Tag: senior citizens

  • Former FIIRO boss advocates creation of senior citizens commission

    Former FIIRO boss advocates creation of senior citizens commission

    Former Board member at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) Chief (Dr.) Ajayi Nicholas Adekunle Chidiebere, has called for the establishment of a ministry or commission for the nation’s senior citizens.

    Chidiebere made this declaration while receiving an award from the Senior Citizens Association of Nigeria (SCAN), Ejigbo chapter, for his selfless services to humanity and support for the elderly, during the 2024 International Day of Older Persons commemorated at the Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA).

    Justifying the need for the initiative, he said the ministry for the aged would cater to their needs, similar to ministries for youths and women’s affairs.

    He cited examples from other countries where such ministries have been effective in providing equitable aged care systems.

    The National Senior Citizens Centre Act of 2017 has not been effective in supporting Nigeria’s elderly, Ajayi noted.

    He vowed to sponsor a bill to the National Assembly to create a ministry for senior citizens.

    SCAN’s National President, Elder Joseph Kayode Taiwo, and First National Secretary, Elder Mrs. Christiana Akitoye, also emphasised the need for respect and care for senior citizens.

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    The host Chairman, Ejigbo SCAN, Pastor Amos Johnson, said the association in Ejigbo has created an opportunity and a rendezvous for elderly persons in the area to come out and interact among themselves, play such games as draft, who, ludo, etc, as well as relish in their old time memories.

    The association has drawn up a ten-point agenda to present to the government, including free medical care and transportation.

    One of the awardees, Rev. Oritsenye Ochuko Enimigin, aligned with Ajayi’s call for a ministry for the elderly and encouraged youths to respect their elders.

    Managing Director of Adejumo Tennis Club, Alhaji Bashir Adejumo received an award and emphasized the importance of teaching children to respect elders.

    Nine persons were awarded as ambassadors, and six received awards as patrons and matron.

    Those awarded are, Engr. Ganiyu Abiodun Johnson, Hon. Chief Ajayi Nicholas Adekunle Chidiebere, Rev. Oritseneye Ochuko Enemigin, Pastor Mrs. Stella Olaide Akhimei and Evangelist John Bankole Agunsoye JP. Others are Alhaji Bashir Akinola Adejumo, Hon. Kehinde Oladapo Bamigbetan, Alh. Nurudeen Olalekan Okuleye and Elder Ezekiel Ayanyinka Onilude.

  • Expert advises senior citizens on healthy living

    FoR the elderly to remain healthy, they should eat moderately, avoid smoking and excessive drinking, a United Kingdom(UK)-based health therapist, Mrs. Racheal Eniola Israel, has said.

    Mrs. Israel spoke at the wellness programme for the elderly, organised by the Grassroots Health Initiative (GHI), a United Kingdom-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) at  its Ifako-Ijaiye Area Office, Iju, Lagos.

    She advised them to  exercise regulary.

    Mrs Israel,  who was the GHI Chief Executive Officer, said the event became necessary because the elderly were prone to some illnesses, such as hypertension, diabetes and rheumatism, which could be managed before they become endemic.

    The group, which also carried out high blood pressure screening on the elderly, said it brought the outreach to area to enlighten them on healthy living, especially during the harmattan.

    She said: “Hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol are preventable and can be managed,’’ adding that anyone  who has high blood pressure must take his drugs regularly. You don’t stop using your drugs, if you are diagnosed of high blood pressure, because if it overshoots, it could lead to rupture of blood vessels, thereby leading to stroke.”

    She said those with high BP should reduce their salt and alcohol intake, eat fruits and vegetables daily, and exercise regularly.

    The council Chairman Oloruntoba Oke said the elderly needs regular health checkups to  manage their health.

    Oke, represented by his deputy, Mr Usman Amzat, said care for the elderly is one of the six cardinal programmes of the government, adding that the outreach would be organised monthly.

    The council’s medical officer Dr Fausat Sanni commended the NGO for bringing the campaign to the council.

    She said: “At 60 and above, most of the organs and cells in our bodies are aging and degenerating and may no longer be working optimally, as such they may be predisposed to illnesses which could be life threatening if not well managed.”

    The council’s Supervisory Councillor Babatunde Akanbi added that  the elderly would be better informed on healthy living.

    One of the beneficiaries Mr Samuel Adeyemi said theprogramme had helped him to know his health status and what drugs to take.

     

     

  • Senior citizens care centre takes off

    Walking into the lounge of Stripes Home and Leisure Place for Geriatrics, Egbeda, a Lagos suburb, The Nation saw gaily dressed senior citizens –     both males and females – engaged in various games – ludo, ayo, weaving and knitting while others were chatting.

    The spacious airy lounge was well- decorated, with indigenous decors, with a touch of modern home decor like throw pillows, slipcovers, wall art and throw blankets.

    Explaining the rationale behind the setting up the centre, Mrs Foluke Akinbi, a retired matron of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, said it was her passion for nursing as a care-giving profession inspired her.

    Mrs Akinbi while conducting The Nation around the rooms gave another reason why she built the centre. She said: “A retiree like me still have more zeal and energy to dispense, and I wanted to go into something exciting, and beneficial to the society. So, when the inspiration came in 2016, I just accepted same, and pursued it, and today, I am happy because these old people pray for me, and their children and relatives that bring them are happy, fulfilled and satisfied that they are doing the right thing for their parents. Many older people are healthy and active, but their children are building careers and do not have the quality time again for these parents.”

    Mrs Akinbi said the need to provide ad-hoc, short- or long-term day care for the elderly was another reason why she set up the centre.

    She said, for instance, resistance to elderly care by a senior citizen could be triggered by some factors.

    “Firstly, you have to remember that if your loved one is in need of elderly care, then they are at a stage of their lives when they have to cope with their own challenges – for example physical loss, mental loss, or loss of independence. This can be difficult for them to accept, and they could also be facing the challenge that they might think it is a sign of weakness to accept elderly care. They may feel angry at having to accept elderly care, guilty or confused as they might not understand they need help. Some feel guilty that they are ‘troubling’ their children with unnecessary spending.

    “When providing elderly care, there are a number of considerations you have to bear in mind. As we get older we are increasing the likelihood of getting ill, and less tolerant leaving us susceptible to stress.This means that elderly care needs to plan for the possibility of illness from environmental toxins, infections, accidents, and stress.

    “Stripe Care is committed to providing tailored care in accordance to best practice. We always ensure that all our clients stay in an environment that is comfortable, safe and clean with the greatest dignity, support and respect possible awarded to them by appropriately qualified and trained staff. We value the client’s physical, social, spiritual and psychological well-being and I always strive to become familiar with, retain, share and enjoy the individual personhood.

    “I have a geriatric physician that comes in to check their Bp, and conduct the basic routine checks. We also ensure those with arthritis, or dental, eye challenges get specialists attend to them. We ensure we give them foods that are devoid of injurious recipes for their age. And the dietician in the house ensures locally sourced ingredients are used in food preparation. As many that have clinically advised diets, are also accorded the diets,” explained Mrs Akinbi.

