Prof. Elias Wahab, Deputy Vice- Chancellor (Academics), Lagos State University (LASU), has called on all tiers of government and policy makers to show genuine interest in the demography of ageing population in Nigeria.
Wahab made the plea at the sixth lecture series organised by the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, LASU, Ojo in Lagos on Thursday.
The theme of the lecture was: “Re-thinking Demography of Ageing In Nigeria: Issues And Dimensions”.
He said that governments needed to show enormous and genuine interest in the demography of ageing population which could help the population growth and economy.
“Indeed the Nigerian population is ageing, though slowly, compared to the rate in Europe and Asian countries.
“The number of Nigerians aged 60 years and above is projected to rise to about one-tenth of the total population by 2032, according to United Nations.
“It is expected that the fertility decline will continue unabated while mortality will decline too.
“These mortality decline and increased life expectancy will contribute to population ageing,” Wahab said.
He urged governments to integrate family care system within the government health expenditure to avert the inevitable funding shortages.
“Another way out is the use of age as a criterion for choosing which people that can benefit from health care.
“As this can be an appropriate response to the finite nature of medical resources.
“This can commence in Nigeria by ensuring that savings from age-based rationing are used to fund more cost effective intervention for elderly people,” Wahab said.
He also noted that the country’s economic features would be dramatically affected by population ageing, resulting in fundamental negative change in contribution to national income.
“These economics of ageing may be mathematically misleading. It cannot be a sudden change but planned for.
“There is a need for comparative demography of ageing that will seek to identify the differentials in rural and urban older persons.
“Demography of ageing should link demographic and economic data for better appreciation of its tools and paradigms,” Wahab said. (NAN)
