Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that corruption
is pervasive in the country because “people don’t know what will happen
tomorrow.”
The former president said this while delivering his address
as the special guest of honour at the 73rd birthday celebration, unveiling of
Elderly Care Centre and a book presentation in honour of former State House
Chaplain, Obioma Onwuzurumba, in Abuja on Tuesday.
While commending the celebrant and his wife for the
initiative to launch a day care centre for elderly people, the former president
lamented the lack of care for civil servants, whom he said were not allowed to
own businesses, and still weren’t taken care of after their time of service.
“I’m quite happy that you and your wife are creative and
have this initiative to build a centre for the elderly. One of the greatest
problems we have in Nigeria, and probably that’s why corruption is so perverse,
is that people don’t know what will happen to them tomorrow. Because there is
no welfare system that can manage people. Especially, if you look at the people
in the security services for example.
Today I was just listening to one radio comment, I think
they were talking about the police and so on, and it is true. Somebody works to
become a commissioner of police and when he retires he almost has nothing. If
care is not taken, he will become a beggar. So, such people are tempted to say,
now that I am active, let me help myself, in a bad way.
“And of course, our laws too don’t allow civil servants to
even have a company, apart from farming. So, you’re not allowed to do business
as a civil servant. At the same time when you leave office nobody is looking
after you and your children. So,if Onwuzurumba and others come up with this
care for the elderly, I think we need to all support them.”
Meanwhile, in his brief speech about the day care centre,
former Archbishop and Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion,
Peter Akinola, noted that the value and practice of care for the aged was
fading among the younger generation and he called for support to make the
elderly centre a reality.
“The youths of today are largely on the fast lane recklessly
pursuing all sorts of goals that are sometimes a mirage. They have little or no
time for their immediate nuclear family, not to talk of their vulnerable
dependents who are helplessly confined to the embankment.
“The government has not been helpful either. The politicians
of course utter all sorts of political statements, which are mere rhetoric to
provide for the aged among us. For Obioma’s vision and desire to care for the
elderly in an atmosphere that is conducive to the temperament of the aged to
come alive and bear fruits, he needs the understanding and support of us all,”
he said.
Among other dignitaries and eminent personalities at the
event were the former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana; former
Secretary to the Federal Government and Former Speaker of the Senate, Anyim
Pius; former Head of Federal Civil Service, Mrs Ama Pepple; the Primate of the
Anglican Church in Nigeria, Henry Ndukuba, among others.
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