    Mrs Akinbi explained that she converted her home into the centre  when she realised that many workers found it hard to cater for their old parents. “Some are left with teenagers who had no knowledge of geriatric care. Some are left to watch home videos, others are depressed and even wished for death. But, with me here, the stories have changed for a lot of them. And in return, I am happy too.”

    On services rendered at the centre, Mrs Akinbi said: “Leisure Club, short-term stay; long-term stay; Dementia and Alzheimer’s care are part of the services we rendered here. Older people have often lost touch with friends and families and find themselves isolated and lonely. Stripes Care can help people to build up their confidence again by providing a listening ear and encouraging the person to get out and about to rediscover old interests or find new friends.

    “Short-term stay does not only provide an opportunity for the person staying with us to receive specialist support in a warm, safe and friendly environment, but can also enjoy a well-earned rest. Short term stay can be particularly useful when unexpected events occur, such as after a hospital stay, or bereavement of an aged-spouse.

    “Stripes Care offers quality care for older people that promote independence alongside professional standards of healthcare, hygiene, nutrition and security. Each resident has an individual care plan. These detail the residents needs, likes and dislikes. Stripes Care has specialists in dementia care and recognise a person with dementia is, first and foremost, a person – unique and with a rich history of experiences, abilities, skills, knowledge, preferences, desires and personality. And all these are at an affordable charge.

    “We do not stop at that, as we have a 24-hour Helpline, with friendly customer service staff for all questions. We are open for discussions.’’

  • Rage of senior citizens

    Rage of senior citizens

    Pensioners are unhappy with the Federal Government. They are not paid promptly by the National Pension Commission (PenCom); interest is not paid on accrued rights held at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) since the commencement of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS); and calculation of pension entitlement is opaque, among others, Omobola Tolu-Kusimo reports.

    Thousands of pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) have berated the Federal Government through the National Pension Commission (PenCom) for delayed payment, short payment and non payment of interest in accrued rights.

    They are also worried that the calculation of their pension is shrouded in secrecy (covering the scale of pension payment) and there is lack of care for the senior citizens.

    They also accused PenCom of non payment of interest on their accrued rights held at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) since the commencement of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

    The angry pensioners said the Federal Government has failed them despite serving the country meritoriously in their active years.

    Chairman, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Association of Contributory Pensioners, Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo in a statement titled, “Pencom is on Sabbatical while Contributory Pensioners Suffers” accused PenCom of lack of communication.

    He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun to release funds so they can receive their pension entitlements, noting that pensioners who retired in 2017 are yet to be paid.

    He further appealed to the National Assembly to extend their oversight functions to the welfare of contributory pensioners by looking into the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 as repealed by PRA 2014 and make necessary amendment to the Act on all the shortcomings observed.

    He said: “As at today, no government ministries, agencies or we the contributory pensioners know how PenCom arrived at the amount of accrued pension rights paid to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) on our behalf. Whenever we made enquires on the formula used, we were told by PenCom that they worked on the information provided by our employers, but we were never told how they arrived at our entitlements. Why should the almighty PenCom not be bothered on the mode of operations?

    “There is also the issue of none actualisation of 33 per cent payment and accrued 15 per cent upward review of payment to contributory pensioners, despite the fact that the old pension scheme from which retirees who retired on or before June 30,2007 were enjoying all the benefits. This is in spite of the fact that no law, rules or regulations says that contributory pensioners should not enjoy same. In the same vein, Section 173 (3) of our constitution states that pensioners shall be reviewed every 5 years or together with any federal civil service salary review, whichever is earlier. The upward review of contributory pensioners payment is still a dream since the commencement and implementation in year 2004 while several of the would-be pensioners had died.

    “PenCom has also been short changing us on payment of entitlement. While some ministries, agencies and departments had discovered wrong presentations to PenCom and had acknowledged the mistakes and made corrections themselves, yet Pencom refused to act on such corrections; while we continue to lament on wrong entitlement-payments. There is lack of pro-activeness nor care on our complaints and observations on the shortcomings in the system and total lack of interest in our affairs. As at today, several pensioners are yet to receive their entitlements almost a year after retirement from service.”

    Appealing to Buhari and Mrs Adeosun, the pensioners said: “We seriously appeal to the Federal Government of Nigeria to recall PenCom from its sabbatical on the affairs of contributory pensioners as the welfare of all retired civil servants were one of the major responsibility of the Government. We also appeal to NASS to extend their over-site functions to our welfare since 2004.

    “It is our hope that PenCom shall be alive to her responsibilities on the affairs and our welfare since the job had been lifted from each Federal Government employers of labour to them and thereby resolved to work in harmony with the contributory pensioners associations. We call on the Commission to return from its sabbatical as many of pensioners die daily without the privilege to enjoy the benefit of their labour. We call on all the good citizens to rise against the injustice on pensioners in Nigeria.

    “The nonchalant attitude of PenCom to its mandate its refusal to take any positive step in resolving the problems, while the officials held themselves incommunicado, since no ministry, department or agencies has the right to ask PenCom on its responsibilities towards their former employers,” he said.

    He recalled that the Association of Contributory Pensioners of Nigeria held its first national symposium at Press Centre, Radio House, Garki, Abuja and NTA Association of Contributory Pensioners (NTA-ACPEN) mobilised its members and travelled from Lagos as delegates to be able to meet ‘Almighty PenCom’, which was given prominent position at the forum., He regretted that of all the MDAs invited, only PenCom turned her back on the contributory pensioners in the country.

    President, Interim Association of Contributory Pension Scheme Pensioners

    Comrade Matthew Shittu on his part said the latest problem facing retirees under the CPS are not only about the non payment of their retirement benefits as and when due, but about secrecy surrounding what were eventually paid to retirees.

    “PENCOM has decided to pay whatever amount the fund could pay to retirees and not what were due to retirees. This is because of scarcity of funds, as shown in the release of N18 Billion out of N50Billion appropriated to pay the balance of 2015 and 2016 retirees,

    “Before now, retirees were paid their final benefits under the Contributions Pension Scheme from 3 three clear sources which include the contributions with PFAs, accrued rights that were actuarially determined in 2004 and kept as bonds in the Central Bank of Nigeria; and acrued interests on the accrued rights since 2004 till the time of retirement. This is suppose to boost the total money payable to retirees to reduce the effect of inflation on the accrued rights.

    “Today, PenCom is only paying the contribution to PFA and the accrued rights kept in Central Bank of Nigeria since 2004 without the accrued interests since 2004. It is even a crime for PenCom to be silent over it as if pensioners had been paid in full. We are forwarding this clarification to you believing that PenCom officials may not positively respond to you as it is the norms today in Nigeria. But we may eventually drag PenCom to Court to address this illegality and act of inhumanity to man”, he added.

