Zoe’s Flower The Foundation (ZFTF) in collaboration with Just Older Support Foundation (JOSF), has called on the Federal Government to initiate targeted policies that will prioritize the welfare of the Older Persons in Nigeria.
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The group made this call during events organized to celebrate the 2019 United Nations Older Persons Day in Abuja on Tuesday even as it stressed the need for definite legislation to promote the welfare of the senior citizens.
On December 14, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons as recorded in Resolution 45/106. The holiday was observed for the first time on October 1, 1991.
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Speaking, during the event, the founder of ZFTF, Uche Duru-Nwaotule, said that on a sustainable basis, civil society organisations will have to push for legislation that will put the plight of the older persons on the front burner. “In the long-term, backup legislation is the only sustainable option we have. If not, we will be missing it. If you listen to the guest speaker, she emphasised the need for deliberate government policy on the elderly,” she said.
Duru-Nwaotule, said further that “essentially, every 1st October is United Nations Older Persons Day. It is a day to celebrate the elderly in our society. “The UN theme for this year is “The Journey to Age Equality,” while our theme for this years’ celebration is “Promoting Right and Inclusion for the Elderly, she explained.
Nwaotule added that the two foundations decided to come together to provide a veritable platform for the promotion of the older person’s agenda.
“The Just Older Support Foundation and Zoe’s Flower Foundation came together to provide a platform for the promotion of certain ideals, including inclusion into access to certain rights in the society, in this case, inclusion into healthcare access.
“Often you find out that once our elderly ones retire on the attainment of age 60, they are severed from the health insurance package. But with today’s lecture by the NHIS Official, we have discovered that there are other options that older persons can explore in the wider society. That is what informed this gathering today”.
“It will shock you to know that almost a hundred percent of those that attended this event today, including myself didn’t know such contributory scheme exists,” she added.
Contributing, the founder of Just Older Support Foundation, Olateju Omodunni Olubanke said, the society has a lot to learn from older persons if they are respected. “Elders have a lot to share with you, their life experiences (good or bad), their 1st job, their first love, their mistakes, their discoveries, their success and much more.
“Elders feel honoured when you appreciate them and offer assistance to them. We have to help them when needed because they are old now and incapable to handle things on their own like before,” Olubanke emphasized.
The guest speaker at the occasion and founder of the African Foundation for Women In Nation Building, Bola Jaiyesinmi said, the elderly in the Nigerian society must be treated with dignity.
One of the senior citizens, 95 -year old PA Olusola Ajolore, in an interview with reporters, lamented lack of care for the elderly in Nigeria. He said, “A nation that is not taking care of its elderly is not likely to do well or prosper.
“The European Countries and America don’t carry fat Bible or Quran like we do in Nigeria but they put in practice this honouring father and mother.
“For instance, if you enter public transport, there are cases you don’t pay anything at all, while in other cases, you pay half rate.
“There are areas you will stay in the United States where there are particular days elders go shopping in particular places. These people in the West respect their parents, that account for why they are prospering but here in Nigeria, we don’t just care,” he said.
The event featured mentoring/presentation of awards, exercise at old age, lecture by National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), free medical checks, and health and nutritional tips.
