Nigeria’s growing population of older persons is confronting a social protection system that remains ill-equipped to guarantee their dignity, security and independence, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has warned.
The Commission said yesterday that poverty, inadequate income, weak social protection, limited access to healthcare, delayed pensions, social isolation, age discrimination, abandonment, abuse and property dispossession were leaving many older Nigerians vulnerable.
The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Dr Tony Ojukwu, who raised the concerns in Abuja at the Commission’s commemoration of the 2026 International Day of Older Persons, said Nigeria must fundamentally rethink its policies, institutions and social protection systems to respond to longer lives.
The commemoration, held under the theme, “The Age of Longevity: Rethinking Systems for Longer Lives,” brought together government institutions, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to examine the rights and welfare of older persons.
Ojukwu said the increasing length of human life should be regarded as an achievement rather than a burden, but warned that longevity would have little meaning if additional years were characterised by poverty, ill-health, insecurity, neglect and exclusion.
He said the critical question for Nigeria was no longer simply how long its citizens lived, but whether they could live their later years in good health, dignity, security, equality and with the ability to participate meaningfully in society.
“Older persons are right holders and active members of our society, and their voices must be reflected in decisions and policies that affect their lives,” he said.
The NHRC boss rejected the perception of older persons as merely dependent recipients of assistance, stressing that they remained parents, grandparents, professionals, entrepreneurs, farmers, community leaders, caregivers, mentors and custodians of culture and institutional memory.
He said their contribution to national development should be recognised and protected through policies that allow them to remain active and independent for as long as possible.
Ojukwu said the protection of older persons was fundamentally a human rights issue, noting that growing older did not strip anyone of the rights guaranteed under the Constitution and international human rights instruments.
He listed among those rights dignity, equality and non-discrimination, life, healthcare, social security, adequate living standards, family life, property, participation, access to justice and freedom from violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect.
He said Nigeria already had a legal and policy foundation for protecting older persons through the Constitution, the National Human Rights Commission Act, the National Senior Citizens Centre Act and the National Policy on Ageing.
He also cited the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, United Nations Principles for Older Persons, Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa as important instruments underpinning the rights of older people.
Ojukwu disclosed that international discussions were ongoing towards the development of a dedicated Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, which he said would strengthen the global framework for protecting the elderly.
“Why should older persons not have a Convention?” he asked, arguing that older people deserved a dedicated international legal instrument just as children and persons with disabilities had specific conventions protecting their rights.
The NHRC Executive Secretary said ageing did not affect all Nigerians in the same way, with some groups facing significantly greater risks.
He identified older women, particularly widows, as vulnerable to discriminatory cultural practices, inheritance disputes, poverty and gender discrimination.
Older persons living with disabilities, those in rural communities, people living alone and elderly Nigerians affected by displacement, poverty or humanitarian emergencies, he added, faced additional barriers.
“Ageing is not a single experience,” Ojukwu said, insisting that policies must reflect differences in gender, disability, economic circumstances, location, health and social conditions.
He warned against a culture in which elderly people were excluded from decisions affecting their own lives because relatives assumed they knew what was best for them.
Using his family as an example, he recalled how his family had once considered relocating his mother to the United States because most of his siblings lived there.
She eventually returned because she was uncomfortable with the cold weather.
For Ojukwu, the experience illustrated the need to listen to older persons before making decisions on their behalf.
“Talk to them and find out what they want. You’ll be surprised that what they want may even be easier for you to provide than what you are thinking for them,” he said.
Ojukwu said the NHRC was strengthening its institutional response to the challenges confronting older persons through advocacy, public enlightenment, monitoring, investigation of complaints, stakeholder engagement and capacity building.
He disclosed that the Commission had established and trained older persons’ desk officers across its state offices to bring ageing-related issues closer to communities nationwide.
He said the NHRC was also engaging stakeholders on implementation of the African regional framework on the rights of older persons while strengthening responses to elder abuse and other violations.
The Executive Secretary called for a broader change in societal attitudes towards ageing, warning against stereotypes that equate old age with incapacity, dependency or lack of productivity.
“Growing older is a natural part of the human life cycle. The dignity of a person does not diminish because of age,” he said.
He urged the media to play a greater role by exposing abuse and neglect, holding duty bearers accountable and highlighting the contributions of older persons rather than portraying them exclusively as vulnerable dependants.
The President of the Civil Society for the Rights of Older Persons in Nigeria (COSROPIN), Senator Eze Darlington Ajoku, said the country must move beyond annual celebrations and translate policies on ageing into concrete action.
Ajoku called for stronger healthcare, social protection, housing, transportation, pensions, employment and community support systems.
He also advocated greater investment in geriatric healthcare, caregiver support, lifelong learning and age-friendly communities, as well as the meaningful participation of older persons in decision-making.
Describing older persons as “rights-holders, not recipients of charity alone,” Ajoku said their contributions to Nigeria’s development must be recognised.
“Let us move from celebration to action, from policy to implementation, and from ageing with vulnerability to ageing with dignity,” he said.
The vulnerability of older persons was also brought into focus against the backdrop of Nigeria’s displacement crisis.
The Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) said Nigeria had, as of September 1, 2026, 140,927 refugees and asylum seekers and 3,679,757 internally displaced persons.
He said older men and women, including persons with disabilities, formed part of these displaced populations and required humanitarian responses that recognised their specific needs.
Older displaced persons, he stressed, should be treated as rights holders rather than simply beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance.
The NCFRMI said its protection activities incorporated rights to life, dignity, healthcare, food, shelter and age-friendly care, adding that it was ready to deepen collaboration with the NHRC and other stakeholders.
Ojukwu said the responsibility for protecting older Nigerians could not rest solely with the NHRC or government agencies.
He called on federal, state and local governments, civil society organisations, development partners, traditional and religious institutions, families, communities and caregivers to strengthen their collective response.
The NHRC said it would continue to receive and investigate complaints, monitor situations affecting older persons and engage duty bearers on stronger implementation of existing laws and policies.
For Ojukwu, the objective should be to ensure that longer lives do not translate into longer periods of vulnerability, but into years marked by dignity, security, participation and respect for fundamental rights.