  • Cellgevity, Senior Citizens and their peculiar challenges (2)

    As reported in the first part of this series, CELLGEVITY is inching its way to the centre-stage of Senior Citizen medicine. There, like the foundation cream of a woman’s multi-level facial make-up, it would be the foundation medicine in the treatment of virtually all diseases. The reason is clear…diseases occur because the immune system is weaker than the germs or other intruders which confront it; the master antioxidant, GLUTATHIONE, which should empower the immune system and destroy the attackers, has lost steam or is not available for defence in the right quantum; so far, Cellgevity would appear to be the only nutritional supplement or conventional medicine which enables the body to produce vast amounts of Glutathione, strengthen the immune system, protect all the cells against germs and their other enemies, guarantee a reservoir of energy in the cells and keep them youthful for longer than they would otherwise have kept at lower levels of glutathione supply.

    To understand these scenarios, an understanding of the perennial “wars” going on in our bodies is necessary.

    The stage for these wars is set when, the body becomes acidic from the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink, when we undergo more stress than we can stand, when our emotions are negative, when we are exposed to dangerous chemicals, when we cannot sleep well, when we are psychologically disturbed, when we are depressed…Inside our cells, live micro-organisms called microzymas. In acidosis, they devolve into bacteria and other germs, yeast, fungi and mold. If the liver and the cells produce enough glutathione, these germs are destroyed, and we do not know any “war” has taken place. Glutathione also helps us to “disarm” heavy metals such as lead and cadmium which poison the cells and organs, when they accumulate without serious checks.

    Glutathione is considered the master antioxidant because, of the antioxidants, it is the most abundant and most effective in the body, and, besides, it is about the only antioxidant which recycles itself and other antioxidants.

    In the first part of the series, it was shown that glutathione tissue levels drop as we age and that stress, microbial overload, insomnia, disease and other factors which engage glutathione in multiple “wars” may deplete its stocks to the point that a shortage may arise which may cause the body’s defences to be overrun by its “attackers”. Mother Nature provides not only that glutathione be recycleable but to also be manufactured from three of the amino acids…Glycine, Glutamic acid and Cysteine. Of the three, Cysteine would appear to be the most critical because it is easily affected by stomach acid and may not reach its destination in the liver and cells “unharmed”.

    So, since the discovery of glutathione in 1889 by British biochemist Sir Fredrick Gowland Hopkins (1861-1947), researchers have not been able to satisfactorily solve this problem. Nor even since about 30 years ago when scientists gained more understanding of the functions of glutathione has a solution been found, even with the emergence in 1968 of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) which the World Health Organisation (WHO) places on its Essential Medicines List. By 2012, for example, no fewer than 100, 775 medical articles on glutathione had been published. A summary of these is attempted by www.immunehealthscience.com when it answers the question…what does glutathione do in BODIES system? It says: “GSH is at the heart of all immune functions and low GSH levels are seen in many diseases such as AIDS, advanced diabetes and cancers. Raising and maintaining GSH levels can help minimise the risk of diseases.

    “Glutathione exists in reduced (GSH) and oxidised (GSSG) states. In healthy cells and tissues, more than 90 percent of the total glutathione is in the reduced form (GSH) and less than 10 percent exists in the oxidised form (GSSG). An increase GSSG-to-GSH ratio is considered indicative of oxidative stress. The ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidised glutathione within cells is often used scientifically as a measure of cellular toxicity.”

     

    Acetaminophen

    This is the professional or chemical name of popular pain killer in Nigeria, which goes by many brand names such as Panadol, Paracetamol, Tylenol, Mapap. There are many analgesics which contain Acetaminophen. Ever since I learned that Acetaminophen may accumulate in the liver and cause havoc there, especially when it is abused as many people do in Nigeria when they experience one type of pain or the other, I turned my back on it. In this regard, a study by the University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand, is interesting. It sought to determine the glutathione (GSH) blood, plasma and red blood levels of elderly patients over 70 years old who took Paracetamol repeatedly for pain. According to the website clinicaltrials.gov: “Paracetamol is one of the most widely used analgesics in the world, especially for chronic pains in the elderly. The metabolism of paracetamol occurs in the liver and involves the Glutamly, Cysteinly and Glycine. (Glutathione (GSH)) medications such as Paracetamol, may reduce the reserves of GSH because it is used for detoxification and elimination. It is well known that the concentration of GSH decrease after the administration of paracetamol in humans and animals. Aging is associated with decreased concentration of GSH in cells and tissues. In the elderly, a decrease of GSH in plasma or red blood cells is associated with decreased physical and mental health. We wish here to determine in subjects aged over 70years, the blood concentration of glutathione (GSH) and urinary loss of cysteine in the detoxification of Paracetamol when taking Paracetamol treatment repeatedly.”

    With such a finding, by not only this hospital but by several others, it is surprising that hospital patients in Nigeria who take Paracetamol repeatedly are not advised about the implications to their health, or helped to replenish their Glutathione blood, cell and tissue levels, by adding, for example N-acetylcysteine (NAC) to their prescriptions. It is common knowledge abroad among medical people that NAC taken intravenously, inhaled as vapour or taken by mouth as a dietary supplement is used to raise glutathione levels under panadol poisoning and to detoxify panadol toxins.

     

    The brain

    Although it is only about two percent of the body’s weight, the adult human brain may consume as much as 20 percent of the body’s oxygen expenditure. It is not surprising, therefore, that the brain generates a high rate of oxygen free radicals, in particular Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) and Super Oxide (SO) which require large amounts of glutathione to destroy. Compared with the kidneys and the liver, the brain is under more assault from free radicals because it is a fatty organ and fats are easily damaged in the absence of antioxidant protection for them. This may account for why people under severe stress suffer from brain fogging and why the elderly, sometimes with shrunken brains and/or lost brain neurons, suffer from memory loss or dementia as lost adult brain cells are irreplaceable. The evidence of a compromised Glutathione system in the brain is probably Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s or other neurological problems. The foregoing underscores the need to build up the Glutathione stores in the body, so that every part of it is well protected against those factors which challenge its health and well-being.

     

    Energy

    Many people tire easily. Co-Enzyme Q10 (CoQ10) or its more biologically available variant, UBIQUINOL, has been shown to help. The answer to an energy crisis lies in the mitochondria. These are sites or structures inside every cell where energy is produced. It is like an electricity generator. The more CoQ10 or Ubiquinol a person consumes in the diet or as a food supplement, the more the chances of more mitochondria springing up in the cell to produce more energy. But in the process of producing energy in the cell, more free radicals are generated which may damage the mitochondria and its DNA. Not only that, other components of the cell such as proteins and fats may be damaged as well. In the cell, Glutathione is made, as stated, from Glutamate, Cysteine and Glycine. Glutathione, as Glutathione S-Transferase (GST) binds glutathione to Xenobiotics, that is cancer-causing agents, drugs, pollutants, pesticides, hydrocarbons and food additives. Once bound, these can be excreted from the cell and the body. Apart from making the work environment conducive for the cell to make energy, Glutathione makes energy which can be stored as Adinosinetriphosphate (ATP) and for use when needed. Low energy levels correlate with low Glutathione levels.

