ON SOCIAL SECURITY AND ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THE PHYSICALLY-CHALLENGED AND THE NEEDY IN NIGERIA – THE NEED FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND OTHERS TO LEARN FROM AIRTEL TOUCHING LIVES EXAMPLE

By Zik Gbemre

It is an established fact that the essence of any Government, that is, the reason behind the existence of any Government as custodians of public wealth in the first place, is to ‘judiciously manage and appropriate’ all the available human and material/natural resourcefulness in that country’s domain; harness and develop same on behalf of, and for the overall benefit of the entire citizenry, and at the same time expeditiously appropriate/distribute same with regards to equity and justice, for the benefit and well-being of the entire populace. It is on the basis of this that we mirrored down on the Social Security situation in Nigeria as well as the state of the physically challenged and the needy in our society. It examines the Nigerian governments ability or inability to adequately cater for its citizenry that are unemployed, disabled, elderly, less privileged, retired etc. and the provision of other broad issues like Housing, Education, Health care, etc., and access therefore – for these set of persons and the entire citizenry.

Unfortunately, over the years and still counting, various governments of the country at all levels, have not been able to meet the citizenry ‘expectations’ in this regard. Rather, what we see is an increasing ‘great-divide’ between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-not’s, between the rich and the poor, between the privileged ‘few’ and the less-privileged ‘many’ and between the ‘governed’ and the government. Again, let us bear in mind that Social security arrangements are ‘collective remedies’ against adversity and deficiencies; ranging from pensions to disability compensations, death benefits as well as free/quasi healthcare and education. But over the years, we have had more problems in this regard. Where such efforts are seen to be made, they are usually bedeviled with all kinds of fraudulent corrupt practices that makes such government efforts worthless and not felt by the people concerned.

However, we are glad that big time corporate companies and bodies are doing their best to address this situation in the country, which has helped to bring succor, hope and transformation in the lives of few persons in these categories. The example being set by Airtel, through its Airtel Touching Lives programme, has got our attention and its worth mentioning here, and using same as a measurement of what is expected of the Nigerian Government at all levels, as well as other corporate bodies, multinational and domestic companies in their social responsibility objectives.

The said Airtel Touching Lives is an inspiring corporate social responsibility initiative that seeks to offer practical relief, succour, hope, opportunities and credible platforms to liberate and empower the underprivileged, disadvantaged and hard to reach persons in our society. The activities of Airtel Touching Lives are recorded and produced for national television with a view to promoting the spirit of giving, self-sacrifice and love among Nigerians. Airtel Touching Lives has entered its fourth season. The 13-episode programme, which features 24 emotion-evoking stories, is usually broadcasted on different satellite channels. It was discovered that in previous seasons, Airtel has touched the lives of over 2 million Nigerians who were directly or indirectly plagued with varying forms of afflictions ranging from health challenges to financial woes.

The beneficiaries of the Airtel Touching Lives initiative are carefully selected from a pool of nominations by members of the public. Airtel, thereafter, offers support/empowerment to identified beneficiaries after relevant due diligence and verification exercises. Airtel social workers and employees usually travel to the field to verify and investigate the requests and identify those affected or concerned. The stark realities are filmed and the key actors invited to the studio, where their plights are highlighted and the support announced. All these are recorded and then broadcast on national television, not for publicity or marketing, but to highlight the enormity of challenges facing the less privileged and encourage the haves to support the have-nots, thereby promoting the culture of giving. This to us is very noble, commendable and something that all should copy and practice, especially the so-called rich and big men in our society.

We recall that in March 2009, the then Senate passed a law outlawing discrimination against people with disabilities in the society. The law requires government and public institutions as well as individuals to provide convenient access for physically challenged persons, amongst other things to protect their rights and make life more bearable for them with their disabilities. At the time, many considered the law a major milestone on the rights of the physically challenged in our society. But like everything Nigerian, there have been no significant follow up on the ‘implementation of the law’, which has fallen into disuse. This means in effect that nothing has changed and it is very sad.

Having observed what is obtainable in both Nigeria, and other developed countries like the UK and USA, we realized how physically-challenged individuals are finding it extremely difficult to achieve their dreams in Nigeria. We believe that many physically-challenged persons are people with dreams and aspirations, just like every normal person, who want to live a better life, change the world as much as they can, and also contribute to the growth of the nation. But, their dreams are cut short because of the gross neglect by the society and its governments. There is no social welfare for people with disabilities. Rather than being in school, many are on the street, begging for alms and handouts. Some end up being hit by vehicles. Because of this neglect, many of them have lost confidence in the society. And according to the 2011 World Report on Disability, approximately 25 million Nigerians live with disabilities, with 3.6 million of them having very significant difficulties to function. Also, there was a report that physically-challenged people are neglected and abused. A body established by the government to oversee the welfare of the physically-challenged is underfunded. Virtually all political parties’ manifestos fail to address the welfare of persons with disabilities. This tells how much the people have been neglected. Their rays of hope usually come from kind-hearted individuals, corporate bodies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Nigeria cannot be said to be helping the cause of the physically-challenged.

