Wanted: Ministry Of Senior Citizens

The celebration of the 2023 National Senior Citizens Day in Ilorin, Kwara State, offered the stakeholders an ample opportunity to make a case for the wellbeing of the aged who had used the best part of their youthful years to serve their families, communities and the society at large.

Expressing concern for the  welfare of the often neglected senior citizens, stakeholders at an event organised by  De- Pals Care Foundation( DPCF)  in collaboration with Kwara State Ministry of Social Development to mark the National Citizens Day in Ilorin on Monday,  emphasised the need for government at all levels to establish the Ministry of Senior Citizens .

They said that the proposed ministry should be saddled with the sole responsibility of promoting  the wellbeing of the senior citizens to reciprocate their contributions to national development when they were young.

Speakers at the event included the state secretary of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Mr Abraham Gana, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Social Development, Mrs Rebecca Olanrewaju, the founder of DPCF , Hajiya Asma’u  Yusuf and the representative of the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria(FOMWAN), Alhaja Biliqees Oladimeji.

The NUP’s secretary, Gana who called for the creation of the Ministry of Senior Citizens, said such development will further ensure the wellbeing of the senior citizens.

Though, Gana thanked the state governor, AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq for his support for the aged in the state, he reminded him that, “ the senior citizens are expecting more from you.There cannot be youths when there are no elders.”

“Yes, Your Excellency has done so much for the senior citizens, there are still many things to be done to make them happy. We are appealing to you to do something about the poor remuneration of the retirees in the state so that they can have enough money for their feeding and medical need,” Gana stated 

In her remarks, the permanent secretary of the state Ministry of Social Development, Mrs Rebecca Olanrewaju,  who was represented by a director in the ministry, Mr James Kayode, urged the senior citizens to always take good care of their health.

She recommended four principles that the senior citizens should embrace in ensuring that they live happily and age gracefully. These include emotional stability, helping others,self confidence and cultivating friendship.

“My senior citizens, please adhere strictly to these four principles to make yourselves happy at all times; emotional stability- you should forget about your past loses or what you couldn’t achieve during your youthful years; helping others – always engage in any little activity to help your neighbours; self confidence- don’t write yourselves off because of your present status; and cultivating friendship – make sure you are friendly to all the people around you( old and young),” the permanent secretary counseled.

The founder of DPCF, Hajiya Asma’u Yusuf, told the gathering that a National Senior Citizens Centre has been established at the national level to see to the needs of the older people, adding that:” Kwara State is in the process of signing same into law”.

Hajiya Yusuf added: “On behalf of the management and board of trustees of DPCF, I welcome you to this special event – ‘National Senior Citizens Day’ , a day set aside to celebrate our older citizens for a lot of good and impactful job done for the nation and the young citizens. It is on this note we consider it very necessary to celebrate you- our great pals who are in the second phase of life and to bring you good news that “ life begins at 70” 

“I am happy to bring to your notice that government, individuals and NGOs like us have series of programmes designed to help our elderlies live a long healthy life , such as provision of health insurance,nursing home,older people day care, activities centre for seniors, adult literacy classes,  food and healthcare palliatives for the senior citizens.

“It is in the light of the foregoing that the DPCF deem it  necessary to partner with the state government, organisations and individuals to bring our seniors together to celebrate this year’s National Senior Citizens Day and to also inform you that just as we have a ministry for youths, a full fledge  parastatal ( National Senior Citizens Centre) has been established at the federal level to look into the needs of the older people and Kwara State is in the process of signing same into law.

“I wish to appeal to all our seniors to pass these beautiful messages to others and embrace the new development. We appreciate the wisdom of elders and pray that  we see you all for more longer years in  good health and happy mood.”

In her presentation, the representative of FOMWAN, Alhaja Biliqees Oladimeji, urged the senior citizens to devote more time to religious activities.

She also asked them to help the society mould the younger ones by tutoring them on morals and acceptable lifestyles.

A motivational speaker, Mr Nasiru AbdulKadir who spoke virtually, advised the senior citizens to be contended and happy with the little they have.

He emphasised the need for the senior citizens to make themselves happy always so that they can remain healthy.

Officials of Kwara State Health Insurance Scheme also enlightened the participants about the various health insurance schemes they can enroll for.

The event also featured health talks to enlighten the participants on how best to take good care of their health while food and toiletries were distributed to the participants.