Over 20,000 jobs are now available in care-giving both local and international with the recent assent of President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Senior Citizens Centre Act, 2018.
The President, in January, during one of the Federal Executive Council meetings had signed into law the National Senior Citizens Center Act, 2018, and the Legislative Houses (Power and Privileges) Act, 2018.
The National Senior Citizens Centre Act, 2018, establishes the National Senior Citizens Centre in Nigeria to cater for the needs of senior citizens.
On this development and the opportunity it presents for job creation, president of Ghalp Caregivers Academy, a non-governmental organisation, Dr. David Olalekan, said the act has further opened Nigerians to global opportunities and careers in care-giving both in Nigeria and outside the country.
Olalekan, who was speaking at a programme for Nigerians who were interested in taking up the job of care-giving outside the country, noted that the Senior Citizens Act would further reduce the level of unemployment in the country.
“With the signing of the bill, which now makes it mandatory for our senior citizens to be catered for just like we have abroad, there is need for special hands in those centres to be created. That alone means over 20,000 jobs would be created annually locally,” he said.
He advised that the Nigeria Medical Association should endeavour to work with trained Caregivers instead of auxiliary nurses.
The president of Ghalp Academy, who is presently training some care-givers for international jobs, said that more unemployed Nigerians or those who love caring for the elderly would get jobs as each local government may have to get at least two homes for their elderly.
“In the United States of America, 20,000 caregivers are provided yearly and over 40,000 presently work as caregivers,” he said.
He explained that Nigerians could actually earn forex through her people working abroad as they would be remitting money back to the country.
Olalekan advised Nigerians working abroad or those about to go outside the country for caregiving or any other official jobs, to always consider themselves as ambassadors of the country.
“I believe that we should have a mind of coming back to build ou r country. Some years back, Ethiopia could not boast of anything, but the country today is one of the best in the continent through what its citizens who went abroad and returned have been able to do,” he said.