Our ordeals as retirees

By Kehinde Aderemi

Pa Benjamin Chukwueze does not look 68.

Sickness has drained him. His face is pale, his walk is slow and his voice breaks each time he talks. He sits on a plastic chair in his small apartment in Ikorodu, holding a plastic bag filled with drugs.

He was once a Superintendent of Police. For 35 years, he wore the uniform and served Nigeria till he retired in 2017.

Almost ten years now, he has nothing to show for it. The Imo State-born retired police officer is just trying to survive as a security man in one of the private secondary schools in Adamo, Ikorodu.

But his story is very pathetic as he spends more of his little pension on just drugs.

He narrated that he was just recovering from a prolonged sickness that almost killed him, but he thanked God that he is still alive, surviving on drugs.

Pa Chukwueze’s story is not only about sickness, it is also about survival. His monthly pension, which comes irregularly, now goes entirely into buying drugs to keep him alive. There is nothing left for food, for rent, for his little children who are still in school.

He is not alone. Across Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and beyond, some of the Nigerian retirees who served meritoriously for 35 years or more are learning a hard lesson.

For them, retirement in Nigeria is not rest. It is another struggle.

For many, the dream of enjoying life after service has turned into a daily battle. Gratuity has become a word they hear but never see. Some have waited for five years, some 10 years, while pension that is supposed to come monthly skips like light.

And as the wait continues, the body fails. Stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, prostate enlargement are a few numbers of sicknesses that affect them. However, doctors call them old age ailments.

But for people like Pa Chukwueze, they are the price he paid for years of service without proper working conditions, without medical check-ups, without rest.

When sickness comes, the pension cannot save them. A retired officer who earns N65,000 spends more than N70,000 on drugs monthly.

Then comes the loneliness part. He is always alone because his eldest children are still struggling to find their feet and whenever the school is on holiday, he sits at home alone, counting days and recounting his years in service with mixed feelings.

Their patterns of lives are predictable. Many of them who are unlucky now depend largely on their children who are still struggling.

Many of them are still finding ways to stay alive long. Emotional health issues like depression, loneliness and accumulated stress have become their companion. Yet, they cope.

“We are just coping. We leave everything to God,” Pa Chukwueze told the reporter as he relived stories of his retirement in the last ten years.

He spoke about some of his colleagues and friends who retired about the same time as him.

According to him, a friend collected his gratuity of about N10 million and invested it in poultry business. But unfortunately, disease swept through the poultry and everything went down.

“All the birds there just died. The man was so devastated that he almost wanted to kill himself.

“He had nothing. He came to the office one day and when the people saw him, they pitied him.

“They even contributed money and gave him to go home. And he was the senior officer before his retirement,” he said.

Pa Chukwueze advised that it is important to have some money left before retiring, but even that has its own risk.

He spoke about another friend who had about N13 million as savings before his retirement.

“But he was also not lucky because the money he had went down the drain when some people introduced him to a spurious business investment and he went for it only to realise later that they are fraudsters. And just in a twinkle of an eye, they fleeced him of all that he had. And everything went.

“So the man had to fall back on what he’s getting every month. These are different experiences”.

Once somebody retires, he said such retiree must be very careful, especially if he or she has some health challenges.

In his words, the nature of Nigeria, the way Nigeria is wired now, many people lived on paid employment.

“Our mind is already wired to the fact that by month-end, we receive pay. But the moment you leave, you don’t receive any pay.

“It is very difficult to translate into entrepreneurship. So those who are not careful, because they have not learned enough of it, the moment you plunge into it, everything you have will just go down. And the person is going back to square one”,he said.

According to him, if a man retires and his children are still in school, it’s more devastating because whatever comes to him as pension cannot even help him pay his children’s school fees, not to talk about feeding. That is the challenge of those who have retired now.

“And it is unfortunate if such retiree doesn’t have a house or a roof over his head. A childhood friend of mine worked with an advertising agency. He told me that he had N3 million as savings, which he was going to use as his backup.

“You can imagine having N3 million as backup about ten years ago, what it is now. The terrible thing about him is that while he was at work, he didn’t think of building a house, even if it’s a quarter plot.

“As at that time, he was paying N400,000 for a flat in Ikeja, but now after retirement he is unable to pay N3 million annually for the same apartment.

“But God helped him. He has only one son. And the boy was very brilliant and very lucky. The boy studied mechanical engineering at the University of Ibadan. He got a job in the bank. From there, the boy went overseas. The boy has been feeding him and taking care of his accommodation and all that.

“So this is already a side of it. But the reality now is that any man who retires now, who is very unlucky not to have finished training his children before retiring, will suffer.

“Many of today’s retirees are already down. Looking at them, you could see that they live without any hope of surviving the harsh economy. That has been the lot of many of my colleagues in the police now,” he said.

But not all stories end in loss. Elder Gabriel Okojokwu, who retired in 2023, said he was lucky to plan ahead. He advised those aspiring to retire to cultivate what he described as intentional and aggressive saving culture.

According to him, the reality after retirement is daunting and nobody is ready to support you as a retiree.

He said inadequate finance is a major issue and government did not help the situation.

He retired at Level 10 from one of the  Lagos State agencies, but he always thanks God he had started a small poultry business earlier before retirement.

So, after retirement, the money he got could not even sustain him for two months.

“I looked to the left and right, I don’t know what to do. I’m afraid because at my age, I can’t be looking for another employment,” he said.

That was how he took up the challenges and started his poultry farming business. He first sold chicken feeds, drugs and rabbit feeds before concentrating on poultry farming.

He advised those aspiring to retire to start saving seriously five years to retirement, saying life after retirement is not pleasant, especially when you don’t have anything to fall back on.

