FG has better deal for older citizens  Omokaro

D-G, National Senior Citizens Centre, Emem Omokaro

By Cecilia Ologunagba

The Director-General of the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC), Dr Emem Omokaro, says there is a better deal for older citizens in Nigeria with the implementation of Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA).

Omokaro, who gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, said Nigeria had also developed effective national policies on ageing.

According to her, MIPPA is a policy instrument that brings a holistic perspective on Ageing.

It brings multi sectoral approach to ageing, lifting it from that small pocket of welfare and fragmented approach to a comprehensive approach.

There is a better deal for older citizens in Nigeria with MIPAA, because Nigeria has the necessary institutional frameworks that should be in place to enable interventions to better the lives of older persons.

There are frameworks in place to give them a life of dignity, security and opportunity for them to continue to participate and then healthcare has been put in place by this present administration.

There is a Policy on Ageing, that means challenges of older persons had been articulated, and strategic interventions had been recommended.

That policy on Ageing now has been operationalised in other words, being broken down in practically into plan of activities, and then objectives, justification, and timelines, the director general said.

She said that Nigeria had also developed a strategic roadmap to help navigate ageing, noting that it is complicated because all the persons and issues of older persons sit as statutory mandates in many other ministries.

So, we have developed a 10-year strategic roadmap that tells us exactly what we are going to do and how we are going to do and who we are going to do it with.

So, Nigeria has come out of that web of not knowing what to do and we are not overwhelmed, because we have clearly mapped out our plans.

Apart from that, we have now integrated this plan of activities into the National Development Plan of the country because without being integrated into the national Development Plan, there will not be budget line for the Centre, she told NAN.

Omokaro said that the NSCC was established by a legislation and mandated to identify the needs of older persons and cater for those needs.

She said that Centre has been able to clarify its vision, its mission, its commitment, identify priority areas and has developed programmes and was implementing them.

For instance, under income security, there are two pathways; mainstream into already existing income security programmes which was not done before, and older people were left out.

The National Directorate of Employment never gave older persons loans but now theyre giving loans (to them) because we mainstreamed older people.

In addition, Omokaro said the Centre had mainstreamed older people into Social Safety Nets programme of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

She said that no fewer than 3,000 older people benefited from grant for the poor and vulnerable, adding that the ministry has increased the slots for older persons.

The NSCC boss, however, advised older citizens to make themselves available and be involved in the programmes and initiatives of the Centre.

They should be involved in our programmes, from our planning to implementation they should get in touch with the Centre.

We will introduce them to mechanism already existing in their states where they can be involved, they are the best advocate for themselves.

They should speak out where they are, if there is no coordinating agency and their government is not doing anything, they should mobilise and engage, she said.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz

Source: NAN News