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Putting Smiles On Pensioners' Faces
All Africa
June 25, 2010
Nigeria
The ugly spectacle of distraught, frail military pensioners parading the streets of Lagos and Abuja, sleeping under bridges or such other sub-human conditions, trying to get their pensions paid to them, may be over going by a recent government initiative, which should be made to cover all categories of pensioners.
These senior citizens, who gave their youthful years to the service of the fatherland had in the past, gone through untold pain and shame, all in the name of getting their dues paid.
Some who had become infirm were still required to travel long distances for seemingly endless verification exercises. Some had collapsed and died while waiting to be attended to, while yet others, unable to bear the agony of the endless wait and the shame of becoming literal beggars on the streets, had died without tasting the fruits of their labour.
Among the causes of this unfortunate state of affairs are corruption, poor funding, unreliable data base and insensitivity of government and its agents to the plight of the senior citizens.
With the press of the button of a computer, early in the week, President Goodluck Jonathan flagged off the payment of pension arrears of over N23 billion, covering seven years, to aboutt 115,000 military pensioners at a ceremony in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The automation of the process of verification of the pensioners, with the introduction of biometrics and other fraud preventing measures, would certainly minimise or eliminate fraud which had been pervasive in the system in the past.
It would also make the process of accessing their pensions much more stress free than in the past.
Apart from the arrears that they would be getting, President Jonathan also assured that in line with Section 173(3) of the Constitution, the pensions would, henceforth, "be reviewed every five years or together with any federal civil service salary reviews, whichever is earlier." This provision had, in the past, been observed in the breach.
Alongside this initiative, pensioners who retired from the federal public service before the introduction of the new pension scheme in 2004 are also being registered nationwide in an exercise that is expected to end on July 11.
Apart from putting smiles on the faces of these senior citizens, the initiatives would also restore hope in those who are still in service that they would not be abandoned to die on queues while waiting endlessly for their pensions.
The fear of such fates is believed to be part of what drives those in service into corrupt practices. They, therefore loot the treasury to try to feather their nests so that they would not retire depending solely on pensions which, before now, scarcely came as at when due.
Once those in service can be assured that they would get their pensions regularly, including the regular upward reviews that would take care of increases in cost of living, many of those who are not ordinarily criminally minded would refrain from corrupt practices and render selfless service to a country that they know has their interest at heart.
The current initiative also marks the begining of a major breakthrough in the care of the elderly, which, to a large extent, had been lacking in the country.
Once people retire knowing that they can have their pensions to fall back on, the rate of death of these senior citizens would be reduced, their living standard would also be enhanced.
Commendable as this programme is, however, the test of its success would be if it can endure and be continually improved upon. Those directly charged with the administration of military pensions must, thus, identify fully with the new reality and do everything to advance the initiative, as it would equally rekindle in military personnel the hope that they would not serve the country in vain and so do not have any cause to hijack government for the purpose of amassing wealth.
Government must, however, ensure that resources are always sufficient to pay these otherwise helpless elders because, sometimes, it is when the funds are not sufficient to go round that sharp practices begin. Of course, there must be close monitoring of the Pensions Board, to ensure that the officials do not constitute themselves into tin gods, exploiting the vulnerability of the pensioners.
Apart from ensuring that funds are sufficient for payment of the pensions, government must ensure that the infrastructural facilities, especially the equipment, necessary for the full implementation of the programme are available and regularly updated.
Obsolete technology or malfunctioning equipment can only frustrate both the officials of the Pensions Board and the pensioners.
Also, government must, as a matter of urgency, embark on a nationwide public enlightenment programme, to publicise this new pensions order so that all those affected would come forward to partake in the
programme.
We recommend, in view of the advantages of this initiative, that states and local governments as well as private sector employers should embrace it so that at every level, no pensioner would have cause to go through any form of indignity, pain or shame before receiving due rewards for their life time of service.
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