• Upon retirement, several effects range from loss of social status, loss of benefits, privileges, relationships and loss of authority.
• Life after retirement is not only seen as boring, as you are always on your own, it is also humiliating.
• The retired person in Nigeria is seen as/or becomes a burden. Life after retirement from public office is not a good experience for many who may not have planned for it.
The overwhelming fear of life after retirement in Nigeria, especially for those in the public service, has made many do the unthinkable just to remain in active service even when ageing and the odds are against them. This is obviously because of the very “unpleasant” experiences of the lives of retirees in the country which has made many not look forward to being retired in the first place. Sadly, the situation seems not to have changed for the better rather, it is getting worst by the day.
I recall a few years ago, former Governor of Ekiti State, Chief Ayodele Fayose, held a valedictory dinner at the time he was about to leave office, for his officials, friends and well-wishers. That the then governor held a dinner party for his privileged friends is not a big deal and therefore should not attract any attention. But something very unique occurred on that day which requires one to make a few observations, as noted by a current affairs commentator, Steve Egbo: “Fayose, we all know, is one of the most powerful and rambunctious governors in the national limelight in the last few years. Noisy, ebullient, uncouth, arrogant, loquacious, boisterous, cantankerous, foul-mouthed, disdainful, demagogic, etc, Fayose represented everything a gentleman and a leader would aspire not to be. But Fayose was a governor, and governors are big men. In Nigeria, governors are supermen. Imperial monarchs. They wield enormous power and control huge resources. They are answerable to no one. They have the world in their pockets and the rest of us at their feet. Men and women fall over each other to seek their attention. To have a governor’s phone number is a mark of honour. To have him pick up your call or reply to your text message makes your day.
“But on the day, he held his valedictory dinner, Fayose’s dinner table was deserted. Nigerians watched in horror as this great son of “Omoluabi” struggled to hide his shame and embarrassment, his utter humiliation and rejection at the prospect of eating his sumptuous dinner all alone. For he has been deserted by the retinue of sycophants, court jesters, hangers-on and other men of dubious pedigree that hitherto buffed up his self-esteem that fired his temporary status. As I reflected on Fayose’s ‘Executive loneliness’ and physical pain, I saw again, very clearly, the futility and irrelevance of all these struggles, especially by most of the Nigerian politicians whose trade and stock is to amass/misappropriate public wealth with reckless abandon and impunity, and to the detriment of the populace. In Nigeria, politicians will do anything to acquire power. They are ready to kill, cheat, lie, defraud, betray, sell their souls to satan or engage in other beastly and despicable behaviours, just to acquire power and the appurtenances that go with it.
“However, Fayose exuded nothing but shame, loneliness and the anguished spirit at his said valedictory dinner. I remembered Reuben Abati’s lament: “the phone no longer rings”. I also remembered the admonitions of Magnus Abe to his friend, Rotimi Amechi: “someday, we will leave power or power will leave us”, just as I remember the iconic words of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe: “NO CONDITION IS PERMANENT.”
Also, a few years ago, a picture went viral on social and corporate media of famed actor and former governor of California, US, Arnold Schwarzenegger, showing him sleeping on the street under his famous bronze statue and sadly wrote: “How times have changed…” The reason he wrote the phrase was not only because he was old, but because when he was governor of California, he inaugurated a hotel with his statue. The Hotel Staff then told Arnold that “at any moment you can come and have a room reserved for you”. When Arnold stepped down as governor and went to the hotel, the administration there refused to give him a room arguing that he should pay for it, since they were in great demand. Arnold Schwarzenegger then brought a sleeping bag and stood underneath the said statue and explained what he wanted to convey: “When I was in an important position, they always complimented me, and when I lost this position, they forgot about me and did not keep to their promise. Do not trust your position or the amount of money you have, nor your power, nor your intelligence, it will not last.”
Those are strong and profound words of wisdom from a man who has come to realize that everything in this life is vanity upon vanity. And as such, people need to grow up/acquaint themselves, especially those in political power, who may be blinded by their present status and fringe benefits which attracts friends and relatives that will clog around them when the going is good but will abandon them when the chips are down. The fear of early retirement has made some falsify their age. Some have two age declarations. The real age and the official age in Nigeria. Once you retire, those who flock around you will vanish into the thin air. When you are passing, they will turn their face to the other side as if they don’t see you. The retired person in Nigeria is seen as/or becomes a burden. The festival gifts will all disappear. No more regular visits by friends and relatives because nothing to benefit from the relations except the retired person has viable shares/stake in some private companies. The former loyal staff under you when in office will no longer show any respect for one anymore. When you give notes to someone for a recommendation of one thing or the other, they will not act on it and they will give flimsy excuses. Life after retirement in Nigeria from public office is not a good experience for many.
