By Edith Nwapi
Dr Tony Ojukwu, SAN, Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday said, older persons are right holders entitled to full protection by the law.
Ojukwu said this during training for staff members of the commission’s department of vulnerable groups.
He noted that across the globe, the population of older persons was steadily increasing.
“While this reflects progress in healthcare and improved life expectancy, it also brings to the fore critical challenges among them being the growing incidence of elder abuse in its many forms physical, psychological, exploration, negligent and harmful traditional practices.
“The commission is saddled with the mandate to promote, protect and enforce rights of all persons.
“Older persons are not exception, they are rights-holders entitled to dignity, equality and full protection under the law, yet many of them continued to suffer in silence, often invisible within our communities and systems.
“In the light of the above mentioned, the commission conducts training in batches to reflect inclusivity and broad-based capacity development,” he said.
He added that the training was designed to equip staff members with the knowledge, skills and tools required to effectively handle these challenges.
According to him, being a human rights defender goes beyond professional responsibility, it is a commitment to justice, empathy and courage.
Ojukwu said as frontline officers, pivotal role is being played to ensure that the older persons are heard, their grievances addressed and their dignity upheld.
He said the training would enhance staff members’ capacity to recognise and address various forms of elder persons’ abuse.
According to him, it will strengthen advocacy skills and promote a right-based approach in all interventions concerning older persons.
“As we move forward, let us remember that his true measure of our impact lies in the lives we improve.
“Every older person protected from abuse, every case resolved and every policy influenced, brings us closer to a society where dignity and respect for all ages are guaranteed,” he said.
Similarly, Mrs Jennifer Aga, Director Vulnerable Group Department (VGD) in the commission stated that the training would help officials to know how to tackle older persons’ abuses.
She said through the directives of the Executive secretary, of the commission, trained officials would ensure that this elder persons’ abuse is combated.
“One of the things we do as a department is to create awareness and the awareness we create starts from the HRC.
“To train our officials to be able to identify these violations and also to enlighten Nigerians generally to know that these persons have rights as enshrined in our laws.
“So, we start from home which is why the commission is to train staff members to be able to identify these violations and to ensure that we protect them when we see such violations,” she said.
Sen. Eze Ajoku, President, the Coalition of Societies for the Rights of Older Persons in Nigeria (COSROPIN), said older persons are not liabilities.
He noted that they are those who held the nation at a time, as farmers, doctors, lawyers, teachers among others.
He added that for those on pension, not paying their pension was an abuse too.
“The elder persons suffer, not because they are old but because they have been forgotten and abandoned,” he said.
Edited by Modupe Adeloye/Francis Onyeukwu