     

    The eye healer?

    Many studies suggest that high Glutathione levels in the eye support the prevention of cataracts, glaucoma, retinal diseases and blindness caused by diabetes. It should be of interest to glaucoma patients that glutathione has been found to detoxify the inner chambers of the eye, the Vitreous humor, and promote fluid outflow from the front chamber, the Aqueous humor. Glutathione is plentiful in the lens of the eye to maintain its transparency in conjunction with other factors working for this and other common purposes. Sulphur rich foods promote glutathione levels. These include, but are not limited to, garlic, onion, asparagus, and glutathione-rich foods such as broccoli, grapefruit, potato, watermelon and raw vegetables such as spinach and kale. Sulphur-rich food supplements such as Alpha Lipoic Acid and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) also help to boost glutathione levels. Vitamin C helps to regenerate glutathione levels in all tissues. But many people take far too little of it even in food supplements.

     

    Mildred Frank’s story

    According to www.chiro.org:

    “Many people with deteriorating vision are seeing nutritional therapy as a successful alternative to conventional medicine or surgery. An example is Mildred Frank of Ormond Beach, Fla., who experienced a dramatic improvement in her vision that was not the result of lasers or lens implants.Her vision improvement began with a can of kale.

    “Frank had two retinal disorders: macular degeneration, which is the loss of central vision, and retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which initially manifests as night blindness and progresses to a permanently constricted field of vision. Frank’s friend said kale might help resolve her eye troubles, so she began eating a can of cooked kale a day. Within weeks she noticed some improvement in her vision.

    “Although anecdotal, Frank’s success with nutritional therapy isn’t unprecedented. The journal Optometry recently reported on 16 night-blind patients with retinitis pigmentosa who took 40 mg/day lutein for nine weeks and 20 mg/day for 17 additional weeks. Ten of the participants also took 500 mg/day docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an essential component of retinal light-receptor cells, along with a vitamin B complex and digestive enzymes for the entire 26-week study. Although the research was a preliminary pilot study, with no placebo controls, improvements reportedly began two to four weeks after supplementation started and plateaued at six to 14 weeks. Visual acuity gains were four times greater in blue-eyed people compared to those with dark eyes.

    “Vision researchers recognise that lutein and zeaxanthin—plant pigments plentiful in collards, kale, mustard greens and spinach—play important roles in maintaining a healthy visual system. Lutein supplements have been available since 1995; commercially, it is extracted from marigold flower petals. A February 2001 study between Johns Hopkins University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong indicates a new rich source of zeaxanthin with traces of lutein is an extract of the berry of Fructus Lycii (Lycium barbarum).

    “Lutein and zeaxanthin work because they act like sunglass filters to protect the retina. The retina, about the size of a postage stamp, contains millions of light receptor cells. Normal, healthy retinas exhibit a yellow spot in their visual centre, the macula. Lutein and zeaxanthin are concentrated in the central retina, overlying the macula, a pinpoint-wide zone where colour vision and central vision is produced. Yellow pigmentation of the central retina of animals disappears when lutein and zeaxanthin pigments are removed from the diet.

    “Both types of carotenoids—the carotenes such as beta-carotene and the xanthophylls such as lutein and zeaxanthin—are essential to maintain human vision. Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A in the liver and then travels to the retina where it is converted into rhodopsin, the night-vision chemical. Intense sunlight exposure can bleach out rhodopsin from the night-vision cells (called rods) during the day and prolong visual adaptation at dusk.

    “Foods such as cantaloupe, carrots, sweet potato, yams and yellow squash are rich in beta-carotene but provide no lutein. Dark-green leafy vegetables such as collards, kale, mustard greens and spinach are rich sources of beta-carotene as well as lutein and zeaxanthin. Blue-eyed individuals need more lutein and zeaxanthin because they have less of these protective pigments in their retinas.

    “Although kale therapy is far from mainstream, researchers are observing connections between nutrition and macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma.”

     

    Dr. Gutman

    Dr. Jimmy Gutman tells us in www.immunehealthscience.com:

    “To be more specific about the articles I have researched to date, raising GSH has been CLINICALLY proven to be beneficial to people afflicted with AIDS, Alzheimer’s, asthma, burns, all CANCERS, cataract, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, auto-immune disorders, diseases of liver, kidneys, lungs, heart and digestive system, flukes, fibromyalgia, glaucoma (open angles only, close angles not affected), hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, physical trauma, skin disorders, seizures, tumours and more. To state something is beneficial to your health is one thing, but to prove it clinically is to give it validity. Do not under appreciate the profound meaning of this statement…raising your GSH level is CLINICALLY PROVEN TO BE BENEFICIAL for a wide range of health concerns. The research continues at an amazing pace. If you want to know what research has been done for your particular condition, go to PubMed and simply type in your condition. It would list the abstract of related articles. If you want to know what influence GSH plays in your condition, type in “glutathione and your condition” then hit search. I was amazed at what has been researched.”

     

    Foundation medicine

    It is such a description of the functions of Glutathione as these which recommends it to me as a foundation medicine when the doctor prescribes an antibiotic or an analgesic or even a steroidal drug. We know the prescription is a double-edged sword. It will not only perform the task for which it is employed besides, it would leave the body more toxic than it found it. This would drain body of its Glutathione store. Thus, a regular user of these drugs is more likely to see his or her doctor on a regular basis, as a possible Glutathione deficiency may be sparking off one trouble after another. Wouldn’t it be better, then, to prescribe a Glutathione formula along with every prescription? I believe it would.

     

    A long search

    Between 1889 and 2017 is a whopping 128 years. In this period, so much was learned about Glutathione, but so little about how to make the body produce it abundantly. The Glutathione food supplements sold world-wide until the emergence of NAC 50 years ago hardly did the job. Some of the ones sold today contain inorganic substances or were pharmaceutical caricatures of the living substances which make up the Glutathione magic matrix. The stumbling block of many of these efforts was CYSTEINE. Stomach acid always altered its form so that, by the time it arrived in the cell along with Glutamic acid and Glycine, it was no longer CYSTEINE perse and therefore, was inert in the tripartite chain. But the mountain was not insurmountable.

     

    Enter Cellgevity

    One of the efforts to subdue this mountain bore fruit a few years ago in dietary supplement CELLGEVITY. As mentioned in the first part of this series, this name comes from CELL and LONGEVITY. It was developed over 45 years by Professor Herbert T. Nagasawa, Ph.D., Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Toxicology at the University of Minnesota and marketed by MAX INTERNATIONAL, three of whose products are currently selling in Nigeria.