It is known that, upon retirement, several effects ranging from loss of social status, loss of fringe benefits and privileges, loss of relationships and loss of authority are experienced by the retirees or those who leave an important public office. And we all know that no amount of age-falsification can stop the “inevitability of retirement/active service”, especially for the non-self-employed who are pinned to retirement age now 60/65 years which is the limit, except for Supreme Court Judges who are to retire at the age of 70 years. While a self-employed or a businessman works till he is tired and no longer fit before he retires, it is a different ball game for those employed in the public and private sector. It is also evident that one’s position, for example as an Executive Officer in an establishment or the Executive Arm of Government, often attracts a lot of “societal recognition” and privileges. When one is in such an Executive position, it presents a lot of “attached friends, so-called-loyalists” of the same status, where parties/get-togethers, exchange of gift items and felicitations during festive seasons and anniversaries, all become part of one’s lifestyle. But once a retiree leaves office and he/she is no longer occupying such an Executive position, all the attached friends will disappear, leaving one lonely. Such social isolation of retirees is wrong and should be condemned. The Nigerian society is one where people’s relationships with others are primarily driven by what they would gain/benefit from such relationships. Once you are active and doing well financially and positionally on the social status ladder, you attract friends like bees, most of whom are sycophants and praise singers. But once the chips are down as a result of retirement or leaving office, that person is isolated by the society and the same so-called-close-associates. That is why most retirees in Nigeria do not live long. Though, this is rather an unfortunate situation that our Nigerian society needs to change from such an attitude.
In Nigeria, life after retirement is not only seen as boring, as you are always on your own, it is also humiliating. Those who were loyal friends, and relatives will abandon that retiree because they can’t get any favour from him or her anymore. Many will not even return his/her missed calls, which they deliberately avoid. Some would even tell their gatekeepers that whenever the said retired person comes around, they should tell him or her that they are not around. The only people the retired persons have, that care for them, are their immediate families. In Europe/America the old retired people are made to retire to the old people’s homes built by their government and some corporate bodies. And those that are well to do, retire to their private homes often built in the countryside – outside the bustling cities.
A few years back, I presented pictures of Nigerian retirees in comparison with the European retirees in a similar write-up. By just glancing at the said pictures, one beholds and see the European retirees obviously happy and well catered/taken care of as they are often seen dining and feasting in their very comfortable government-built retiree homes. While on the other hand, a look at our Nigerian retirees are pictures of so much pain, grief, frustration, sadness, disappointment and anguish. The worst part is that they are often made to sit on bare floors and stand for long hours in queues just to wait for their retirement benefits as usual, which oftentimes will never get to them in their lifetimes.
How I wish, however, the examples presented above, particularly of former Ekiti State Governor – Fayose, would be a lesson to all of us, especially the powerful, the power-seekers, the attention seekers and the name droppers; that all of these, indeed life itself, is like a candle in the wind. It blooms, it flickers and it dies. Leaving behind an empty void and hollow darkness. In life, you will most times be treated how you treat others, no matter how insignificant such persons might be to you while you were enjoying the fringe benefits of your office. The Golden Rule: “Treat others the way you would want to be treated.” If Fayose knew that a day like what happened at his valedictory dinner would come, we are sure he would have done things differently while in office as a governor. But for him, it is too late. He can no longer turn back the hands of the clock. He can only look forward to a bleak future, one clouded by uncertainty, loneliness, trepidation, regrets, scorn and ridiculed by his fellow men.
While we urge the Federal Government of Nigeria, as well as State Governments and our lawmakers to address the problems daily faced by Nigerian retirees in the public and civil service, we also advise that to guide against the growing difficulties of life after retirement in a society with a poor social investment like Nigeria, would-be-retirees must, more than ever, embrace planned retirement initiatives. What that means is that people must not be so carefree to wait until retirement before facing the harsh realities of life to follow. Rather, the wisest thing is to begin to execute the planned retirement initiatives from their very active years in office.
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