The International Federation of Ageing-Nigeria (IFAN), an NGO, says it will partner the Digital Bridge Institute(DBI) to create a database of older persons with a view to harnessing their potential.
IFAN’s Coordinator, Mr Ike Willie-Nwobu, spoke with newsmen on the sidelines of the 2017 International Day of Older Persons, hosted by DBI on Tuesday in Abuja.
DBI was established by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to promote the development of human resources capacity and provide training in Information Communication Technology (ICT).
This year’s theme is “Tapping the Talents, Contribution and Participation of Older Persons in the Society.’’
Willie-Nwobu said that the 2017 event was about enabling and expanding the contributions of older people in their families, communities and societies at large.
He said that the event would focus on the pathways that will promote old persons’ rights, needs and preferences.
“IFAN looks at the mandate of UN as regards ageing and does some domestication in Nigeria- projects that will help the ageing and the aged.
“The major focus is to develop, at a policy level, a project on pensioners and retirees because of the impending danger.
“It is a disaster to invest in people and towards the most productive part of their lives, discard them.
“These people have huge resources in terms of information and they are the custodians of national security.
“What we are trying to do to create a database of old persons and do skill profiling, using the capacity of the DBI,’’ he said.
According to him, at the age of 65, the experience of people with national bureaucratic knowledge ought to be harnessed instead of being abandoned.
He said that veterans, pensioners and retirees should be utilised for national productivity.
The coordinator said that DBI would provide the infrastructure, while IFAN would provide the contact and network.
On his part, Dr Ike Adinde , DBI’s Administrator, said the institute would collaborate with IFAN in driving its mandate as a non-profit organization, dedicated to promoting the welfare of older people.
“We recognise that old people are becoming excluded in information due to rapid advancement of technology.
“The only thing we can bring them onboard is to leverage ICT and ensure that older people enjoy the benefits of the new information age-driven by ICT.
“With our resources and facilities of DBI, we will support this project and ensure that older people have quality lives,’’ he said. (NAN)
