“Old age is now a moving concept” – American Sociology Professor, 1967.

It was in my third year as an undergraduate, when taking a course on demographics, that Professor Epstein made the remark to introduce us to demographics – defined as “the study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which illustrate the changing structure of human populations.”

The course was recommended by my academic advisor as a complimentary addition to Economics. It made no sense to me. Births and deaths were cut and dried things. You are born one day; you die one day and only God knows how long between the first and the second. Prof also informed us that we were part of a generation called “the Baby Boomers”; meaning kids born during or immediately after World War II which claimed the lives of over 50 million globally.

The world seemed depleted of people. Factories were in frantic search of workers; hospitals lacked adequate staff. Anybody who could lift a finger had a job. The young men and women who survived the war went about procreating with uncommon zeal. By 1955, ten years after the war, the children born between 1940 and 1950 had become the largest population group in the world.

Even then, the life expectancy in most countries was under 60. In Africa and Asia, it was under 50. Most of us in sub-Saharan Africa, where births were not often recorded, grew up to regard anyone 50 as old. Improvements in health services, personal care, and dietary intake gradually moved life expectancy up everywhere. More people are living longer and working longer than at the beginning of the last century. However, because of perceived diminishing productivity as people became older, it became necessary to establish retirement age; to allow the old and feeble to go and rest and to create room for young job seekers. Nigeria has followed the global pattern by setting 60 as retirement age. 

At first, few workers attained 60 before dying. My father did not live long to retire from service; and I recollect three of his friends and co-workers who were carried out of office feet first. In fact, no male child in my own family lived long enough to be retired at 60. So 60 was a good peg in the early 1950s.

However, unknown to us, Nigeria had also joined the global change in demographic structures. Starting with the generation before our own, Nigeria’s Baby boomers have become the first generation of Nigerians for who 60 is just the beginning of life. Today, at 80+, I am creating a new record everyday for somebody else to break in my family. Whereas my Dad was called Baba in his 50s, nobody calls my four nephews, now 60+ Baba. Nigeria is now suddenly full of men and women 60 years and they more vigorous than my Dad at 55.

Need for Redefinition of Old Age

“You are as old as you feel.”

Many of us have heard that statement before; usually from very active old men and women. To the younger ones, it might appear like an excuse by veterans not wanting to quit the stage. To be quite candid, I felt the same way when an uncle swore to an affidavit in the Magistrate Court, Tinubu, Lagos Island, to reduce his age by three years to avoid retirement. “Go and rest Uncle”, was my advice to him. He was retired anyway on account of length of service. Then something horrible happened.

Living on the Island, but, working at Apapa Port, the man who hitherto got up at 5am to prepare for work and was ever punctual for 7am, had nothing to do anymore. Within months he was a mere shadow of his former self and died a drunkard. Since then, I have been questioning our insistence that people should retire at 60. Granted, the Federal Government has granted some exemptions in the public service. Commendable as that might be, it has not addressed the burning question of demographic shift which has resulted in a situation in which millions of Nigerians, aged 60, still vigorous are compulsorily retired from service. Only Non-Government Organisations and religious bodies extend retirement ages beyond 60. We are creating a lot of devil’s workshops.

Pa Adebanjo and Clark as Examples of Way Forward 

“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.

Extremely few Nigerian leaders – Prime Minister, Presidents (Military or Civilian), Premiers, Governors – since 1914 have had the lasting grip on our national political life as Pa Ayo Adebanjo and Edwin Clark who passed away three days apart last month. As if by mutual agreement, the two strongest advocates of true federalism, resource control by states and the call for a new constitution not only left us, but, left a big hole in our polity. As a strong believer in the notion that there are no indispensable men, and there are some obvious candidates to fill the gaps, I must nevertheless admit that it will be very difficult for any successors to have the same impacts as the two. To some extent, the fault for the leadership vacuum created by them was as much their fault as ours. 

Those of us who subscribed to their vision of the fundamentals of the best governance for Nigeria got accustomed to leaving it to the grand old men to courageously speak up whenever governments went astray – as we all agree they often did. To save our own skins, we sub-contracted the opposition to atrocious governance to them. They seldom failed us. Because another article will be published highlighting their achievements, permit me to stop here and address one of their lasting legacies to fellow Nigerians.

Chief Adebanjo died at 95-plus and Chief Edwin Clark at 97 – both of them, from statements from members of their families, still working, preparing for important meetings and writing addresses to be delivered at several engagements. No demographer could have envisaged that eventuality. To be candid, I tremble each time there was a meeting with Chief Adebanjo; who was known to me as far back as 1961 in Ibadan.

At the time, my eldest brother, later called Daddy after our father died, was the Private Secretary to the late Alhaji Adegbenro, who was then-Minister for Lands and Labour in the Western Regional Government. Daddy was an Awoist from the beginning to the end in 1990. Meanwhile, our father was a die-hard Zikist till the end of his days in 1958. Of all the strongest Awoists, Chief Adebanjo was the only one known to me who never aspired to public office and who never sought appointment to office. He was contented to be the “gate keeper” of the principles on which Afenifere stood. On several occasions, he had said to me: “Dele come and join Afenifere; we need people like you to take over after we are gone.” My answer was always the same: “We can’t all be in politics.” He would get angry and attend to me all the same.

What astonished me the most, when visiting him in his chambers in the Western House, was the enormous amount of work he undertook each day; the number of cases to which he attended. I was certain he would slow down by the time he reached 70. My visit to his office to wish him happy birthday at 80 disabused my mind about the man retiring. There were more case files than when he was 70. It was then that it finally dawned on me that for some individuals retirement is only a word found in the dictionary of lazy and self-indulgent people.

The late Chief Edwin Clark became synonymous with PANDEF by the time he passed on. Fortuitously, I was there at the creation of the Forum in 2016. What is PANDEF? The description that follows is as good as any. “The new vision for the Niger Delta was launched in 2016, following engagements with leaders and representatives for the region, under the aegis of the Pan Niger Delta Development Forum (PANDEF).” But, there is more to PANDEF; which the description did not and could not explain, as well as how Chief Clark became its co-leader in principle but, its known leader in fact.

Briefly stated, PANDEF was formed when Buhari’s Federal Government decided to re-visit the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which President Yar’Adua and Jonathan started but lacked the guts to finish. The Bill aimed to liberalise and privatise the entire oil sector. The original PIB (PIB 1), proposed by Yar’Adua, was extremely flawed; it gave the International Oil Companies, IOCs, all the advantages. Without going into details, I can claim some credit for getting it killed in the National Assembly, NASS. PIB 2, presented by Jonathan, was even more scandalous; it gave the President of Nigeria wide powers over the sector.

PIB 2 was also left untouched by the NASS till the end of GEJ’s tenure in 2015. When the Buhari government embarked on the PIB reform bill, it was clear to me that, unless the Niger Delta made its wishes known, the sector would wind up in Northern hands as it has now. The only Niger Delta leader known to me was Attah; and it was Attah, who, after listening to my concern, initiated a meeting with Chief Clark. It was that meeting which resulted in the formation of PANDEF. Clark and Attah were appointed co-Chairmen. But, Attah, out of respect for age, had allowed Chief Clark to act as sole Chairman.

The most important thing readers should remember is that, at the age of 88, Chief Clark was adding another monumental assignment to his bulging portfolio in 2016. I knew on that day that the bar on retirement age had just been raised.