    Cellgevity, the star product, is based on what MAX INTERNATIONAL calls RIBOCEINE technology. Again, Riboceine comes from RIBOS and CYSTEINE. Since Cysteine in the Glutamate – Cysteine – Glycine matrix is transformable before its absorption, it has to be dressed up, figuratively speaking, like an astronaut on the moon whose apparel protects him from cosmic rays. The apparel for CYSTEINE in this case is RIBOS. So, Ribos takes the Glutamate – Cysteine – Glycine matrix through the digestive tract and delivers it into the bloodstream. From there, the tripartite amino acid molecule finds its way to the liver and to the cells. Ribos is not lost. It goes into the cell to participate in the production of energy. And this is why Cellgevity is at the same time a glutathione booster and an energy producer which Max International says is three hundred times more effective at raising Glutathione levels than N-acetylcysteine (NAC).

  • Cellgevity, Senior Citizens and their peculiar challenges (1)

    Among Nigeria’s Senior Citizens, CELLGEVITY is a new health defence word. The word stands for cell and longevity or longevity of the cell. In other words…extended lifespan. Thus, CELLGEVITY excites aging people who want remission for one health challenge or the other. I thought about it on November 29, that is two Wednesdays ago, as the health movement world-wide observed yet another SENIOR CITIZEN’S DAY. But I did not feel inwardly driven well enough to consider this event for a column until when, last Saturday, one of my acquaintances since the 1970s, who, like me, is a Senior Citizen, telephoned me to announce that a mutual acquaintance of ours, himself also a Senior Citizen now, had a stroke overnight. Then, I thought of the many health challenges a Senior Citizen, male or female, may encounter as the twilight years approach, and some of the many natural remedies available in Nature’s pharmacy or in proprietary forms which may help them overcome these nuances which may occur anywhere between the head and the toes. It is not out of place, therefore, to begin this exploration from the rave of the moment…CELLGEVITY.

     

    Cellgevity

    This product has to do with making the body’s master antioxidant most abundant in the body. To understand the role of this master antioxidant, GLUTATHIONE, in the body, we need a few minutes in the classroom. Mother Nature put antioxidants in our bodies to destroy free radicals which we inhale with air, ingest with food and water, or produce in our bodies when we convert food to energy and other things, or when our immune system, soldiers of our bodies, wage war on disease germs with these destructive molecules, or these germs hurl them at the immune defences, or when heavy metals which many of us do not deliberately remove from our bodies run riot against us.

    Modern anti-aging research is showing us that we can live much, much longer than we now live, free of disease and pain, if we have enough antioxidants in our bodys to neutralise these free radicals. These free radicals have been implicated in more than 200 diseases, many of them degenerative. They include cancer, asthma, glaucoma, diabetes and many more. Free radicals are unstable molecules which punch holes in our cells to steal electrons from them to stabilise themselves. As these cells are bombarded, as though they were planets bombarded by meteorites, their cellular walls break and their contents leak. They struggle to seal the leaks, produce little or no energy, become weak, vulnerable to disease germs, become diseased, prematurely aged and die. Imagine a cell hit about 100,000 times in one day! Somewhere else, I likened this scenario to a family whose residence is bombarded everyday for one month by armed robber assaults. Every member of that family would become psychically distressed, depressed and may even become insomniac or insane. Ultimately, the family would flee the apartment which would become inhabitable thereafter.

    As stated earlier, Mother Nature put some antioxidants into our defence systems to prevent free radicals from cutting our lives short. Anti-aging researchers have proven the value of antioxidants in this regard by feeding some animals with more antioxidants than they normally obtain in their regular forage and watching their lifespans grow, sometimes, by 100 percent. From this, it was concluded than man could live up to 150 years if, by the present knowledge, his diet was well stuffed with antioxidants.

    Thus, attempts have been made before now to improve the amounts of GLUTATHIONE, the master antioxidant, in the body. For Glutathione levels in the cells begin to decline and even fall remarkably from about the age of 40. Incidentally, this is about when many people begin to complain about one health problem or the other, which has led to the joke that after age 40, man enters into the second half of a football match of earthly existence, likening the creaks and cranks of this time to the tiredness of footballers in the second half of a football match.

    In the past, Glutathione was manufactured and sold as a dietary supplement. But it was observed that little or none of it reached the cell. For the digestive system interfered with it before it could be absorbed. Thus, the major option available for obtaining Glutathione was by consuming foods rich in all the amino acids, some of which are the components of Glutathione, in the hope that Mother Nature would make Glutathione out of them inside our bodies. But the fact that many people still came down with diseases showed that they weren’t producing enough Glutathione, or stress, anxiety, disease, heavy metals et.c were consuming large chunks of this master antioxidant, thereby creating a deficiency of it.

     

    Max Glutathione

    This company broke through the barrier with a new technology which is believed to have solved the old problems and makes Glutathione readily available in the cells, ascending to the literature review of CELLGEVITY, its prime Glutathione product. A crucial element in the production of Glutathione is the substance L-Cysteine. In other proprietary Glutathione products, it is so transformed by stomach acid that it is not easily available to make Glutathione in the liver for distribution to the cells. But Max International rapped it up in substances which protect it against stomach acid. The technology is called RiboCeine. It is said to solder together 13 ingredients which the cells require to produce Glutathione. These 13 ingredients are (1) Vitamin C (2) Broccoli (3) Turmeric Root Extract (4) Resveratrol (5) Alpha Lipoic Acid (6) Curcumin (7) Grape Seed Extract (8) Milk thistle (9) Selenium (10) Black pepper (11) Cordyceps (12) Aloe leaf (13) Quercetin.

    Incidentally, these are food supplements we consume on their own everyday. It has probably taken RiboCeine other ways and means technology to make them get the cell to produce an abundance of Glutathione. In the package, Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), a powerful antioxidant active in both fluid and fat media of cells, fights off oxidative stress and recycles other antioxidants. ALA and Glutathione synergically protect fluid (water) and fat parts of the cell against free radical attack and damage. Broccoli Seed Extract boosts antioxidant activity, prevents DNA damage, detoxifies the cell of toxins and even carcinogens (cancer causing substances). Turmeric provides Curcumin, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, activate enzymes which support detoxification. Resveratrol is well known in the French paradox story. The paradox is that French people eat a lot of fat but hardly get fat. This is because they drink a lot of red wine from red grapes, the skin of which is rich in Resveratrol, a fat dissolving and fat-burning substance. Resveratrol protects the heart and the blood vessels, a plausible reason why French people, according to studies, suffer less from heart and blood vessel related problems.

    Grape Seed Extract is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial. It is about 50 times more powerful as an antioxidant than Vitamin A and E. Vitamin C is well known for its immune boosting activity and for supporting the production of collagen which gives form to all bodily structures. It supports wound healing and, at about 3,000mg daily, helps natural fluid drainage in the eye, thereby helpful in glaucoma, according to two-times Nobel Prize winner Dr. Linus Pauling, arguably the father of modern Vitamin C research. Quercetin, a bioflavonoid, is anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immune boosting.

    Some Senior Citizens I know who take Cellgevity say it has improved their energy potential apart from improving their well-being. One reader of this column said it was introduced to her by a two-times former minister who said the product took away his crutches.

    Arthritis is an inflammatory condition. As an anti-inflammatory, Glutathione can rescue the joint from arthritic damage. So much about Cellgevity.

