Former Nigerian Senator, Dr. Eze Ajoku, has expressed regret for not taking advantage twelve years ago to speak for elderly people while in the Senate.
He made this remark on Tuesday 26th November 2019 at a two-day workshop organized jointly by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament and National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria.
The theme of the workshop was, “Human Rights Framework and the Situation of elderly people in Africa.”
“I do not want any of the lawmakers here to have same regrets.”
“I have tried to amend my regret that is why I am in the sub-regional Community Parliament to appeal to you all here to recognise the plight of older persons.”
He appealed to the lawmakers to become advocates for older persons, a class they will all join sooner or later.
According to the former Senator, when he joined an association of elderly persons in Nigeria, Coalition of Societies for the Rights of Older Persons, he realized it is necessary to get a legal framework to define the basic right and privileges of older persons.
“As an elderly state man and a former lawmaker, I cannot stand anywhere and say I have a right to anything.”
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“There is no legality to hold any person responsible for that.”
“ Our organisation has started with a draft bill that is on the floor of the Nigerian Senate and has gone through the first reading,” he disclosed.
He appealed to lawmakers from the ECOWAS Parliament to start creating the basic rights and privileges of older persons.
A draft of the bill in the Nigerian Senate, he said, would be made available for adoption in the sub-region.
“If you have these same rights you can move from Nigeria to Ghana and you would be accorded this same rights and privileges,” he said.
Dr. Eze Ajoku shared his experience with the sub-regional lawmakers that two weeks ago he went to the American embassy in Nigeria and spent only twenty-nine minutes to be served with more than three hundred people in a queue.
“When they noticed I was above seventy years, they jumped me and served me. This is civilization and that is what we seek for elderly persons.”
“Some of these rights are not difficult so my colleague lawmakers you have a major stake in this because you can help fight for older persons.”
“Members of Parliament play very important roles in everything that has to do with a Nation.”
“MPs are not aware of the plight of older persons. What I have found is disturbing and policymakers and MPs should not forget the fact that they will grow old,” he stated.
By Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Abuja
