I have lived to see the country struggle for survival

Against colonial strangulation

I have lived to see the sunny side

Now,

The sun has disappeared

And the pensioners disappointed

37 years of meticulous service

3 years without a Kobo from Abuja

I have looked back and wondered

How have I survived these years?

Mbadinuju once called us deadwoods

I just wish somebody will understand

II

I know how much I have suffered

I know how much am suffering

My colleagues are kicking the bucket

But am still hanging on

Things have fallen apart

Things are falling apart

Things will fall apart

The country is quick and brittle

It provides reward for few

And withhold fulfillment for many

It is surprising that business had gone on as usual in Aso rock

In the midst of much devilment

III

Verification, verification, verification

How many times will I risk my poor life?

Traveling through the wilderness to Abuja

Just for verification

My bones are frail

My brain filled with convoluted memories

I struggle to keep myself from insanity

But the trees are singing the hymn of twilight

There is lull in the noises of insects

As they bow their beaks

And were making devotional pause

The shadows in my face are deepening

My tight lips is holding in check

The moan of great despair

My face is down with vexation and wrath

IV

Gone are the good old days

From promises to promises of greater obscurity

The crude oil has refused to be refined

The taps are dry

The electrons in the cables have refused to move

The schools are rotting away

Presently,

There is a silence

If only the trees can sing again

If only the sun will smile again

If only I can turn back the hands of the clock

If only somebody will understand my plight

My pension

Oh my pension

Robot  # 1 | 21.09.2007 15:36

A poetic reflection on the plight of pensioners!...Read the full article.

akuluouno  # 2 | 22.09.2007 05:53

Dear Churchill, I am sure that between you and Rudolf Ogoo, the Okonkwo family have given NVS some writers who have a way of hitting the matter on the head. Pension and pensioners in Nigeria is a story that can never be over told because it goes against everything that is traditional in our values as Africans and Nigerians. Lack of respect and support for the elderly who gave their youth for the nation. That is why when Soludo and UMYA mouth the 44 billions of dollars in our national reserve I laugh and wonder if that makes any sense seeing that the people behind the figures are languishing. There must be a better way for the administration of pension and magt of pensioners to make those not yet pensioners to have the necessary trust in the system and stem any temptation to official looting in the hope that the pension may not be there when they are frail and old. :mad::mad: Few days b4 my dad died, my mother was able to take him to where Railway pensioners collect their stipend at Enugu. My mother struggled through the queue and the young girl asked for my dad, she told her that he was frail and could neither sit, stand nor even queue and insisted that she can come and see him in the car where he lay or she will not leave until she collects his meagre stipend. Eventually the girl gave and my mum collectd the money. While taking my dad home, he requested to feel the money and when she gave him the dough, the old man's eyes brightened up and he was happy to feel the sweat of his labour. Let me not bore u with what happened to the pension after his death and other entitlements of his until we meet in my proverbial Phillipi.:frown::frown:

aringaranso  # 3 | 22.09.2007 07:11

Thanks Dear Churchill, Nigeria Pensioners really deserve our pity, They are the worst-hit in all these insensitivity and heartlessness of our leaders, People that gave their best to the Nation, have been given the worst of treatement. Elsewhere, it's a big pride to be a pensioner, But not in Nigeria, Mbadiniju,the ex-shameless and mean governor of Anambra state called them Dead Woods He equally stated that their children not the Nation should cater for their needs. Talk of man's inhumanity to man, Talk of goverment's negligence of the highest order, Talk of goverment's wickedness to its citizens, All typifies the plight of our pensioners. Just like the neglected ex-biafra soldiers at Oji, Our Pensioners have been abandoned to rot,die or perish thru hunger,and the hard way. And their crime was for honestly and diligently serving their fatherland. The fourth republic legislators and governors have all gotten their severance pay, But not so for our pensioners that retired even when most of them were in primary sch. Nigeria surely exists in a class of its own.

aringaranso  # 4 | 22.09.2007 07:58

Thanks Dear Churchill, Nigeria Pensioners really deserve our pity, They are the worst-hit in all these insensitivity and heartlessness of our leaders, People that gave their best to the Nation, have been given the worst of treatement. Elsewhere, it's a big pride to be a pensioner, But not in Nigeria, Mbadiniju,the ex-shameless and mean governor of Anambra state called them Dead Woods He equally stated that their children not the Nation should cater for their needs. Talk of man's inhumanity to man, Talk of goverment's negligence of the highest order, Talk of goverment's wickedness to its citizens, All typifies the plight of our pensioners. Just like the neglected ex-biafra soldiers at Oji, Our Pensioners have been abandoned to rot,die or perish thru hunger,and the hard way. And their crime was for honestly and diligently serving their fatherland. The fourth republic legislators and governors have all gotten their severance pay, But not so for our pensioners that retired even when most of them were in primary sch. Nigeria surely exists in a class of its own.

Faddy  # 5 | 22.09.2007 10:22

@akuluouno You said it all with the abstract below: Pension and pensioners in Nigeria is a story that can never be over told because it goes against everything that is traditional in our values as Africans and Nigerians. It is highly unfortunate that our political leaders failed to appreciate the contributions of the retirees to the development of Nigeria. My mum retired 4 years ago and she is yet to collect a "kobo" of her pensioner. The unfortunate part of it is that pensioners contributed to various pensioner association in order to go and "lobby" the government. I was shocked early this year while my mum was visiting, she asked one my younger sisters to ensure that her monthly association contribution was paid promptly. She even told me horror stories of pensioners who are not as fortunate as herself, that died waiting for what legitimately belongs to them. What an unfortunate ways of treating our elders! But alas we can spend 238 millions or is it 628 millions to renovate a house:mad::mad::mad:

Prof. Emmanuel N. Onunkwo  # 6 | 25.09.2007 17:23

Thank you Mr Churchill Okonkwo for a very brilliant depiction in poetry of the fate of Nigerian pensioners. I understand. I am one of them. I worked for the government of Nigeria both before and after the civil war. I was one of those early Nigerian senior civil servants (December 1960). I went on while still a civil servant to pursue both Masters degrees (Two) and a doctorate. I still went back to serve the government retiring at the rank of Deputy Permanent Secretary /Asst. Controller of Planning. I ask Mr Mbadinuju. What makes me a "Dead Wood". I have not been paid a penny by the Federal government since September 1993. I am so sorry for other pensioners who have passed on without any payment. God saved me because I was in a position to move on. I hope that when Mr. Mbadinuju crosses over eventually (as we will all do), he will confront his maker and account for all the lives he helped destroy. He is goimg to Eat His Words.

bob  # 7 | 25.09.2007 17:56

i will not like it if mbadinuju eats his words in phillipi. he is the reason i have no time for ribadu. why has efcc not captured mbadinuju?