Climbing the ladder of aging for Nigerians can be an excruciating process without support systems to make life easier and meaningful. To proactively address this without banking on government intervention, OLABUNMI SODADE founded Nigeria Association of Retired People (NARP). In this interview with BusinessDay ‘s Journalists Temitayo Ayetoto and Lucky Nwanekwu , she advocates the need to equip people with the resources to cope as they grow older.
How did the NARP 50 Plus start?
NARP 50 Plus started when I came back from Canada after a long time. My mother fell sick and we didn’t have the resources to care for her. So it got me thinking that we need a support system for the elderlypeople. This made me think of starting a care home.It occurred to me that we can start an association like it operates in the United States inwhich I am a member. The association is called the AARP. We could actually set that up which involves bringing our service providers for the elderly together and also pushing the cause for the older community. That is one reason that made me start. Another reason was that when I was trying to find something doing, I knew that after 50 it was hard to get employment. There is definitely what I will call “ageism”because after 45 in Nigeria, you tend not to be able to get employed and most times you tend to start your own business. That led to my passion to start NARP 50 Plus.
How does NARP 50 Plus cater for the over 33 million aged people in Nigeria living without care?
It’s very difficult, because we are like a new initiative.I really wish we could have all the 33 million members. For example AARP that we are fashioned after, have 38 million members. They have the largest loving block in America; they talk about issues like healthcare, finance and issues that will help our members. But it’s been difficult getting across to members because it is a new initiative. The way to transmit the information is difficult. So we want to capture a huge number of people and get a big audience in Nigeria
Over half of the population aged 50live below $1.60 a day. What is NARP 50 plus doing to fend for them?
The people over 50 are really suffering. First of all there is loneliness, there is isolation, poverty andare also health issues. The way we can become a voice is to bring these issues up and make people know that. A lot of focus currently is on the youths, which is not bad but they will become old too. So what we are trying to do is to create a platform now, so that as people are moving into that age bracket, they will see that things are already in place to take care of them. Right now,there is no systematic structure. That is why we are trying to shout as loud as we can and bring many members on board. And get that word out, that we can come together to become a voice and get that platform ready for those that are aged and will be of age too.
Is there support from the government to shelter or provide for those above 50?
The government currently cannot do everything. That’s why we have government and non-governmental Organization like us. That’s where we have to start doing something like becoming a lobbying board for the government or to the government. So that is why a lot of things are being done on the non-Governmental basis and charitable basis because we know that the hands of the government are tied. So what I think will be a good scenario will be a partnership with the government to bring in a lot of integrity into any social service that they will want to give to the elderly. I believe this will bring about integrity and quick deliverable service to the end user. But for us, it is to think about it and draw up a strategy that can help our society and get the government to understand that we are here for the greater good of the society.
So have you secured any partnership?
We are on course with working with them and have found some that have sustainable social agenda. Some of those in the south western state have done it before for the elderly and we have sent our proposals to them and we are hoping that they see the value brought to them.Most of them don’t see much value in it, but we need to sit with some of them and make them understand how important it is to take care of the elderly ones. So that is how we can get the support of the government, for instance one of the ways to get a large audience, is if we go to the Lagos state government and tell them in an agreement that everyone above 50 should get a BRT ride for free with a card, and we will handle it ourselves because that is our passion.We don’t want the bureaucracy of the state government in it. You can imagine the impact that it will have in the citizens of Lagos. They will be so happy and say that the elderly have a card that can help them get a BRT ride and move from one place to the other without payment. Even if it is a particular age thatthey decide, maybe like 65 or 70 year old, we can always do that.
What does running a non- governmental organization in Nigeria mean?
It is stressful. The hustle is real. Running a charity organization in Nigeria is hardwork. Ours is even more difficult because we run on subscription which is what I was used to from where I have lived for a while. So being on subscription because you are telling people that don’t have money or feel that where will the money come from to pay the subscription. So what we try to do is explain to them that it is for a larger good and for us to plan together and to make life much better for our community and age group. It’s been good, we have members but you could imagine if we had millions of members fighting together like the AARP to make life better for the elderly and shout in the ears of the government. And this cut across all economic classes, so we have yam sellers, food vendors, professors, senators. It cuts across all facets of society.
In a nutshell, how do people join and what are the benefits?
With the benefits first, in the short span of our starting up in Nigeria, we have had over 50 members enjoy loans. So we are also promoting financial inclusion because a lot of people are currently financially excluded between 50 -70. So we have been able to stand for some of them that need a little bit of financing, because let me tell you that it is very hard for most of this people. And now, we don’t just give out the loan, we check that there is accountability and you are using it for something very productive.So we have had doctors, nurses, food vendors, okada rider and investors use it. We also have healthcare, which is big and we are in partnership with companies like MeCure that give discounts. We have HMOs. So we are looking at healthcare, which a huge part of where we send our naira. In Nigeria you find out that there is an unsearchable demand for loan. But it’s not that we have so much financing but whatever we do we try to see how the loans are of value. So we also have the high net worth individuals that join are we are always there whenever they call, maybe they need a car service, loan, lounge or any other thing that’ll make their lives better at their old age. Some of them need homecare, physiologists, so whoever we send them too they get a discount and not the full charge.
Could you share your thoughts on financial inclusion and people excluded?
We have co-operatives and now we are looking at working with banks to get more bank accounts for people that don’t have. We are also working with petrol stations to get discounts on fuel people buy. But we are sending proposals every day to enterprises, corporations, fintech companies to partner with us. So we still want partnerships with the federal, state and local governments. We already have a pilot scheme and a proposal for elderly to get a free ride, let’s start from there first.
In the case of retirement, how do you come in?
That’s the case of advocacy. We have people that don’t understand much about pension. So we have a case, for instance, of two people that we are currently fighting for on pro bono, who the employers were deducting their pension for years but were not remitting it.When they left, they paid were a little bit but we still have about N390, 000 outstanding that they don’t want to pay them. So we have asked a lawyer to help, which are our members too. So we have reached them on a pro bono basis to help.In fact one of the members that joined was actually looking for legal help when he stumbled on our website and registered. He needed his pension and had not been paid. So we are taking up that and several other cases to help. The other reason why pensions are a bit of an issue is that the profit in pension is a problem.The pension fund administrators (PFAs) have to refer back to their shareholders. The margins are there. So it’s a bit of a challenge too on their end.So I feel that government should have a way to ensure that profit is taken out of pensions, so how they do it is to look at other countries and make sure that the pension fees that is taken by pension fund managers is reduced or eliminated.For example CPP, the Canada Pension Plan is not managed on a profit making basis. It’s done on a social welfare basis.So there has to be a balance for pension. When we are shouting that profit should be taken out of pensions, then we will be able to see more transparency in the system.
How do high net worth individuals benefit?
We try to make them understand what we are doing first, and they have money to pay even without the discounts that are given for whatever service that they want. But we make them understand too that they can do more or be of assistance to even those in the system that do not have. We also have a lot that have joined to make sure that the system is moving forward and it survives.
What system has been set up to educate people about the work of your Organization?
Well, we run events and once, physiotherapists come to teach members how they can be more healthy. We also had one where they had medical check-ups. So we are looking at partnering with others that will continue the good work, so that elder care can be rewarding.We are looking at becoming bigger, having a retirement village.
Your vision?
The vision is to be a household name like AARP and everybody knows about it. Where people turn 50 and they are members, they get more value and be able to change the mindset of people towards the elderly. Reaching out to people in the rural areas has not been easy. We have been bootstrapping and telling our members to reach out to others too and make life better to other people above 50.
