Care For The Aged In Akwa Ibom Area

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Care For The Aged In Akwa Ibom Area

The Past, The Present And The Future

By: INI ETUK Ph.D Departmemt of history and international studies University of uyo, uyo

Introduction
The conditions of the aged in terms of care have attracted least attention to the government, corporate bodies and individuals in contemporary times. This situation is a far cry from what used to obtain in Akwa Ibom area in the past. Akwa Ibom State is located in the South-South geo-political zone in Nigeria. By the aged, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), are those persons who fall within the age bracket of sixty-five and above. This paper attempts to examine the issue of care for the aged from the past to the present and engage in prognosis into the future.

Aging
Ageing is an irreversible process of growth in spite of advances in biomedical gerontology which expends much effort to slow down, prevent and even reverse the ageing process of human beings and other animals. For the avoidance of doubt, Gerontology or Ageing Studies is a multi-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary field which pre-occupies itself with the study of the elderly and everything that has to do with ageing. The word gerontology owes its root to two Greek words, namely, ‘Geron’, meaning ‘old man’ and ‘logia’, meaning ‘the study of’. Taken together, it literarily means ‘the study of old man’. In the course of time, it has mutated to mean ‘the study of the elderly’.

Gerontology therefore covers the socio – anthropological, biological and psychological aspects of ageing. In this direction, four ageing processes have been identified. These are:

  1. Chronological ageing which harps on the number of years an individual has lived from birth.
  2. Biological ageing which has to do with the physical changes which progressively, howbeit, negatively, affects the organs system of men.
  3. Psychological ageing which has to do with changes in the perception, sensory process, cognition, adaptation and personality.
  4. Social ageing which involves changing roles and relationships with the immediate family, friends and agnatic cognates as well as productive roles within organizations.

By and large, the main thrusts of gerontology include but not limited to the following:

  1. Study of physical, mental and social changes which occur to people as they undergo the ageing process.
  2. Investigation of the ageing process through its specialized field called biogerontology,
  3. Investigation of the interface between normal ageing and age-related diseases through its special field called gerosciences and geriatrics,
  4. Investigation of the effects of an  ageing population on the society, and,
  5. Application of above knowledge to policy planning and implementation by government and the running of nursing homes.

Many theories have been postulated to explain away the ageing processes in man. These are categorized into biological and social theories. Among the biological theories include Wear and Tear, Genetic, General Imbalance, Accumulation, Free Radicals and the DNA Damage theories. Social theories include Activity, Disengagement, Continuity, Age Stratification, Life Course, Cumulative and Constructionist theories.

 

However, these theories need not detain our attention because none of them has been universally accepted. Rather, there is a general consensus that as people age, the functions of the body decline. We are all involved in it and nobody can escape from it. Two proverbial clichés are quite instructive in this direction. One is a general parlance in Akwa Ibom area which has it that “etok ebot akponokpon aka inie ikpa”, meaning “as a young goat grows its skin thickens”. Another cliché is “the young shall grow”. The point to note is that as one grows, he ages and then ultimately dies.

From pristine times, human societies had noted the inevitability of ageing and had accordingly engaged in various practices to relate with the aged and take good care of them. How did the Akwa Ibom people take care of their aged ones in the past?

 

Care for the Aged in the Past

In Akwa Ibom area, the elders occupied a very prime position in the scheme of things. Concomitantly, they were very highly revered. Why was this so? The reasons are legion but for the purposes of making this presentation concise, we need to simply itemize them. The following are some of the reasons:

  1. The elders occupied a special place in the people’s pantheon by being the closest to the ancestors, deities and the gods,
  2. The elders controlled the economy which was essentially predicated on land and all its provisions. They allocated the resources and superintended over production and appropriation as well. They also took charge of other economic pursuits, trained the younger ones and generally gave direction to the said pursuits,
  3. The system of government was gerontocratic. This means that governance was controlled by the elders. After all, in indigenous reckoning, osong owo osong ifiok ( who is older is wiser),
  4. The control of title societies (erroneously called secret societies) which also doubled as banking and insurance institutions. They ensured that initiates reaped more than their investments in initiation fees and other goods. They continued to draw on these returns till their demise, and,
  5. The gamut of social institutions and the entire socialization processes ensured that the aged were not allowed to become destitute. The social institutions of ukot (in-law), imaan (kinship) and eyeyen (grand child) all guaranteed reciprocal exchange of visits and gifts.
  6. The elders controlled access to sex and greatly determined the complexion and composition of families.

On the whole, it was unthinkable to neglect the elders who had grown weary with age. Sustainable care was accorded them to attract bountiful blessings. Grand children were willingly allowed to live with them, care after them and tap from their fountain of wisdom garnered through the years. Indeed, it was a thing of pride to have elderly people in one’s family. As a matter of fact, longevity was one of the major considerations in marriage. Care for the aged was therefore religiously administered, guaranteed and sustained.

