BY GODFREY UBAKA
ONE of the values upon which a nation’s claim to civilised, organized and workable system is validated remains its policy implementation towards the welfare, healthcare and social security of her senior citizens.
In Nigeria, despite the existing policy provisions in this direction, driven primarily by the National Senior Citizens Center Act and National Policy on Ageing, the plight of Senior citizens has been characterized more by convoluted chain of neglect and undignified social economic exclusion that often result in deaths that could have been avoided. The impact of the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC) established to improve the lots of the senior citizens has been at a near zero level. The result is that the health and income generation base of many senior citizens have been steadily eroded. Top amongst retirement concerns is the frightening reality that without steady employment, it becomes difficult to have enough resources to maintain a preferred lifestyle.
It remains a painful paradox that pensioners in Nigeria who have spent their active years working diligently for the upliftment of the public sector, at the later part of their life confront grave plight due to delayed payments, inadequate pension amounts, and the erosive effects of inflation on standard of living.
This has led to severe hardship, biting poverty, and inability to afford basic needs and healthcare. Many pensioners have had the sad experience of being sick and not being in a financial position to access healthcare. What this does on the psych of those still in service is for them to consider retiring from service as a form of death sentence which should be deferred in all ways possible including swearing to fresh affidavits of an adjusted age. The plight of pensioners no longer speaks convincingly to the slogans that there’s dignity in labour and that after labour comes deserved rest. It is in the light of this disturbing reality of neglect that the Coalition of Federal Pensioners of Nigeria has fixed next Monday, November 24 for a nationwide naked protest should government failed to pay their outstanding pension increment arrears and palliative allowances. One actually hopes that this planned protest is averted by meeting the demands of these senior citizens.
The idea of senior citizens going naked on our streets will expose Nigeria as a naked, shameless, cruel and uncaring country. Naked protest by the elderly is also sending the message of regrets, lamentation and curses on the land. When the young and active see the culture of neglect and vulnerability senior citizens are exposed to, there is the tendency for them to conclude that if their future is this insecure, then ethical standards can be compromised if not completely discarded as self- help beckons as a preferred option. This partly explains the difficulty being experienced in government’s desire to check the rising tide of corruption.
The pensioners’ coalition National Chairman, Mr Mukaila Ogunbote, disclosed that
the Federal Government had promised the payment of N32,000 approved pension increment arrears and N25,000 palliative allowance approved since 2023 but had remained unpaid ever since.
His words: ‘If by 23 November, we do not receive payment, all pensioners nationwide will embark on a naked protest on 24 November. This definitely will paint a negative image of the federal government. The plight of pensioners has been worsened by the level of inflation in the economy which makes what pensioners get after the delays and regular verifications to be hardly enough even for their healthcare. When welfare is compromised, healthcare becomes precarious.
Ogunbote lamented that while workers had received their own allowances, pensioners appeared to have been left out in the scheme of things.
He therefore called for unity among workers to address the injustices perpetrated against pensioners adding that government prioritised payment for other purposes while neglecting the pensioners. The backlog of indebtedness to pensioners across the country remains an ugly testament of a culture of neglect and vulnerability. The compulsory deductions and contributions are benefiting the pension managers and administrators while many of the contributors get frustrated in the endless wait. Many have been known to have fallen sick and died without accessing what should be their entitlement. This situation needs to be duly addressed and urgently too. Until something is done in this direction, to many pensioners and senior citizens the struggle for daily survival appears to be continuing unabated.
POSTSCRIPTS
Delta Media Houses And Imperatives of Rebranding. Effective communication and citizens engagement have become the hallmarks of an organized modern society. The need for effective and impactful communication becomes the more compelling in a democracy as government needs to as a matter of responsibility communicate policy directions, actions, goals and accomplishments to citizens. Feedback on citizens’ expectations should also feature. In doing this, updated and optimally functional media channels and institutions become a necessity, not a luxury.
Incidentally, Delta State has carried on this far with fledgling State- owned media Houses that are just barely operational. Strong indications that this situation is about to be addressed came last week when the state Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu confirmed that the State Government, under the leadership of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, is set to embark on a comprehensive rebranding and total overhaul of its three State-owned media organisations.
Aniagwu listed the affected state media institutions as The Delta Printing and Publishing Corporation, publishers of The Pointer Newspapers, Delta Broadcasting Service (DBS) Asaba and DBS Warri, noting that the initiative forms a major component of the State’s 2026 budget priorities which target the modernising and strengthening of Government communication channels.
Aniagwu while making a presentation during the Ministerial Budget Defence session before the state Ministry of Economic Planning assured that the proposed 2026 Budget of the Ministry of Information, estimated at a little above ₦5 billion, was designed to strengthen Government communication and enhance the visibility of the State across various media platforms.
He further explained that while the ministry’s Recurrent Expenditure was pegged at ₦2.073 billion, the Capital Expenditure stood at ₦3 billion, adding that the proposal represents a modest increase from the 2025 fiscal year.
His words: “Our priority areas in 2026 are to strengthen the state-owned media organisations—The Pointer, DBS Asaba, and DBS Warri — and to reposition them for modern broadcasting and publishing. “We want to give these institutions a brand-new look, not just engage in patching or fixing. His Excellency, the Governor, believes that the time has come for a paradigm shift and a total package that will rebrand our media houses in line with the MORE Agenda”.
There is no doubt that the disclosure from the commissioner truly sounds heartwarming especially as it is not only a desirable step to take but a long overdue initiative. The State owned media Houses have a compelling mandate to engage the citizens with government activities and policies. A lot of repositioning is however required for these media Houses to deliver on the set mandate. The Delta Printing and Publishing Corporation should be in a position to print for itself copies of The Pointer and project a positive image of Delta both to Deltans and the outside world including those in the diaspora.
In the same vein the DBS Asaba and DRTV Warri also require updated transmitting equipment. These two stations should be able to link up a lot more in terms of programming and local content generation to serve the state better and break new grounds in terms of modern broadcasting. The state of the workforce also needs to be addressed. Training and additional on- the -job incentives can help achieve a higher performance level on the part of the workforce.
As 2027 edges closer as an election year, it indeed will be desirable for these media Houses to play lead role in deepening the democratic culture while delivering on their mandate of informing, educating, entertaining and of course holding leadership accountable for democracy to be sustainable. And so it is that for the State owned media outfits in Delta State, a much awaited New Dawn beckons.
