Stakeholders among whom are traditional office holders, health professionals and academics, have decried the absence of proper geriatric care in Nigeria.
The stakeholders also called for the introduction of gerontology and geriatric care as distinct courses of study in Nigerian educational institutions.
They made these declarations on Thursday in Ibadan at a programme organised by University of Third Age Nigeria with the theme ‘Educational gerontology in Africa now and in the future: Domiciling gerontology as a course of study in Nigerian/ African universities’.
The event was attended by the Abese Olubadan of Ibadanland, Senior Chief Lekan Alabi, Professor Francois Vellas, Professor Sidicd Camara and President of the institution, Professor Afolabi Israel.
A medical doctor, Dr Olamiji Ajanaku, while addressing the gathering, said Nigeria has only few geriatric centers which cannot take care of the number of senior citizens in the country.
“We don’t have enough geriatric centers in Nigeria. We are ignoring the old people who have worked for this country. We don’t have enough facilities on geriatric care. We need to incorporate the teaching of gerontology and geriatric care in our institutions. I was to ensure that our older persons have care to cater for them.
“I want to encourage our academic and professionals to build confidence. The youths should know that the older persons are not expired. They are repository of knowledge and wisdom. We need to see them not as past tense but as a loving libraries,” Ajanaku said.
A professor of Transpersonal Psychology and Education, at El-Roi London University, Professor Oluwafemi Esan noted that being an aged person does not make one irrelevant.
“Being an old person doesn’t make you irrelevant. The old people have the knowledge of the past. They are not useless. They are also important. We need their knowledge. They are the custodian of knowledge,” Esan said.
Professor Afolabi Israel noted that many aged persons are suffering because of the absence of proper training for those who will care for them.
“We are organising this programme in order to ensure that we have gerontology and geriatric care as a course of study in our universities. We must domesticate it in Nigeria and Africa. We should have it like courses like Nursing and Medicine,” he stated.
Stakeholders decry lack of proper care for senior citizens in Nigeria
