Stakeholders among whom are traditional office holders, health professionals and academic have called for the introduction of gerontology and geriatric as a distinct course in Nigerian universities.
They noted that this is necessary in order to have enough manpower to cater for the needs of senior citizens in the country.
The stakeholders also decried the absence of proper geriatric care in Nigeria.
They made these declarations on Thursday in Ibadan at a programme organised by University of Third Age Nigeria.
The programme held at Secretariat in Ibadan has the theme “Educational gerontology in Africa now and in the future: Domiciling gerontology as a course of study in Nigerian/ African universities”.
The event was attended by the Abese Olubadan of Ibadanland, Senior Chief Lekan Alabi, Professor Francois Vellas, Professor Sidicd Camara and President of the institution, Professor Afolabi Israel.
A medical doctor, Dr Olamiji Ajanaku, while addressing the gathering said that Nigeria has only few geriatric centers which cannot take care of the number of senior citizens in the country.
She also lamented the poor state of geriatric care in the country.
“We don’t have enough geriatric centers in Nigeria. We are ignoring the old people who have worked for this country. We don’t have enough facilities on geriatric care.
“We need to incorporate the teaching of gerontology and geriatric care in our institutions. I was to ensure that our older persons have care to cater for them.
“I want to encourage our academic and professionals to build confidence. The youths should know that the older persons are not expired. They are repository of knowledge and wisdom. We need to see them not as past tense but as a loving libraries”.
A professor of Transpersonal Psychology and Education, at El-Roi London University, Professor Oluwafemi Esan, while addressing the gathering, noted that being an aged person does not make one irrelevant.
“Being an old person doesn’t make you irrelevant. The old people have the knowledge of the past. They are not useless. They are also important. We need their knowledge. They are the custodian of knowledge”.
Afolabi while speaking, noted that many aged persons are suffering because of the absence of proper training for those who will care for them.
He added that the event was put together in order to ensure that the course is being taught in Nigerian educational institutions.
“We are organising this programme in order to ensure that we have gerontology and geriatric care as a course of study in our universities.
“We must do domesticate it in Nigeria and Africa. We should have it like courses like Nursing and Medicine in Nigeria. This will create more opportunities for our people. There still be more jobs”.