Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, is the
chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) University of Lagos
chapter. He lectures in the faculty of Philosophy, University of Lagos. In this
interview with ELIMONLINE, he states that though the benefits would be accrued pensioners is all 'swallowed' by PFAs. Excerpts:
How would you describe
the operation of PFAs in Nigeria?
That is very hard to
determine, you can only know which PFA is doing well when you retire and
getting your retirement benefit. Some workers discovered at the end of the day
that what they got for their retirement is much lower than what their
colleagues got even they retire with the same status from the same PFA. And
that is why we are agitating that even when we retire as professors and
operating the same PFA, our retirement pay should be the same; there must be
uniformity in what we get at the end of the day. There will be a fair
scientific calculation to what everybody gets at the end of the day but the
present situation will give room for cheating and that is what we are against.
If you as a worker to begin to monitor which PFA is doing well or paying adequately,
then, distraction will set in; full concentration at work will no longer be
there. People need to have some level of assurance that when they retire and
don’t have energy to continue with any work, ‘their pension will be sufficient
enough for them to live on.’ Due to anxiety about what the PFA will do with
their money; most workers begin to acquire what they don’t need, just to kill
the anxiety.
For crying out loud, nothing
stops a PFA from approaching a contributor to inquire where he will like to
retire to at the end of his service day or what he would like them do with his
money. Having knowledge of this would make someone have something to live on,
while working. One will be rest assured that he has something to meet at the
end of the day when he retires. This singular act will check corruption.
Pension Fund Administrators
(PFAs) are supposed to collaborate with Housing Fund to see what can be done to
assist workers ahead of when they will retire. They (PFAs) can liaise with
bank(s) for their clients and know what would be best for them at the end of
the day. That is why they are called Pension Fund Managers. At least, that
effort will check corruption; no worker will worry of how he could steal money
to get himself a roof to live under at the end of the day. That is why perhaps
in Europe, the average worker is not bordered about many things because there
is adequate policies which cater for their retirement day. They have a good
transport system, good housing policy and the pension is there.
Go to anywhere in the world,
anybody that steals pension money has committed crime against humanity and such
people should be thrown in jail for life because you have just put in jeopardy
the entire working life of some people. When senior citizens are queuing and
some died while under the sun struggling to collect what they have worked for
in their early days. This has been responsible for fear in the mind of those
that are still working, that one day, it will be their turn to be denied their
funds.
If the Federal Road Safety
Commission (FRSC) has requested to pull out; likewise the Nigerian Police Force
and the military. If the security arms that are supposed to protect us in case
any unpalatable thing happens, are not willing to participate; then what assurance
do we still have? That means we are in real
trouble.
