RE: Non-payment of pension: What is the death toll in Nigeria?

Strong reactions explicably trailed my piece, “Non-payment of pension: What is the death toll in Nigeria,” which was published in two parts in the last two weeks. Not only that the people are frustrated about the nonchalant attitude and flimsy excuse of both the state and federal governments for nonpayment of pension benefits, but also, they have grown weary of watching their loved ones die in destitution.
Perhaps, that is why any issue concerning pension conjures up strong emotions among people in Nigeria. It is rather sad that pensioners received no compassion from the government when they’re facing the vicissitudes of their lives, particularly during their last tumultuous days of depravity and agony.
Reacting to the story, Dr. Joseph Ebegbulem, Dept. of Political Science, University of Calabar, said, “This is another good piece; the implementation of the pension scheme in Nigeria is a catastrophic joke that has ushered many retirees into the grave.”
Dr. Ebegbulem continued, “The pension scheme is a worldwide device by sane governments in sane societies to make life comfortable for workers after retirement, but in Nigeria it is a nightmare for retirees.” “Senior citizens who retired decades ago wait endlessly under the scorching sun for their pension funds which never come,” Ebegbulem added with utter dismay. Disappointedly, Joseph concluded, “The scheme is a fraud in totality and a messenger of death to the ailing and fragile senior citizens of Nigeria.”
In another reaction, Prof. Charles Mambula argued, “The average pension plan in Nigeria is both inadequate and poorly dispatched to the beneficiaries.” “There are periods when people have missed out on payments for several months and nobody in government cared about their wellbeing.  Even when people are paid, the method of dispatching the money is very improper and underdeveloped. “Also there are times when pensioners had to wait in line for long hours, or saddle on their relatives backs while they sweat it out for their turns to pick up their payments; on certain occasions, it has even been reported that some people who could not endure the pain due to fatigue and painful wait, have sadly passed away in the process.”
He further advised, “The method of dispatching payment to pensioners needs to be improved.” He opined, “It is very unfair that pensioners, after their years of service, which took out a lot of energy from them, would experience pain at the time that they should be resting and recuperating from years of work.” “Pensioners deserve better treatment and appreciation of their contributions to the society,” he concluded.
Reacting to my piece, Chief Jerry Ken Ike began, “When someone is actively working, it is hoped that his employer is saving up its own part of the money for his retirement. Once one retires, he or she hopes to get a lump sum and a monthly income (pension) until he or she dies.” He continued, “When one retires, he hopes to enjoy a stress-free life devoid of worries. No one can achieve this kind of lifestyle without money. So many retirees have died because they could not get paid to sustain their lives.”
On a personal note, Chief Ike lamented, “My uncle retired for the past ten years now from the Imo State ministry of education but has been paid a dine by the government. Thank God, he has a brother that lives in London. Not everyone is that lucky. Another good friend of mine who retired and has been sick has not received anything from the government in the form of gratuity or pension. He has been depleting the money he saved up for his kids’ education to pay his hospital bills. Thank God again that his wife still works. It’s heartbreaking when you hear all these stories and the Government doesn’t seem to care.”
Chief Ike continued, “I am saddened that the government has failed to separate government funds and employees’ retirement funds. The employees’ retirement fund is an account where employers save up certain amount of money deducted from employees monthly or weekly pay. The employer can trade on this money at the stock to grow it. When one retires, the employer pulls the money and matches the money up to two or three times as the case may be depending on what you have in your retirement agreement.”
He concluded, “So, because Nigerian governments both state and federal levels failed to separate the government account from the employees’ retirement account, they tend to run into problems when the economy goes bad, thereby making them renege on their part of the agreement. This is now where the workers’ union comes into play. The workers’ unions in Nigeria have to force all employers in Nigeria both in the private and government sectors to separate their companies and government accounts from employees’ retirement account to make sure their members get duly paid when retired.”