The Urhobo Leadership Forum has said it is interested in collaborating with the National Senior Citizens Center (NSCC) in order to promote the welfare of elderly Nigerians, irrespective of tribe or religion.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to NSCC office in Abuja, Wednesday, the president of the forum and retired ace presenter at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Chief Dr Peter Igho, said the forum is made up of prominent Nigerians, who retired from public service and interested in recruiting young people to bridge inter generational gap.
He said: “It is unfortunate that in Nigeria, once you retire from service, you are forgotten. Retired workers are quickly discarded. That’s why some lose hope and die. This is unlike the western world, especially the UK, where retirees are accorded utmost respect. They are given privileges, including riding free in buses.
“Nevertheless, we are glad to have the NSCC, which is a safe refuge for many senior citizens. Also, it is sad that we blame the youth for everything, including Yahoo Yahoo, insecurity and other vices. We don’t ever ask them what they want. We don’t always appreciate them or praise them for whatever they do right. Instead, we blame them for everything wrong.
“Therefore, we want to reward and celebrate the young ones. We want to find a meeting point between what we do in the forum and the NSCC. Membership of this forum is open to people who have distinguished themselves in different fields. Though we are retired, we recruit young people in their 40s and 50s.
“The Urhobo Leadership Forum is a force to reckon with because of our national spread. We are not parochial. We don’t focus on only Urhobo issues. We interact and deal with national issues. We are planning a major summit in Abuja and already have partners indicating interest. We want to collaborate with NSCC to make Nigeria what we want it to be. We want to collaborate with NSCC on what the center is doing for senior citizens.”
In her response, the Director General of NSCC, Dr Emem Omokaro, said the center will be more than willing to partner with the forum as the welfare of senior citizens is the primary purpose of its establishment.
“Continuous engagement is life. We believe in partnership. Aging is a broad spectrum and we always like to improve. We want to make it inter generational. You won’t die with your knowledge and experiences. You need to pass them on. It is a brain trust to bring persons from different backgrounds and exchange ideas,” she said.
