THE recent revelation that civil service retirees are compelled to give bribes to quicken the process of getting their gratuity is to say the least disheartening and an utter aberration considering the benefits inherent in the payoff package for a retired civil servant. This unhealthy development in the life of retirees, which, no doubt, has lingered for years, is despicable and stands condemnable.
However, the recent warning by the Chairman of Delta State Bureau for Pension, Sir Edwin Ogidi-Gbegbaje, against giving bribes to persons processing pension benefits for retired workers is an apt and necessary step to restore sanity in the bureau.
Since the migration to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) as managers for funds belonging to retired workers in Delta State, retirees have faced herculean tasks in accessing their gratuities. A gratuity is designed to give a fair and comfortable life to retired workers after years of meritorious service to their state or nation, but the idea of growing hitches, including bribery and unhealthy inducement, before accessing the funds is odd and absurd.
The problem associated with payments of gratuities to workers could be traceable to the vices that have characterized the Nigerian polity in the past few decades. The problem is embedded in bribery and corruption that has permeated the fabric of all sectors of the Nigerian society and rendered policies ineffective due to the desire by officials to enrich themselves to the detriment of the people they are serving.
It is this same problem that has pinned down many retired workers, who stayed for years waiting for their gratuities and pension to no avail. In blaming those offering bribes to access their gratuities, it is also important to consider the fate they had suffered before taking the shortcut, sometimes in desperation.
Generally, the commentary over the payment of gratuities and pensions in the country is sad. Across the states of the federation, where PFA is operational, there are stories of retired workers waiting endlessly to get paid. In the process, some who have meritoriously served their fatherland end up not receiving their deserved wages.
For instance, so many have died while waiting for the payment of their gratuities and thereby laboured in vain. That is not all. There have been cases of crashed marriages as the man of the house can no longer meet up with his responsibilities.
Moreover, many children have dropped out of school because their retired parents cannot pay their school fees, in addition to some having running battles with their landlords over accrued house rents. Some also have uncompleted building projects that could have saved them from social embarrassment, while others have obtained loans that have left them in huge debts.
These are some of the encounters the senior citizens have experienced, leaving them to wallow in abject poverty despite having savings that could have conveniently eased their burdens. This same frustration emboldened them to be so desperate as to seek assistance through bribery to scuttle the due process.
It is evidence that retired workers are compelled to part with money to get their gratuity. This is bribery and it is condemnable and should not be further allowed to continue.
We commend the Chairman of Delta State Bureau for Pension, Sir Edwin Ogidi-Gbegbaje for bracing up to the challenges of his new office, which no doubt, he inherited, and now taking steps to restore dignity and sanity to the bureau. His capability is not in doubt, having excelled in the various public offices he occupied before his recent retirement. He is expected to bring to bear his wealth of experience as a civil servant, administrator, and manager of human resources to reduce the pains these men of yesteryears in service have endured.
However, the chairman of the pension bureau, Sir Ogidi- Gbegbaje, whose service records offer a glimmer of hope for the suffering retirees, must match his words with action. It is not enough to threaten sanctions. All those involved must be brought to book.
In the interim, the bureau should sensitize retirees to stop offering bribes, set up a monitoring team, and computerize the whole process of data collection and payment. Also, anybody caught should be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.
Finally, it is our view that the government should increase the current allocation to the bureau to enable it to cover as many retirees as possible. The senior citizens deserve better from the bureau.