 

Care for the Aged in the Present
The general conditions of the aged in contemporary Akwa Ibom area have left so much to be desired. The electronic and print media has been awashed with montages, pictures and stories of neglected and destitute retirees who have been marooned at the so-called verification centres and pay points across the country. The pension funds scams in the country are quite recent and pandemic to warrant reiteration. What is news, however, in that in Nigeria one can steal monies meant for the aged in billions of naira and pay a few hundreds of thousand as fine on conviction. The picture in the rural areas across the country is even more gruesome. In Akwa Ibom state in particular, one notices grim faces of abandoned elders in the villages as they await their final exit. This condition of affairs is a marked departure from what used to obtain in the past. Several reasons could be adduced to, but not limited to the following:

  1. Loss of economic power as the modern economy is no longer predicted essentially on traditional rural structure and stricture which the elders used to control,
  2. Labour induced out-migration of the younger ones who would have provided the needed succour to the aged.
  3. Loss of religious position and esteem, sequel to the influence of Christianity. Loyalty and patronage have shifted from indigenous religious leaders and medical practitioners to Christian religious leaders and orthodox medical practitioners.
  4. Loss of political power as gerontocracy has been supplanted by western democracy.
  5. General ignorance of the ageing population by the government courtesy of The National Population Commission. It would be noted that the nation’s efforts at demographic survey has been less than commendable. Accordingly, population figures have been severally disputed. Safe a few sporadic efforts by some organizations and corporate bodies to take care of the aged, their issues are usually consigned to the backstage. However, it is gladdening to note that the government of Chief Godswill Akpabio has gone one better than others by declaring healthcare free for the aged. What remains to be seen is sustained implementation.
  6.  Insensitivity of government to the general plight of the aged. What programmes are there for this class of people?
  7. Neglect by corporate organizations and PR departments of service providers. Television adverts, programmes and game shows majorly have children and the youths as their target audiences at the peripheralization of the aged.
  8. The “ICT mania”. How does this affect care for the aged? The simple truth is that little or no money is left to take care of aged parents and relatives after purchasing smart phones, recharging the phones, discussing frivolities and being caught in the web of ICT.
  9. Globalization in the area of cuisine has not been kind to the aged. Indomie, spaghetti, pizzas, macaroni and so on are of no nutritional value to the aged. Yet, they are the craze of children and the youths.
  10. Social stigmatization. In Akwa Ibom state, virtually all aged people are suspected to be witches and wizards.

Above and other issues have been the bane of adequate care for the aged.

 

Care for the Aged in the Future
Ikang ama ata ikut ayarake mkpok, unen abiommo ndak ke edemeh? If the tortoise with its thick shell could be burnt, what of the hen?

Mbrinyong ama obung ekit, ntak idem imikpikpaha okobo? If the stem of the plantain tree could break the axe why would the cutlass not be worried?

The future of the elders in Akwa Ibom community is, to say the least, very bleak. Urgent steps and adequate measures should be put in place to forestall the total neglect of the aged.

I salute the courageous and bold steps of BLIFA which has not only identified this culpable area of neglect but has also decided to address the issue squarely. I equally salute the policy of the present administration at the instance of His Excellency, Chief Godswill Akpabio in the provision of free health care services for the aged. However, the following strategies should be considered in respect of care for the aged in future:

  1. We should be guided by the knowledge that we will all grow old and the idea of possible neglect should be quite instructive to us as their children – Idoho nte akam o!,(It is not a curse),
  2. The idea of periodic and sporadic handouts to elders, though commendable, is, however, not sustainable,
  3. The government should put in place social security mechanisms to address the needs of the aged in our societies,
  4. Proper and elders-friendly pension scheme and payment schedules should be created and implemented to obviate the sufferings of pensioners,
  5. A special care scheme should be floated for those elders who were not in the employ of the public service. Among this group are retired farmers, traders, trades-men and trades-women, fishermen etc. who all contributed to the growth of the society and the sustenance of human existence,
  6. Production-driven and money-making community-based co-operative ventures should be established in their respect and the proceeds, used to give support to the elders. Some of the suggested projects could be palm mills, cassava mills and so on. Sitting of these projects should be on local government area, clan, sub-clan and ward bases,
  7. Institution and sponsorship of elders-friendly schemes and projects by corporate organizations and corporate bodies to create necessary awareness and care for the aged. This should be reflected in the print and electronic advertorials and jingles,
  8. The Department of Gerontology or Ageing Studies should be established in Nigerian tertiary institutions as it is done in advanced countries to engender research, studies and appropriate findings to enrich knowledge on the ageing population and to provide requisite guidance to government policy formulation and implementation as well as enlist the support of corporate bodies and organizations with regard to matters which concern the aged in our society.
  9. Other NGOs and churches should take a cue from BLIFA and advance the cause of humanity by caring for the iroko or ukana trees in our communities.

 

Conclusion

The aged were as young as we are. Let us re reminded that “Nsaat okokok akedo akpin” – “the dried raffia palm tree frond was once fresh”. We will all grow old some day and we will need care and support. Let us sow good seeds. After all, they gave birth to us, weaned us and brought us up. We therefore owe them the duty of care mbaak akam! We need to give them “befitting living” rather than “befitting burial”.