The Federal Government and State Governments are guilty of this gross neglect of the downtrodden in our society because the destitute, beggars, homeless persons are still roaming the streets in most of the States across the nation. There is need for these set of persons to be provided with shelters and cared for with good medical care, food, clothing, etc. The problem is that, even when these things are provided, like we have seen in the past, those in charge with this responsibility usually feast on the funds voted for such Care Project. These authorities without conscience, are more interested in becoming billionaires overnight than caring for the needy, disabled and less-privileged in our society.  We have seen situations where some adults use these less privileged children and disabled persons in our society to beg for arms on the streets and roadsides. At the end of the day they give them little to eat. There are a lot of children still being used for this purpose in our urban cities. A Government that cares about its citizenry should discourage ugly trend of children and the physically-challenged being used to beg for arms. If the Government were playing their part, all of this would stop. 

One of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles which underpin the policy of the Nigerian government towards its people is “security and welfare of the people”. This is declared as the primary purpose of Government in Chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. Given the nationwide import of this duty, driving social security initiatives has been one of the constitutional responsibilities of the Federal Government.

Social Security is a shared care arrangement designed to meet contingencies and other conditions of insecurity due to either deprivations or contingencies. It is widely practiced globally. Nigeria has over the years tried various social security schemes/systems. However, these have not been implemented satisfactorily. For instance, this apparent gap has led to instances of alleged embezzlement/misappropriation of pension funds, long queues of pensioners to access pension funds and ultimately, stranded pensioners, amongst others in the area of pension fund management in Nigeria.

Comparatively, the essential ingredients that make the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA), to be attractive places today, Nigerians and other African nationals strive to go and live there, is the fact that the social security and economic environment of these nation-states are perfectly well-planned. Their governments have succeeded in putting a well-structured and planned system that ensures the provision of at least, the ‘basic amenities/things of modern life’ like shelter, food, water, electricity, health care, education etc., all of which are either completely lacking in Nigeria or are mumbled-up and left   in a pathetic state. The interesting thing about these advanced countries is the fact that their social securities are enjoyed by almost all its citizenry. From Housing benefits, handicap benefits, free education, free health care, child welfare benefits, unemployment benefits, undertaker/burial benefits, to the provision of homes/welfare for the elderly and the less privileged.  These are social securities that are glaringly absent in the Nigerian polity.

It is no news that the Governments in advanced nations like the USA and the UK have placed a Social Security System that works. A system that takes care of the entire well-being of its citizenry, especially those that are less-endowed, retired or disabled. This has made their citizens to have the leverage for luxury, holiday vacations, and generally enjoy life and not be afraid or anxious of ‘old age’ or their future welfare, since they know that the ‘system’ will take care of them even at death. So, they are not bothered or see the need to have lots of children with the mindset that the children will bury them when they die or cater for their needs when they get old like we do here in Nigeria. Even those that lose their jobs are still catered for and sustained till they can get back on their feet. As a matter of fact, in the US, from an early age, citizens are entitled to monthly pay/allowances until they are 16 years of age.

But in Nigeria, the situation is different. Not that the Nigerian government has not done anything in the area of Social Security, the problem has always been its implementations. Today we have those that are less privileged, and the disabled/handicapped all over the streets of major cities in Nigeria begging for arms just to survive. In advanced countries, they have ‘Food Banks’ to help those who cannot afford a decent meal to eat. Same with Shelters for the homeless. Here in Nigeria, instead of our political leaders to use the public funds at their domain and cater for some of these needs of those less privileged/handicapped/disabled in our society, they loot every penny they can lay hands on. Our citizens here have been known to falsify their age and birth certificates just because they want to remain in employment and avoid retiring at their retirement age. A lot of Nigerians are afraid of retiring from active service and economic pursuits because of the ‘bleak future’. For some, it is this fear that has made them to steal, amass and misappropriate public funds under the care of their offices, so that when they eventually retire, they would have something to hang on to. This is obviously responsible for the high level of corruption prevalent in the country’s Federal State Civil Service.

The various governments of countries like the USA and the UK have succeeded in gaining the trust and confidence of its citizens who willingly pay their taxes, because they judiciously use the public funds made available to them to better the lives of the people to the extent that, their countries have been turned into ‘Tourist Centres’ and lands of economic opportunities that have attracted different people from all walks of life all over the world. This has raked in more revenue for these nations. So why is the Nigerian case different? Why can’t we do things like we see in other climes? These are issues we hope the President Muhammadu Buhari Government, and other future Governments at the Federal and State levels, will help to address.

Zik Gbemre, JP.

National Coordinator

Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)