     

    The Seniors

    I believe the Senior Citizen is a person not below age 50. The experience peculiar and general ailments. We can undertake a quick excursion from head to toe.

     

    Memory loss

    A Senior Citizen may easily forget names and directions. Some may keep the car or house key in their pocket and search for it hours on end, until someone helps out. They forget dates, too, missing appointments. I remember a couple dressed in party dress who arrived at the home of a friend of theirs one full week before his birthday party! What about spellings? They may be awful in this. On television, some oldies fail to balance their tenses, and are no longer smart in their word power. When it comes to this, there is need to protect the brain with improved blood circulation for more oxygen delivery and waste evacuation, apart from giving it antioxidant protection. We would have to return to Cellgevity for more glutathione supplies to the brain. Additionally, Ginkgo biloba is indispensable for micro blood circulation in the brain. Cayenne and Ginkgo biloba promote blood circulation to the brain. Lecithin ensures choline and inositol supply to the nerves of the brain. Grape Seed Extract, which is one of the few substances to easily cross the Blood/Brain Barrier, is an antioxidant and antimicrobial agent good for brain health. And Alpha Lipoic Acid? It has already been mentioned that it is one of the few antioxidants which function simultaneously in the fluid (water) and fat content of cells. The brain has a lot of fat content. We cannot depart from the brain station without mentioning Vitamin A and E, both antioxidants for fat media, and Lion’s Mane Mushroom which helps the brain to produce Nerve Growth Hormone or Nerve Growth Factor. This supports nerve energy flow in the nerves to keep the brain in particular young and active. The subject of a Nobel Prize Award to Italian Dr. Rita Levi Montalcini, who discovered that it helps in the regeneration of damaged nerves, it has kept this woman going well into her 104th year on earth…she still writes and read!

     

    Insomnia

    Recently, I was told of an 83-year-old woman who had sleep disturbances. What helped her were the proprietary product Calmful sleep and Chamomile capsules. Calmful sleep is a variant of Natural Calm, another proprietary formula. They are both Magnesium-leased but the quality of Magnesium which the body easily assimilates. There are many other recipes that can do the job. These may include Lecithin and Mag phos from the cell or tissue salts category. There is Bell’s Sleep and Relax tea, Melatonin, Ginkgo (if blood circulation to the brain is poor).

     

    Headaches

    There may be many potential causes. The blood may be thick due to dehydration. Water should be drunk about 30 minutes before a meal to provide resource for the production of Pancreatic enzymes which aid digestion in the intestine. Two hours after a meal or thereabout, water should be drunk for a flushing and dilution of absorbed nutrients. If there is no water for dilution, the blood may be so thick that, osmotically, it sucks up water from surrounding tissue, dehydrating them. In the brain, this causes the pain of headache. Indigestion may throw up gasses which, traveling in the blood to the brain, may disturb the brain cells. Digestive enzymes and fiber help out. I often recommend Pawpaw leaf juice or powder. The juice or powder contains enzymes which digest fats, carbohydrates and proteins. The leaf or powder also helps to stop bleeding by supporting the production of platelet cells in the bone marrow, which should be good news for people about to undergo chemotherapy or those going through it. Sometimes, I eat pawpaw fruit, pawpaw seed and take some pawpaw leaf powder as a meal. The effect on my bowels is tremendous.

    Ringing in ears

    This may present also as noises. The nerves can be calmed with Magnesium and Chamomile which blood circulation is improved using Cayenne or Alligator pepper.

    Blurry vision

    It is important to consult an ophthalmologist to determine the roots of any problem. Dr. William Bates shows in his book BETTER SIGHT WITHOUT GLASSES that not all cases of lens or refractive problems require eye glasses. This book teaches eye exercises that can be performed to improve vision, where the causes of trouble are not degenerative questions. Sometimes, eye problems are simply the outcome of nutritional deficiencies. Some oldies lack Vitamin A. Some people take the oil-soluble Vitamin A, but their bodies cannot easily convert it to the usable form. Some convert well but do not have enough Zinc in their bodies. Without enough Zinc in the eye, Vitamin A is not well utilised by the eye. Being someone who does not easily convert beta carotene to Vitamin A, I get round this by adding Zinc to my water-soluble (solubilized) Vitamin A. The eyes need about 18 antioxidants which include Bilberry (to protect the retina), Zinc, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vitamin B-complex, Selenium, Lutein, Zeazanthin, Astazanthin et.c. Some of them are combined in proprietary supplements such as Eye Max, Eye Max plus, Maxi Vision, Eye Promise, Optic Nerve Formula, Vision Saver, Bell’s 20/20 Vision (Vision Day and Night), Forever Vision et.c. It is important to check labels for dosages and array of ingredients to reduce eye tension, good daily dosages of Vitamin C are advised along the ophthalmologist’s prescriptions which may include Bitter Kola eye drops developed by ophthalmologist Professor Bukunola Adefule-Oshitelu. There is a huge role Cellgevity can play in vision health. I am not surprise, therefore by stories that it helped some cases of Cataract. The antioxidants in Cellgevity are well indicated for the eyes. I was diagnosed with glaucoma about 22years ago and, since then, I have not failed on regular bases to take many, if not all, of the ingredients which makeup cellgevity. For people who ask about cataracts, CATARACT CLEAR and VISION SAVER from Nature’s Gift for Life may be worth a try.

    The mouth

    Far too many questions than can be addressed here are sometimes involved in Senior Citizen health. The mouth may be smelling. The gums may be swollen and bleeding. The teeth may be loose in their sockets and falling off. Oral antibiotics help. These include Bitter Leaf juice, Basil juice, Pawpaw Leaf juice, Garlic, Onion, Clove oil, Oregano oil spray, Apple Cider Vinegar mouth wash, Cinnamon, Banana peel and Orange peel mouth cleaning. Activated Charcoal cleaning and Grape Seed Extract mouth rinses.

    The throat

    Swallowing difficulties should be promptly investigated. A growth or a lump may be developing which may result in a cancer if care is not taken. Phlegm buildup should not be treated lightly. Ditto tickling sensations and even unproductive cough. If coughing persists despite the use of medicines, the doctor should be consulted. Such coughs may be warning signals that the heart is enlarging or has enlarged. In this case, it pumps blood to the lungs for oxygenation but is unable to pump it out. Meanwhile, irritated, the lungs try to get rid of the irritant. This condition is known as Congestive Heart Failure. (For more information about this and other heart problems which yield to home remedies, you may wish to visit www.olufemikusa.com for the posts titled…How Healthy are your heart and blood vessels?). Sometimes, a throat problem may affect the wind pipes, resulting in upper respiratory infections. Sometimes while it may be worse, as in bronchiestasis where the wind pipes have lost motion capacity. Golden Seal Root may help clear infections as should Colloidal Silver, Oregano oil and many more. It should be noted, however, that nasal and throat infections which persist for more than 3months and tend to defile antibacterial medication may not be caused by bacteria but by fungi. This was the finding in a 2010 study which MAYO CLINIC carried out with thousands of patients.

