RETIREMENT AGE IN POLITICS

          Retirement Age In Politics Part I

The retirement age for participation in politics is….ah ha, caught you. There is no retirement age to vote and be voted for and one may ask, why is this so? MERSIM LAW QUEST was privileged to interview some people mostly youths and this is what they had to say:

      Comrade Chinemerem, who was once a student union president and who is very much in politics had this to say: “they say that politics especially senatorial positions is for the older men in the society, we agree but when they serve two tenures between 60 and 68 years, they should retire. He believes the retirement age should be 70 years.

       Mr Onyeka, an accountant says, “Yes o! there should be a retirement age in politics joo! All these old men should allow younger ones and active brains to pilot the affairs of this nation. You no dey see USA; that’s an example!

     Mr Ikenna says, “well, there probably can’t be a retirement age but retirement point… once the brain of the individual begins to decline steadily and his thought rates too few”

     Mrs Vera, a journalist in Abakaliki, says that there shouldn’t be a retirement age as the older they get, the wiser they become and they could play advisory roles
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     Mr Paul says, “there should be, I think 75 is good because at that time, the person is weak and cant contribute much, in short 60 for active politics”
     Barr Peter says “i think 70 years should be a perfect retirement age in politics to give the young ones opportunity to perform, but there is nothing like that under the law”.

     Mr Uwaifo thinks there should not be a retirement age in politics because it is an act, a social act, he calls it. “If it is a job, there should be retirement but when it comes to politics, it should be open for all ages, people like Wole Soyinka should be allowed to fully participate”.

    Barr Ugochukwu simply says “nope”, there shouldn’t be
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    Engr. Godwin  says, “yes, I think 65 is fair for active politics because of the rigour and demands..”

    Dr Nnanna says “I think its relative but by 75, you should retire from active politics and become an elder statesman”.

    Miss Joy, says, “Ok, I think there should be retirement at 70, for some elective posts but not completely; after 70 one can still be involved but can’t contest for some posts”.

    Engr. Ogedegbe says “Well, I think the fundamental base on which Politics is defined here in Nigeria is where the contention lies. Politics as instituted by the forerunners of Democracy like the United States was never intended to be a profession, rather a call from profession. Individuals from all kinds of profession (Law, Sports, Environmental Activism ,Community service, Business, Health Services, Engineering etc) with a genuine desire for public service will give up their practices for that period and take up the burden of service to the people, to which they can also go back to after contributing their bits.
(Take for instance the former United States Vice President, Al Gore. Before he became Vice to Bill Clinton he had been an Environmentalist. And when he lost that 2000 Presidential election to George Bush, he didn't need to go to some election Tribunal; there was a profession to fall back on. Six years later, in 2007, he won the Nobel peace Prize for Environment!)

     Fundamentally a noble cause, Politics was never intended  to be a jolly ride of money spilling and abuse of trust as its commonly  practice in our Country today;  Now in Nigeria Politics is the only thing most people do,it's what they live on, it's all they've gat. And we talk of retirement? To where? To what? And they have got mouths to feed! Now are you still wondering why they would want to stay in that office forever? Why they use arms and thugs to win (?) elections.
  There need to be a change of Ideology; and naturally people would serve and leave''.

     It appears most people think there should be a retirement age for Pertisans of politics, we beg to agree because it is our belief that it is because politicians do not retire, that we have more problems with our political system, issues like god fatherism, corruption, desperation, redundancy, monetization of politics and other related vices.
      Also, the human bodies is programmed just like every other manufactured good to get weak, old and eventually die, during this recession, the person exhibits signs of old age like memory loss medically termed “senile dementia”, they are also prone to cerebrovascular accident, commonly known as stroke. At this point in time, what the person needs is care and not to be saddled with such a tedious job as the position of the governor of a state, senator/ law maker or the president of a country.
    Moreover, the society is changing and becoming more computerized/ globalized, imagine having a governor who is not computer literate because it was not common during his time, who cannot even make full use of a normal handset, let alone a blackberry phone. How will he understand the importance of improving the technology of the state and encouraging his people to make good use of their talents in relation to computers and other electronic devices; they could be weapons of mass destruction and a complete waste of resources for all he cares. Picture a state governed by an eighty year old who in the worst case scenario is an “educated illiterate”, when people are complaining about lack of modern facilities in the hospitals and schools, what does he say? “in our time or when we were much younger, there was nothing like this and things were much better then…” or when people are talking about lack of good health care, roads and education, he is more interested in constructing bridges because that was what the colonial masters were doing then… it goes on and on. It is not that that they do not have the welfare of the people they are governing in mind but the question is how relevant is the 1979 solution they are bringing in 2011? What place does it have considering the global changes economically, legally, socially and otherwise between then and now?
    Another disadvantage is that since generally in Africa, knowledge is measured in terms of age, how on earth will an older man take advise from people he is older and “wiser” than? Let alone grant their wishes; even if the people want to go on strike, he will not care because he is their father or grandfather as the case may be and they will still come and beg when they become hungry as a result of non- payment of their salaries. It goes without saying that there is no room for dialogue in such a dispensation. He knows what is best for the people and that will he do and nobody will dare stop him.
    It also gives room for selfishness because a man who is as old as eighty does not have anything to loose, at the end of his tenure, he might as well just die or die on the “throne” and will be celebrated “as died in active service”. So whether he works or not, he does not care, he has already lived his life and all he wants is to add another feather to his cap so that his obituary will read His Excellency, the former governor of so so state.
    The disadvantages go on and on and the truth is whether we like it or not, they have more experience, considering their numbers of years on earth but what happens to the youth, how will they gain experience, seeing they are not given the opportunity to practice and they say that experience is the best teacher?
    Unfortunately, we cannot do much because the law is interpreted as “it is and not as it ought to be”. We can only criticize the law but we cannot disobey it. The law gives them their constitutional right to vote and be voted for and there is nothing in our laws that says because you are old, you can no longer participate in politics, sad! They say “if you can’t beat them, you join them” but we do not agree in toto with that saying because if you can’t beat them means you have already accepted defeat but if you do not accept defeat, it means you can do something about it and fortunately however, most of the people who read this are youths and we can make a difference as nothing in the law stops younger people from contesting for positions, there are age limits, yes but, it is still within our reach. We can team up and put our own best candidate who will understand our needs and favour us all.
     Need we repeat it again, that everyone should register and make sure we vote for the right person who will represent our interest? If you feel it’s the older man that will represent your interest, make sure you vote for him. Your vote is your power, use it rightly. We are also reminded to shun thuggery, corruption and other related election mal- practices. Let your vote count for only then will we truly say that we are a democratized nation. Do not forget we can change, Nigerian can get better. May we adapt the words of Mr Onyeka when he said, “enough of the rigmarole and anomaly we have in Nigeria. We need capable and honest leaders!” You are that instrument of change, it starts with you, we won’t stop until we achieve the new Nigeria.

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