Pensioners and politics in nigeria
It is a phenomenon that is not recognised by most people who see the image of pensioners as people queuing for endless verification of their records and identification in person for clearance and payment of their intermittent stipend.
The phenomenon is the power and influence wielded by pensioners in shaping politics in Nigeria.
Queuing pensioners influence politics primarily by their voting power, unionism, prayers and constant agitation for their pension rights.
However, another category of pensioners does not queue for anything, not even their pension pay. This is the category that leads this country at the political, economic and other top managerial levels.
Pensioners in this category are so powerful and influential that they can literally be described as the leading shapers of Nigerian politics, for which they have high public visibility.
The Number One citizen and re-elected President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, is a pensioner. Although he was paid stipends by the Division of Affairs of Former Heads of State in the Presidency before he won the 2015 presidential votes, he is a qualified military pensioner.
The serial letter writer to serving leaders of the country through which he seeks to influence state matters, former Head of State and former two-term elected President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is a qualified and privileged military pensioner by right. He recently boastfully said at an event that he holds the crown of the longest serving (cumulatively) head of government in this country
Former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who is believed to command an unwaning political clout is often visited for blessing and “support” by politicians aspiring to contest for big posts. The only clear exception for the 2019 elections is President Muhammadu Buhari. And General Babangida is a qualified military pensioner. Of course, his upkeep is under the purview of the Presidency.
But Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President of Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential election, visited General Babangida in Minna where he sought for and got his blessing to contest for the big post. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is a qualified pensioner, having served in and retired from the Nigerian Customs Service. But his upkeep is the business of the Affairs of Former Heads of state and their deputies, not PTAD.
General Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar, a former Head of State and convener of the group that tries to ensure that politicians keep the peace after winning or losing in elections, is a military pensioner, though his upkeep is a Presidency responsibility. His contribution in ensuring that all those signed peace accords are respected by the signatories is a powerful tool that helps in reducing violence in elections.
There is a big pensioner who is revered by all these powerful pensioners shaping the direction of our national affairs. Less powerful pensioners also respect him for being a true statesman - his name is General Yakubu Yohanna Gowon, the Head of State who brought Igbos back to Nigeria from a Biafra. He is a qualified military pensioner, but being a former Head of State, the Presidency is deservingly caring for his post-service welfare. He uses his Nigeria Pray initiative to calm the country and this shows that his passion for the peace and unity of Nigeria is enduring.
The roles of pensioners in shaping Nigerian politics took a fresh dimension when retirees of Nigeria Airways Limited organised a rally and canvassed for the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the payment of their entitlements. As an interest group its action was legitimate.
While agitating for the payment of outstanding pensions and gratuities to its members, the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) threatened to campaign against the re-election of some debtor Governors. Shortly after, governors took steps to pay up, and in some cases, actually paid on the eve of the elections.