It’s such a pity that I have been deprived of my pension again this December. It really hurts most at this time of the year.
Although I am based in London and many people would be wondering why worry about your pension in Nigeria, which many would consider pittance compared to what I could possibly lay claims to where I am domiciled.
Some people who possibly know me, a little more closely could be saying, with all that God has blessed me with, what’s the big deal about pension in Nigeria.
The point though is that I have a story to tell, complaints to make about what I can simply term the wickedness of the Nigerian system.
When people like Kemi Badenoch bare their mind genuinely and sincerely about their plight in Nigeria, at some point in time, some people just want to knock them, saying with where she is today, she should only be helping to polish the tarnished image of our dear country.
Many people, especially those who have and are embezzling money in Nigeria, just don’t want anything that could directly or indirectly prick their conscience concerning the dirt and level of depravity in Nigeria. They don’t seem to understand how certain situations hurt some other people, especially because of those people’s personal perception.
In my case I don’t care about whatever anyone says because I am very publicly complaining about how I am being punished by a country that I have served so conscientiously.
I started seriously serving Nigeria, after my higher school certificate programme which I completed in 1968, that’s 56 years ago. I was employed by the ministry of health in Oyo State and worked as a trainee Laboratory Technician at the Adeoyo State Hospital. I just hope people understand how important Laboratory Technology is in the health care delivery arrangement.
I had to cross over to the Teaching sector (why I crossed over is too long a story for this piece). I taught at a new grammar school in Ibadan, where I was also housemaster and sports master, contributing to shaping the future of younger Nigerians then, who are now holding key positions in Nigeria.
It was at that point that I ‘converted’ from being a science student and switched to the humanities(another story too long to be fully told at this point). It was my conversion to the humanities that invariably resulted in getting a degree in the humanities at the Obafemi Awolowo University, IleIfe in 1975.
While I was an undergraduate, I did all my vacation jobs at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria in Ibadan, where I really started contributing more to the development of Nigeria through public enlightenment of the masses of our people.
I later served the country through the NYSC scheme as I taught at Kagoro Secondary School, in Kaduna State. It was a lot of hardwork and sacrifice for Nigeria. While we were serving the Nation, those who were supposed to be coordinating the programme were busy embezzling money that would have made the programme the envy of the whole world- they started destroying the laudable idea right from inception. We should have had a better deal as youth corpers. We were told some of them were jailed at some point. However we also have authentic information that they never really served a jail term. This is a major problem in Nigeria. Nobody really gets properly punished for misdemeanours.
The descendants of those who messed up the NYSC scheme, who carry the same DNA, I believe, are behind my pension problems.
My service to and sacrifice for Nigeria however continued as I served the Country working for the the Nigeria Television Authority, Ibadan, for many years. There were countless dangerous adventures to avail the people of what was going on. We had ‘clashes’ with government functionaries, in our determination to tell the truth. I covered very dangerous assignments, including the Koko Toxic dump. I travelled at unholy hours to ensure the public got the best. Journalism is a high risk venture particularly in Nigeria. We sacrificed all on the platter of professionalism.
I transferred my services to the Obafemi Awolowo University, where I retired in the year 2000. My assignment at the OAU Ife was fraught with all sorts of hazards, ‘air, land and sea attacks’, all because of the desire to ensure a high standard for tertiary education in Nigeria. I was designated Head of Corporate Services and I retired from public service there in the year 2000.
I started drawing my pension in 2001, thereabout and all went well until sometime in 2020 when I suddenly discovered my pension was no longer being paid. I have been living in England for several years before 2020.
What I got told was that my pension was stopped because I didn’t present myself for an I am alive exercise I was never aware of, and I had frantically tried to get my pension reinstated since then. All to no avail.
In June this year, I had to take a trip to Nigeria, as I was reliably informed that only showing up at PTAD’s office and going through the rigours of ‘verification’ could get my pension reinstated. I did all that was required, I have a receipt to confirm the whole process is done.
It’s now six months after the verification exercise and no indication of my pension reinstatement.
Why should it take over six months to get the livelihood of anybody, not to say someone advanced in age reinstated-when all that’s required has been done.
In essence I have not drawn/received my pension for over four years now.
My pension in Nigeria has over time, been the fund I use to support others.
Some people who were beneficiaries, at some point were wondering why the support stopped in some cases, or got reduced as the case may be.
Some people who know I am a Pastor, believe a pastor based in London will have an endless flow of tithe and offering flowing into their account, but I don’t run that kind of ministry- but even if I did that’s not a reason not to press for what’s rightfully mine.
It’s actually more pathetic to learn that there are several, if not thousands of retirees who are in the same predicament. For many of them it’s their only source of income, as paltry as it is in many cases. Quite a number of pensioners, I learnt, have died due to economic reasons.
What is more disturbing, whether it’s true or not is to learn that the situation with pension in Nigeria, is simply an aspect of the endemic corruption in the Country. Corruption is surely, no doubt, a pandemic in Nigeria!
It is widely believed, true or false, that some government officials are busy feeding fat on our deliberately withheld pension entitlements.
While the festive seasons would be a major trigger of pain for elderly people dispossessed of their entitlement, one cannot but wonder on a regular basis why Nigeria has become a place where many people are allowed to die unnecessarily.
This also raises the issue of the gross inadequacy of what’s paid millions of pensioners as monthly entitlement. I know people who receive twelve thousand Naira and even less monthly.
I will have to end this piece on a personal note by asking -how can I get help for my pension reactivation?
All this notwithstanding, I wish all Nigerians a merry Christmas.
May the reason for the season, Jesus the Christ, continue to give REAL HOPE to millions going through all sorts of episodes of undeserved embarrassment.
Femi Idowu is a London based freelance Journalist.
He was one time Bureau Chief, NTA News, Ibadan Bureau.
Sent from my iPhone
