[November 05, 2009] Disrespectful Lagos Assembly Tweet Nov 05, 2009 (Daily Champion/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- THE failure of members of the Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA) to receive a group of elderly people operating under the banner of the Agency for the Aged speaks volumes about the shabby manner the aged are treated in the society and about the legislators' warped sense of duty. According to a news report, the Agency for the Aged had written to the House for an appointment to visit and had received a reply granting them leave to visit by 11 am on Monday October 26, 2009. The elder citizens, about 70 of them, on the strength of the letter from the House, chartered buses and arrived the Assembly complex on time to keep the appointment. To their utter dismay, however, they were left unattended to for hours and justifiably, feeling insulted, they reportedly stormed out of the Assembly complex after raining curses and abuses on the lawmakers. According to a more recent report, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, some days after the incident, sent an official of the Assembly to the founder of the Agency for the Aged, Major Bumi Idowu (rtd) with a verbal apology, explaining that the legislators were very busy with urgent matters which made it difficult for them to attend to the elder citizens. The entire episode, to say the least, leaves a sour taste in the mouth. It shows clearly, how insensitive, disrespectful, and vain those who are in leadership positions can be; and this is not limited to members of the LAHA. If the Assembly had written to any group of people, even school pupils, granting them leave to visit them at the Assembly complex, honour, integrity and civility demanded that they or their representatives should be on ground to receive and attend to such a group. When it involves a large group of elder citizens, the entire Assembly should have been on double alert, if for nothing else, to prove that they retain the essential African value of deferring to and honouring old age. To add salt to injury, the lawmakers, rather than show sufficient remorse, casually sent an official with a verbal apology to these compatriots who have invested their youth in service to the fatherland, with the lame excuse that they were very busy with urgent matters. What else could be so urgent to legislators that they would so rudely shun their fathers and mothers, who are the older members of their constituencies? These legislators are first and foremost, representatives of their constituents and liaison with those constituents ought to be priority for them, more so when such constituents are old and frail. The unfortunate treatment of the group of elders also typifies the growing trend of disdain by those in authority towards the elderly. It results in the non-payment of pensions and gratuities when due and in the penchant for subjecting them to long hours on queues waiting for their entitlements. Also, we are not aware of any legislations spelling out national or state policies for the aged. Whatever specialized care these citizens are getting currently are mostly courtesy of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and public spirited individuals. This is, indeed, unfortunate and gives the impression that the youths of today, the legislators and those in other positions of authority, do not realize that sooner than later, they too would become aged. The contemptible treatment meted out to these elders is a reflection of the contempt in which elected public officials hold the electorate. This, observers say, is possible only because, to a large extent, the votes of the electorate do not count in deciding who gets into office. If it did, the members of LAHA would, at least, be sure that they have lost the votes of these elders, their family members and their supporters. Indeed, if votes count, the legislators would by now have been worrying that recall proceedings could be initiated against them for such slap on the face of the elders. It has come to be known that in most cases, the most urgent matters that command the attention of legislators and other public officers across the country are matters that concern their welfare, not issues of common concern. This, too, is unfortunate, because true representatives of the people should worry more about the common good than about their selfish interest. They should worry about creation of jobs or social security scheme for the unemployed, healthcare for all, especially for the most vulnerable groups - infants, pregnant women and the aged, as well as such other issues that would give hope to the millions of hopeless Nigerians, particularly, residents of their states. There could, indeed, have been a national or state emergency that occupied the legislators, but the manner of communicating same to these elders was clearly not good enough, otherwise, they would not have stormed out of the Assembly complex in anger. Also, the manner of communicating their apology is inappropriate. They should have formally written a well publicized apology while the principal officers of the House should have gone to these repositories of our collective history, to tender the deserved apology, or may be they are still too busy to attend to these constituents who are among those believed to have given them their mandates in the first place? It is important that the country must, as it strives to move forward, recover those essential ingredients of the past that made society cohesive and orderly, such as care and respect for the elderly, selflessness, compassion and humility on the part of all, especially those in leadership positions. Towards this end, we counsel that members of the Lagos Assembly should do the needful, publicly, to redeem their image and show the way for other public officers at all levels of governance to follow. They should also host the aged, listen to their demands and make laws that would enhance their well being and serve as template for other states on how to cater for the elderly. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]