Pay Nigeria Airways pensioners their due

The sight of old, frail pensioners carrying placards demanding their entitlements is hard to watch. Yet that scenario played out recently in Lagos. More than two decades after the liquidation of Nigeria Airways, thousands of its retired workers remain trapped in a cruel limbo. After serving their country faithfully, their reward has been endless waiting, poverty, sickness and death. It is a national disgrace that men and women who once carried the nation’s flag with pride across continents are now forced to protest in old age just to demand pensions and entitlements legitimately owed them.

The retirees- pilots, engineers, cabin crew members, administrative staff and ground workers- are reportedly owed about N36 billion in pensions and severance benefits. This is unjust. Since the airline was liquidated in 2004, successive governments have failed to fully settle these obligations. Many of the affected workers are now in their seventies, eighties and nineties. Numerous others have died while waiting for justice. Some are battling illness, hunger and hopelessness, abandoned by a country they served diligently.

Last year, President Bola Tinubu reportedly approved the payment of the N36 billion owed the retirees. But approval without implementation means little to pensioners whose lives are measured in survival. Promise is not action. The recent peaceful protest by the retirees should trouble the conscience of the nation. Frail elderly citizens carrying placards and pleading for benefits they earned decades ago is a tragic image that diminishes the country. Their demand is straightforward: that the Federal Ministry of Finance should release the approved funds for payment.

Any government that ignores such a plea risks eroding public trust. Young Nigerians watching this spectacle cannot be blamed for questioning whether loyalty and dedication to national institutions are worth the sacrifice. If workers who devoted the best years of their lives to building the aviation sector can be abandoned in retirement, what message does that send to today’s civil servants, soldiers, police officers, teachers and healthcare workers?

Sadly, the plight of the Nigeria Airways pensioners reflects a wider national tragedy. Across the country, pension complaints have become routine. Retired military personnel protest unpaid entitlements. Police pensioners lament meagre or delayed payments. Former workers of government agencies and parastatals spend years pursuing gratuities trapped in bureaucratic confusion. In Nigeria, retirement too often marks the beginning of hardship rather than rest after years of labour.

This pattern is dangerous. A nation that treats its pensioners with contempt undermines the dignity of labour. Workers perform best when they believe the system will protect them after service. Where pension insecurity thrives, morale is bound to decline. It will also lead to low productivity. Corruption becomes tempting as workers seek to secure their futures by other means. The social contract weakens.

What makes the neglect even more infuriating is the government’s spending priorities. At a time pensioners are begging for survival, government spends so much on luxury. Presidential jets are purchased or refurbished. Expensive armoured vehicles are procured for top officials and lawmakers. Lavish allowances continue unchecked. Costly renovations and residences for political office holders proceed without hesitation. Yet when it comes to pension obligations, authorities suddenly discover fiscal caution and procedural delay.

The contradiction is indefensible.

Governance is ultimately about priorities. A government that swiftly funds elite comfort while pensioners languish in misery sends the wrong signal about whose welfare truly matters. No nation can claim seriousness about development while neglecting those who once sustained its institutions. The Nigeria Airways retirees are only asking for their lawful entitlements earned through years of service. They contributed to economic activity, national prestige and the development of the aviation industry. Their sacrifices should be honoured, not forgotten.

The Federal Government must therefore act immediately. The Ministry of Finance should release the approved funds without further delay, while relevant agencies ensure transparent and prompt disbursement to all verified beneficiaries. Time is no longer a luxury for these retirees. Beyond this specific case, Nigeria urgently needs comprehensive pension reforms that guarantee timely payment and stronger protection for retirees across all sectors.

In the United States, the United Kingdom, and across the European Union, pension systems are structured, with entitlements often paid monthly and directly into bank accounts, although there are sometimes bureaucratic hiccups. In these countries, the bigger debate now is less about whether pensioners are paid and more about whether the payments are enough to keep up with inflation, healthcare costs, and aging populations.

Nigeria can learn from these structured societies and put its pensioners out of their misery. The continued suffering of Nigeria Airways retirees is a stain on the nation’s conscience. Let the government pay them their due.