Government, he said, should make adequate plan for retirees through financial support, not just seminars.

Retired teacher and cleric, Sheikh Hamzat Ahmad, described the experience of retirees as sad, especially when such retirees have nothing to fall back on after retirement.

According to him, gratuity remains the first entitlement of every retiree and pension is the monthly stipend for survival.

The cleric explained that the money paid as pension greatly differs from one state to another and from a particular year of retirement to another.

Sheikh Ahmad, however, advised the Federal Government to review the pension scheme, even as he noted that there is also a need for proper harmonisation of all the pensions and entitlements of Nigerian retirees.

“I retired as a teacher and up till now, I am still collecting my monthly pension. But monthly pension allowances must be reviewed to take care of the current reality of the present economy”.

According to him, Nigerian retirees, most especially teachers are worst hit by the present situation in the country and it gets worse when the retirees have nothing to fall back on.

The cleric pointed out also that it is difficult to cope as a retiree that has age-related sicknesses to contend with. The monthly stipend, he said, is not enough to take care of expensive drugs.

“I personally urge each of the state governments and the authorities concerned in taking care of the retirees and pensioners by putting up more efforts, by showing act of godliness, compassion and masterliness in ensuring that all retirees and pensioners in their respective states are surely taken care of.

“The Federal Government must also support the states financially for them to fulfil this purpose,” he said.

Former Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Duro Oni retired at the mandatory age of 70 on December 15, 2022 after 46 years of meritorious service at the University of Lagos.

He said his greatest fear was the unknown.

According to him, his major challenge was adjusting to life off-campus after living on campus for 43 years. Though he had completed his personal house at the UNILAG Magodo Estate in Isheri since 1992, he still had to rent an apartment in Yaba to stay close to campus.

On how he survived the uncertainties of retirement with no monthly pay, he said pensions and lump sum gratuity are not paid until more than a year after retirement.

“I was able to survive that period by joining one of the staff cooperatives about seven years before retirement and a portion of my salary while in service was saved. At retirement, my total savings were paid to me and I therefore paid myself a monthly salary equivalent to what I earned in service,” he said.

He disclosed that his gratuity was not paid until about 15 months after retirement, by which time the currency had been devalued.

“By that time, the currency had been devalued and I received the equivalence of about 20 per cent of the value going by the exchange rate. The monthly pension was also devalued.

“It is important for the government to review the pensions to align with cost of living,” he said.

On coping, he said he has a wonderful family and his four adult children support him and his wife, adding that moderating expenses is important.

He advised those in public service to prepare early for retirement, save money, no matter how much they earn, and diversify income sources. He noted that he invested minimally in shares which gradually grew and now pays occasional dividends. He still keeps busy with occasional public lectures as Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Lagos.

Also Deputy Director, Public Affairs Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, Mrs Adenike Omolara Sodipo, that just retired this week, said she has no fear about retirement.

According to her, her experiences in the Lagos State Civil Service was full of testimonies and great milestones. But she noted also that as a professional, she could always do something reasonable for a living.

Quoting the Bible, she said, “Do not fear for tomorrow because tomorrow will take care of itself.”

She said retirement does not just happen.

“From the day you start work, retirement is around the corner, therefore you must start planning early and engaging in savings.”

Sodipo pointed out also that financial burdens are man-made, even as she advised aspiring retirees to be diligent, committed, humble and loyal.

“As an aspiring retiree, let your work speak for you. You should also be 100 per cent loyal to your superiors, don’t be rude, ask if you do not know as no man knows it all and do not hide from your subordinates also,” she stated.

The frustration is not limited to teachers, police and their ilk. In Abuja on Tuesday, hundreds of military veterans blocked the entrance to the Military Pensions Board in Dutse Alhaji, protesting alleged short-changing of their pensions.

They are concerned about the formula adopted for adjusting their pensions.

The veterans also barricaded the entrance with canopies and chairs, while armed soldiers prevented them from entering the premises.

The action, it was gathered, came weeks after military retirees protested at the Ministry of Defence in September, demanding an increase in their pensions following salary adjustments for serving military personnel.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, had promised that the retirees would receive an increase in October.

Coordinator of the Veterans Association of Nigeria, Lt. Col. Innocent Azubike, expressed concern over the activities of the pension board to adopt a pension adjustment formula that, he alleged, short-changed some retirees.

Azubike said the planned protest followed growing dissatisfaction among veterans over the implementation of consequential adjustments to their pensions.

The veterans’ concerns were on the irregular formula used to calculate the adjustments, which they believe has failed to adequately reflect the salary increases granted to serving military personnel.

The latest action underscored the continuing disagreements between military retirees and the authorities over the implementation of the promised pension adjustments.

Meanwhile, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) also on Monday increased the monthly pension disbursements to over 241,000 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme from N12.15 billion to N14.83 billion.

The N2.68 billion increase, it was gathered, was implemented under the commission’s Pension Boost 1.0 initiative to improve retirees’ welfare amid rising inflation and economic pressures.

The Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this recently at the 2026 PenCom Media Conference in Lagos.

She described the development as part of a shift towards prioritising pensioners’ financial security.

Oloworaran said the government had moved beyond promises to take concrete steps to improve the welfare of retired workers.

“Every nation makes a promise to the people who build it — those who serve faithfully and diligently. When your working years are done, your country should not forget you. For too long, that promise was kept slowly, partially, or not at all. Today, I can report that this has changed, not in aspiration, but in fact,” Oloworaran said.

For Pa Chukwueze and many like him, the wait continues. As he clutched his bag of drugs, he muttered again, “We are just coping. We leave everything to God.”