    The stomach

    This is the domain of peptic ulcer, esophageal reflux, hiatal hernia, indigestion and, sometimes, the origin of bad breadth. If foods are miscombined, this may lead to indigestion. A miscombination may involve eating fruits over solid meal as is the culture of three-course meal. Fruits take about 30 minutes to digest, complex carbohydrates about two hours and proteins, such as beans and meat, much longer. Therefore, fruits, already digested, may decompose into acids while awaiting the digestion of more complex foods. This may cause acidosis, heartburn and such irritation to the stomach as may end up in peptic ulcer. Decomposition and fermentation of foods trapped in the stomach may cause gas buildup, some of which is evacuated through the mouth by way of burping and belching. The smell may be foul. In this type of stomach germs may buildup such as Helicobacter pylori, which is believed to cause peptic ulcer and found at the sites of ulcers. If this germ travel up the throat, they can cause infections and damage their. The situation may be worsened by the fact that many Seniors leave Sedentary lives. Digestive enzymes help Seniors a lot because, in any case, their bodies may not be producing enough of them and, despite this, they may be eating voluminously. I find that the proprietary product ACIDIC STOMACH AND ALKALINE BALANCE help this condition. Ditto Apple Cider Vinegar and Slippery elm.

    • To be continued.
  • Rivers: Senior citizens at elderly home beg for medical attention

    Rivers: Senior citizens at elderly home beg for medical attention

    Senior citizens at the Home for the Elderly in Port Harcourt Friday begged the government and well-meaning individuals and organizations for medical attention to aide their failing health conditions.

    The elderly persons made this call during a health outreach packaged by the Nigerian Medical Association, (NMA) in the state as part of its programmes to commemorate the Rivers Golden Jubilee Celebration.

    Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, the Matron of the Home for Elderly in Port Harcourt, Reverend-Sister MaryJane Rafael Agwubosi, thanked the body for the intervention, describing it as timely.

    Agwubosi stated that the home lost two of its inmates last week to ailment and called on well-meaning individuals to join the NMA to give more medical attention to the senior citizens in the home.

    She said: “When we got the message that NMA is coming to see us we were so happy. They have come at the time we need them most. We thank them for this gesture.

    “Here we have a lot of challenges especially medical issues. Last week we lost two of our people here to sickness. When we sent them to the hospital they died because attention was not given to them.

    “We need a lot of help. We need social workers. We need attention of the government and the public. Some time we do not have money to pay workers, but we do not lack food here. We need help to get more workers and to be able to pay them.”

    Meanwhile, the Chairman of NMA in the state, Dr. Dantoye Alasia stressed the need for good medical attention to be given to elderly people and disclosed that over 60 persons benefited from the programme.

    Alasai said: “We planned this comprehensive medical outreach for the elderly people in this place to cover eye care, provision of drugs, cardiac and ECG, blood sugar test, malaria, and comprehensive heart evaluation. There is also a mental health evaluation station.

    “The society is changing and the care for the elderly is not what it used to be, people no more care for the elderly ones. It is a wakeup call to the fact that there is no limit to what people can do to save the situation of elderly people.”

     

  • ‘Senior citizens need support’

    What do you do with the elderly? Look on with disinterest or mock their frailty and wait for them to pass on?

    No, said former governor of Anambra State Peter Obi. They need your support.

    Speaking during a visit to the Old People’s Home run by the Immaculate Heart of Mary’s Sisters at Nkpor, Anambra State, Mr Obi described support for such causes as authentic Christian charity.

    Speaking further, Obi said that one of the joys of growing old is for those one cared for in his youth to also care for one in his old age with understanding and love.

    The former governor commended the sisters for their efforts, calling on the youth to emulate such noble pursuits by taking care of their aged ones.

    Receiving a N2 million cheque on behalf of the Congregation, the Mother General, Rev. Sr Mary Claude Oguh thanked Obi for his love for humanity, which she said the former governor has demonstrated at every opportunity both as governor and as private person.

    Sr. Mary Claude said that their Congregation, in the Catholic tradition, would keep on attending to the spiritual and material needs of the people as much as they could.

  • Not the way to treat senior citizens

    WANT to gauge a country’s progress? Look at how it treats its young and the elderly. Looking after the former indicates a plan and hope for the future, while taking good care of the latter could show how that country appreciates the labours and sacrifices of people who were once young, and how it will respond to those aspiring to grow old. To both categories, Nigeria has been pretty unfair, through the years. The country has failed to harness the skills and energies of youth, and utterly overlooked the contributions of the aged as though they didn’t exist. It is a dangerous path to tread.

    The result has been horrifying. The lack of a coherent plan for the youths has left them at the mercy of unscrupulous politicians who turn them into roughnecks who hound and hurt opponents during elections. In the Niger Delta, at least in the first phase of militancy in the second half of 2000, some of these thugs easily morphed into such effective agitators and kidnappers, among other things, that it took the insightful pleas and negotiations of the late President Musa Yar’Adua to get them to lay down their arms, at a huge financial cost to taxpayers.

    In the Southeast, at roughly the same period, otherwise useful energies of youth were invested in abduction, a nefarious industry that fetched its practitioners some mind-boggling, dirty millions and kept many frightened easterners away from their homeland. It has also been argued that even the terror group Boko Haram, ideological as it may be, equally tapped into the critical mass of unengaged and disillusioned youths to launch and sustain its bloodthirsty campaign.

    Not every jobless youth will embrace vice, it must be said, but many of those who have no appetite for crime have slipped out of the country, at unspeakable risk to themselves; some have been robbed, abused or died on the way, some held by the authorities at their destinations. The old, on the other hand, spent and some certainly ill, have nowhere to run, even if they wanted. At 70, 80 and above, there is little thirst or prospect for escape.

    So to the pension board they turn, but there is little respite there. In most of the federation’s states, retirees are owed several months, in some, years, of pension arrears. This has reduced them to a sad, griping, protesting segment of the population, incapable of finding any joy in life. In word and deed, they convey a picture of being unloved and abandoned after giving all to their country.

    Theirs is a chilling twilight narrative of broken promises; government not remitting anything to pension fund administrators, and PFAs not being able to pay retirees; disjointed payments; fraudsters posing as pension agents; excruciating verification processes; worsening terminal diseases, death, and more frustrations for next of kin. In Bayelsa State, as at the first week of June, retirees were griping over eight months’ arrears of pensions. At a verification exercise organised by the state’s pension board, three senior citizens reportedly slumped.

    Barely three months earlier they had taken their anguish to Government House in Yenagoa, the state capital, where some pro-administration youths promptly chased them away, according to reports. In neighbouring Delta State pensioners were for years locked in a hide-and-seek with the government especially that of Emmanuel Uduaghan. Retirees spoke of government not remitting the deductions to the PFA, which in turn told the pensioners that there was no cash to pay them. At a point pension arrears in the state ran up to N16b, triggering protests.

