Eminent personalities in the academia, insurance industry, among others have joined their voices with that of Felix Amadi, managing director, Crown Insurance Brokers, in calling for a social change as it affects retirement in Nigeria in order to halt the declining life expectancy for Nigerian citizens.
Tope Smart, group managing director, NEM Insurance Co Nig Plc; Alfred Adewale Martins, His Grace, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, and Pat Utomi, founder of Centre for Value in Leadership (CVL), spoke in one voice during the official presentation of the book, ‘Retirement In Nigeria (A Management Approach)’, at the Muson Centre, Lagos.
Speaking at the occasion, Felix Amadi, managing director, Crown Insurance Brokers and author of the book, said good policies of government have historically suffered, noting that even with the best of policies and implementation by government, individuals and employers have to make policies and implement them for retirement management to work.
“Retirement management translates to whole life planning and management that is rewarded with personal fulfillment without unnecessary burdens left for society before and at man’s transition to eternal life,” Amadi said.
According to him, “It is necessary to re-emphasise that retirement management success requires concerted efforts at the levels of the individual, employer and government, all of which are stakeholders”.
The author, who noted that the publication of the book, ‘Retirement In Nigeria (A Management Approach)’ was the first step in the fulfillment of these set objectives, added that the book emphasised the essentiality of retirement planning and the necessity of following the preplan when in retirement.
“The book is therefore, a vital tool for every individual, every employer of labour and for all arms of government and their agencies,” he said.
Amadi further called for a retirement training to be promoted by both governments and other organised private organisations far beyond its present afterthought status.
“From the academia we expect a gradual institutionalisation of retirement management either as an independent academic discipline or component of graduate programmes since it affects everyone,” the insurance expert said.
He further noted that once motion was initiated and sustained, retirement would come to most Nigerians as reward for years of honest labour rather than punishment.
Speaking in the same vein, Tope Smart, chairman of the occasion and group managing director, NEM Insurance Co Nig Plc, said the author, through the book, has tried to draw attention of the general public to the issue of retirement in Nigeria, adding that retirement in Nigeria is different from what obtains in other climes.
Smart commended the author for highlighting the issue of retirement in “this must-read book”, noting that it is very profound that all stakeholders should talk about the issue of retirement, such that “everyone can think through it and plan towards it”.
Pat Utomi, in his remarks, said the subject of retirement was the subject of engaging with the dignity of the human, noting that the day a person starts work is the day he/she should be thinking of retirement.
Utomi likened retirement to a change in form of activity, and not the end of life.
He however, pointed out that due to the lack of retirement plans put in place, some public servants tend to engage in corrupt practices.
According to Utomi, the more corruption rises in Nigeria, the poorer the citizens get because the resources Nigeria could have invested to grow her wealth like other forward-thinking countries have been looted by few people who found themselves in positions of authority.
He therefore, called for a wholesome view of the process of retirement management because not only does it raise the whole dignity process of human being, it creates prosperity in the later years and for the common good of all.
Alfred Adewale Martins, His Grace, the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, on his part said that the word retirement in Nigeria today was viewed ironically by workers because rather than workers seeing retirement as a thing of joy, the word indeed strikes a note of terror and desperation because the system does not have much to offer them in retirement.
“For most workers, retirement is not something to look forward to because the sad reality is that our society has not developed a robust enough plan to cater for the welfare of hardworking Nigerians who have spent their energy, youth and sometimes their life blood working to contribute to the development of society,” Adewale Martins said.
