Anenih seeks legislation to protect rights of elderly

FORMER Minister of Women Affairs, Iyom Josephine Anenih, has called for legislation for the protection of the elderly in the country and social inclusion of the elderly in the society.

Speaking at the Community of Practice on Eldercare in Nigeria dissemination workshop in Abuja, Anenih lamented that the elderly in Nigeria suffer a lot of discrimination and neglect, especially in this modern era.

She observed that a lot of elderly people are abused at home by their children and grandchildren.

She advocated a law that would ensure that the rights of elderly persons are protected.

Anenih said: “As a country, we need to put in place policies backed up with legislation for the protection of the elderly in the country. When we were young, the elderly were much respected but with modernity, the young people are saying that the old people should take the back sit; that they are not too young to run without understanding that the elderly people still have a lot to offer.

“They have the experience and the wisdom. The elderly people are now being relegated and unlike in the past when we had communal living, today’s mothers no longer allow that bond between them and their grandchildren.”