    Mid 2010 Dr Uduaghan was said to have promised to accelerate the processes and payments. Two years later nothing was accelerated and no payments made. A certain Pa Uwadiogbu, a name that speaks to the mysteries of life, typifies the lot of many pensioners across the country. Employed in the federal civil service as a driver, he ferried dignitaries about, even drove a representative of Queen Elizabeth on October 1, 1960, and later Chief Dennis Osadebey, premier of the Midwestern Region. Pa Uwadiogbu has been in pains and in penury.

    His appeals for his pension to be paid have mostly gone unheeded. Worse, his waist has been in a bad shape, with a piece of metal fixed there by the medics, to be removed after five years. The metal was said to be still in his waist, six years after, leaving him in more pains. Dr Uduaghan’s successor, Ifeanyi Okowa sought to calm agitated nerves, telling the pensioners about six months after taking office that they need not suffer, and that he inherited about N33b in cash arrears. He promised to pay “some percentage of the money owed the retirees”.

    By the end of this April, the state pensioners, frail as they were, risked a 5km protest-walk to the gate of Government House, Asaba, after being unable to table their grief before the House of Assembly. They were protesting their two years pension arrears. In Lagos, where more efforts seem have been made to end retirees’ grief than is the case elsewhere, three pensioners slumped during a July verification exercise, and were reportedly rushed into a waiting ambulance.

    They were later discharged, thank goodness. Penultimate week, Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole said he owed about four years of pension arrears after clearing a 10-year backlog left by his predecessors. This speaks of a culture of criminal callousness to the old. In Benue State, two retirees keeled over on August 3 while protesting their plight. The youth have age and energy on their side. The old have nothing to hang on to, not even their paltry monthly pensions. This is frightening to the young who aspire to attain the age when all hair turns white. Such a country is backward, lacks a core and can hardly hold anything dear. Surely, there must be a better way to treat seniors.

  • Ambode and senior citizens

    In a short spell, the Lagos State Governor AkinwunmiAmbode has developed a distinct public persona. Far from hugging the headlines, he walks the talk by implementing policies within the nexus of the social contract which guides the relationships between the government and those who put them into office. A key interpretation of the social contract here is of course the protection of rights. A good example of the protection of rights is the recent release of N11 billion to pay off the pension liabilities to our deserving senior citizens which have been in arrears since 2010 to date.

    Recently, the Head Of Service, Folashade Jaji said the state governor had directed that the sum should be used to pay the pension liabilities of the Lagos State Government mainstream retirees as well as the retirees in local governments.

    Discharging the obligations of the state government to its senior citizens has to be put in a framework. For as callous as it sounds, the government of Lagos State actually had a get-out clause through which it could have dodged its obligations. Lagos State has not benefitted from the ‘bailout’ and could have used this fact as an excuse. On the contrary, in a lot of states, the headline has centred around the issue of unions, senior citizens and the populace issuing ultimatums to the state governments about their pension arrears. It is really quite commendable for this reason to see Lagos State swimming against the tide in a sea of despair.

    And sadly it has been a sea of despair in most of the states. One does not have to try that hard to find an excuse for the non-discharge of obligations within Nigeria’s skewed “quasi-federalism” whereby the state governments are fiscally constricted. Deciding not to use this excuse, Ambode on the contrary, has decided in a brutal fiscal climate to clear the obligations to the senior citizens. Paying of eleven or two billion naira here is therefore not meant to just grab the headlines.

    It is part of a clear strategy to discharge the obligations to the senior citizens by paying the pension liabilities of Lagos State government mainstream retirees and the retirees in local government areas. Ambode’s intervention in clearing the backlog is commendable. This is because Nigeria has no real social safety nets and the hitherto entrenched community of helpers through the extended family network has broken down.

    Senior citizens as pensioners in reality constitute a vulnerable strata that can easily slip into absolute poverty without government intervention. A key index here is that they spend much of their money on food and are therefore highly susceptible to a rise in food prices. This is why the Ambode intervention has a direct bearing on the larger economic picture.

    Headline-hugging cannot replace a clear strategy, as Mrs Jaji very sensibly pointed out: “The development is part of efforts put in place by the present administration to find a holistic solution to the issue of payment of pension entitlements to retirees under the pay-as-you-go pension scheme which was discontinued in April 2007, as well as outstanding accrued pension rights due to retirees under the contributory pension scheme.” This is a component of a short or immediate term plan for pension payments to ministries, departments, agencies and parastatals, including local government areas and SUBEB which will be made monthly commencing from August 2016.

    To further walk the talk, Jaji was emphatic that the efforts being made by the Lagos State government were the outcome of painstaking deliberations by the public service pensions office, the Lagos State Pensions Commission, the Head of Service and the governor to “reduce, if not totally clear” the outstanding liabilities due to retirees of the Lagos State public sector.

    Once again emphasis was placed on Governor Ambode’s determination to ensure that entitlements are promptly paid to all those who had retired from the service. The Head of Service revealed that the governor has also promised that the retirees will henceforth enjoy free health services in all state hospitals as arrangements to provide them with retirees identification cards for presentation at the hospitals. A key factor here is that the Lagos State government obviously believes that the pensioners should be accorded their due respect by the pension fund administrators and annuity service providers as the money being paid to them is their right not a privilege. It is worth reiterating that a total number of 676 retirees collected their bond certificates worth a total sum of 2.4 billion naira last month. This shows that the Ambode government believes that a social safety net has to be constructed for senior citizens.

    Governor Ambode can begin to construct very much needed social safety nets because he has anchored his economic template on fiscal rectitude and restructuring the cost of the machinery of government which has already admirably led to cost savings of N3 billion a month. We expect to see more in this direction whereby cost savings from waste, inefficiency and duplication are redirected towards the building of infrastructure and the construction of social safety nets. This is vitally needed in a burgeoning mega metropolis.

    What Ambode is doing is very much within the progressive tradition. The progressive position in Nigeria has since the 1950’s had a central thrust, which is to attain macro- economic stability as the pathway to social justice. This school of thought is credited with the tremendous social advances made particularly in the western region in that era. This is important, for we have since become so fixated on “growth without development” that we have moved away from the central tenancy of government in a democracy which is operated within a social contract.

    Governor Ambode is clearly re-balancing this, starting with catering to the needs of our senior citizens. The treatment of the senior citizens as a former United States of America Vice President Hubert Humphrey once observed accurately mirrors the level of civilisation of a society. We must therefore thank Governor Ambode for his civilising mission and urge others to follow suit.

    Government can only call upon the citizens to do its own part when it is demonstrably carrying out its own part of the bargain. Ambode is unambiguously doing this by discharging his obligations to the senior citizens in a civilised way which ensures that they will live their retirement with dignity, in security and contentment. In return there is a gain to the government, which means in large measure that the public service will be reinvigorated. There will be greater commitment in the full knowledge that they will not be abandoned in their old age. The rest of society will also know that they are dealing with a caring government. It is a win/win situation.

     

    • Badmus, an economist lives in Gbagada, Lagos