Sanusi Advocates Structured Policy To Cater For Ageing Nigerians

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders to produce a structured policy on ageing in order to address the problems of ageism.

Muhammad Sanusi II made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on the sidelines of the first Africa Stakeholders Regional Conference on Ageing on Wednesday in Abuja.

Represented by Dan Maliki Kano, Amb. Ahmed Umar, the Emir said having a structured policy in the system would be a plus in addressing challenges of ageing.

He underscored the need for a conscious effort to domesticate into the constitution, frameworks that would help older persons in Nigeria.

He also suggested that older persons should be innovative part of every national agenda, stressing that there is need for re-engagement of senior citizens into the system.

Sanusi II also recommended that traditional rulers should be engaged in order to educate people in the rural areas on the need for healthcare givers to be informed and educated on care of the elderly.

He noted that older persons were credible people that could be trained before and after retirement, especially public servants, on how to contribute to the society and that should be made a national policy.

He therefore advised the federal government and the National Assembly to adopt the outcome, recommendations from the Stakeholders Group Ageing conference into the constitution for the benefit of all.

The monarch said that retired older persons were still useful and had a lot to give back to the society, saying that to retire is not to be tired.

NAN