Elders Day: NGO advocates end to all forms of abuse against elderly in the society

 An Abuja-based NGO, Save Our Heritage Initiative (SOHI) has called for an immediate end to all forms of abuse against elders to restore and preserve their dignity and well being.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the group, Ms May Ikokwu, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja on the occasion of the World Elders Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD).

Ikokwu decried how some elders were being treated in the society, which she said tarnished the dignity supposedly attached to the golden age.

She said “shamefully, there have been several cases of rape of older women even in their 80s, by young men in their 20s.

“Many elders today in our society are treated with the utmost disdain, reckless abandon without any iota of love or regard.

“For example, in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, most of the elders die as a result of abuse, abandonment and absence of caregivers.”

The SOHI boss urged government to ensure the prompt return of displaced people to their original communities, according to geriatrics, as they often suffered a mental imbalance when removed from their familiar abode.

Ikokwu expressed worry over the gradual fade of moral values associated with love, care and respect for elders in the society, calling for a return to the old tradition of respect and care for elders.

She added that the continuous psychological and physical abuse of elders was not only an affront on their fundamental rights, but an imposition of the reign of cruelty targeted at older persons.

Ikokwu urged the younger generation to always treat elders with love and care, irrespective of the reasons for the provocation.

She condemned the stereotyping of elders as witches or wizards in some communities, describing it as “barbaric and inhumane.”

She wondered how an old man or woman with underlying health challenges as dementia or amnesia could be labelled as a witch or wizard without any empirical proof.

The NGO chief executive commended the Federal Government for the newly inaugurated board of the Senior Citizens Centre.

She added that “the rapid takeoff of the centre is expected to facilitate the provision of care and attention for older persons in the society.”

Advocate.ng reports that the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) is observed on June 15  every year to raise the voice for the elderly who are abused and victimized.