially the vulnerable ones, the bed ridden ones, the aged and the helpless retirees who formed the core membership of this union.
“NUP Osun State has nothing to hide. We had submitted our statistics and relevant data to the supervising ministry local Government by local Government.”
Speaking on the plight of pensioners in the state in an interview, Dr Ayodeji Ologun. Executive Director, Centre for Responsive Governance said ” I think the problems in various degrees confronting the pensioners is one that is needless and avoidable if the system can be fixed.
He said it is doable since it is contributory and if the government is sincere. Every pensioner should be able to access his or her pension days after retirement but for government that is not only unfaithful to its part of the deal but even steals in the name of borrowing from the workers’ saved pension.
According to him, the cumbersome nature of the audit system is demoralizing. These are tired men and women already and are being forced to go through rigorous and avoidable process to access what is ordinarily theirs. I believe that the government should show commitment by allowing a tidy up of the process such that everyone within the shortest period of time can access their pensions.
On whether the present administration has fared better in addressing the plight of pensioners in Osun State, Dr ologun said like the previous government, they have not done the needful. Issuance of bond will not solve the need of the pensioners. There has got to be a new and formidable approach.
Also speaking ,Bishop Seun, General Overseer
Sufficient Grace and Truth Ministries (SGTM in Osun State said Many times when I read about issues relating to pensioners, particularly as regards their pensions and gratuities, I got confused. You’ll read in the news how government was releasing billions of naira to the retirees and you will still hearing tumultuous noises from them that they are being owed.
“How do we end this? Who is at fault? Are those retirees really getting their rewards? I think the government should come out with comprehensive plan.
According to him there should be details of who have been paid and who are yet to be paid. Government should know exactly how much the retirees are being owed and how they will get paid. It’s sad seeing senior citizens crying to get what belonged to them. How can someone use the whole of his or her productive years to serve a State and the same state will deny such persons his rights?
“But going by what I have read so far concerning the efforts of the present of Osun State Government, I think they are giving their best. I said this because, we saw uncountable street protests by pensioners during the last two administrations. I remember that sometimes during the Rauf Aregbesola’s administration, I joined the retirees in some of their several rallies in the state and indeed we went as far as the National Assembly in Abuja to protest.
” I will only urge the present government not to give in to manipulations by officials to leave some out of the beneficiaries of the payments. What I am saying is that there are a lot of influences in getting some getting their pay. For instance, I know a woman who retired as a teacher since 2012 still struggling to get her gratuities cleared.
“However, kudos to the state government for enlisting some of the retirees in the state Health Insurance policy. That’s one of the best steps I see in this government. Majorly, when people retired, possibly because of old age, they’re always treating one ailment to another. Many of them had died because they cannot afford drugs and even treatments.”.
Governor Ademola Adeleke while flagging off pensioners’ Enrollment for the Health insurance Scheme of about 23,000 held at Local Government service commission, Abere in osogbo said the government is registering all the Pensioners in Osun State in line with its electoral promises to the good people of Osun State.
His words “I demonstrate in clear terms my commitment to the wellbeing of our retired citizens among were men and women who meritoriously served the state deserve all the support now that they are out of service.
“Our administration conducted a situational review of the living conditions of our pensioners. We discover that the critical problem is not just unpaid pensions. Even when paid regularly , the bulk of the fund goes into managing health challenges. Our report concluded that almost eighty percent of pensioners’ problem centers around health questions.
” It was at this point that we decided to address the root cause. We opted to meet our senior citizens at their point of needs. It is gratifying to note that this programme is the first of its kind.
“This is a direct intervention to prove that the government can indeed meet the desires and aspirations of the people.
“There are at least 19,000 (Nineteen Thousand) pensioners in Osun. All of them will be enrolled into this scheme. Please take advantage of this by availing yourself for this enrollment.
‘You will recall that this government has embarked on free medical and surgery treatment twice this year in the Imole medical and surgical outreach. That outreach has become a permanent feature of our medical system.
“We promise to do more. We shall embark on activities that will ensure the good health of the good people of Osun State. Very soon, we shall also register all the very weak (awon ti won ko ri owo ho ri) in the state. We shall also organise state wide screening processes that will ensure disease detection at curable stages.
“My dear senior citizens, when I was campaigning, I told you your care would be my top priority and I told you pension debt will be paid off in phases. During that campaign I assured you this government would be of the people, by the people and of the people and I fulfilling my promises.
“Our dear senior citizens, let me report that on a daily basis, I think out of the box to find solutions to our aspirations and demands. It was in that line we unveiled the multi-billion naira infra plan for the state. I appreciate the wide acceptance of the plan by the good people of Osun state.
“Allow me to allay the fears of workers and pensioners. The funding for the infra plan will have no negative impact on workers’ welfare. I have proved that fact today by launching this health insurance scheme for our pensioners.”
The joy of every worker is that after retirement,he or she enjoys the fruit of his labour through regular and prompt payment of his entitlements after service but the situation in Nigeria especially in osun state is worrisome as government are yet to be sincer in properly addressing and finding lasting solution to end pensioners’ plight.
