oKunle Adelabu
Alhaji Fola Salu, Chairman, Ijede Development Foundation (left), Alhaji Bashiru Saminu Akinwande, retired Assistant General Manager (Audit), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN,) (middle) and Dr Fatai Oriyomi Asodun of the faculty of Philosophy, University of Lagos (right)
A University don and other professionals have called for the review of the retirement policy in the country, especially in relative to the years expected to spend in service by employees that embark on study leave during service.
Those calling for review are of the view that many of those ‘forced’ to retire after 35 years of service left at their peak and when their services are still very much needed.
According to them, this situation is a big disadvantage on the part of the government.
While calling on the legislators and other policy formulators for the government, to ensure that the extant laws related to the civil service issues are reviewed, they argued that most of those that take study leave, got into the service at young age and while in service, embarked on educational development which qualified them for managerial cadre and expose them to quality trainings and as such, they should be made to serve the number of years they spent on study leave rather than adding those years to their years of service and easing them out once they reach 35 years.
Though, according to report, the clamour for this has been going on for a while, it, however, resurfaced at the 7th edition of the Ijede Development Foundation (IDF) Scholarship Award, Quiz/Debate & Public Lecture and Launching of Library & Computer Training Centre, held at the TBT Event Centre, Ijede , on Saturday, October 22, 2022, where Alhaji Bashiru Saminu Akinwande, CNA, FCTI, who retired as Assistant General Manager (Audit), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), was honoured with the Role Model award by the foundation.
Many of those that spoke on the awardee who is regarded as a true role model that rose from grass to grace, thereby, showing exemplary qualities to the youths with his self-development character while in the service, are of the view that with age still on his side coupled with his agility and capacity, he should still be in service.
Dr Fatai Oriyomi Asodun of the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Lagos (UNILAG) who raised his observation on Alhaji Bashiru Saminu Akinwande, CNA, FCTI, who retired as an Assistant General Manager (AGM) (Audit), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and one of the IDF awardees, said that such an energetic, industrious and productive man should still be in the service.
Bashiru, who was employed into the service of the old National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) as a Cleaner/Labourer, rose to the top management level of the TCN, through self development and further studies.
Hon. Kabir Kareem, Vice Chairman, Ijede LCDA presenting the 2022 IDF Role Model award to Alhaji Bashiru Saminu Akinwande. With then are chieftains and members of the Ijede Development Foundation (IDF)
“I also observed critically another point that should come to the awareness of those concerned. One of the awardees of today, Alhaji Bashiru Saminu Akinwande, actually rose from grass to grace. He started as a mere cleaner and rose to the level of an Assistant General Manager in Power Transmission of Nigeria (TCN), Dr Asodun said.
“Yes, he has retired today, and that is one of the reasons IDF is recognizing him. However, the point is that the effort made by this man is what others have been making all over, but not well appreciated.
“If you hear that somebody rose from a cleaner to achieve such a feat, it means that he must have been training and retraining himself educationally to reach the level of being the Assistant General Manager for Audit for that matter.
The University don frowned at double jeopardy for workers who embark on study leave without pay and also retire after 35 years of service with their years of study leave added to their years of service.
“This man actually trained himself by going on study leave to reach this level, but I could not see an adequate compensation from the government. We have those who embarked on Part Time Study while on service and were receiving salaries along the line. It is the same thing as somebody who took study leave and was not receiving salary and yet came back stronger to his company and used the knowledge he has acquired to move the company forward”, Dr Asodun said.
“What kind of compensation can we give to this kind of person if not that we can just take away the years he spent on his study leave from his service years; after all, he was not paid during the period”, he added.
He called on the government to adjust necessary law to give room for the addition of the number of years a worker is on study leave to his service years.
Asodun said that such would serve as motivation and make workers more productive.
“The expectation is that if we spent three years for study leave, why can’t the three years be deducted from our years of service and be made to stay for those years as compensation, so that we have more time to serve? That would mean a simple benefit to boost morale and motivate others to do same”, he said.
“Somebody rose from a cleaner, meaning that he was nothing when he was employed but during his service year, he was going for study leave to improve himself and returning to work at the same company. I am of the opinion that private firms, and government especially, should look into this kind of matter and see to it that a statutory law that would address the issue is considered.
“It would serve as motivation to many. What would be my benefit if I have to go on study leave and somebody who is not doing the same is getting remuneration and I am not, the motivation would not be there.
“I pray that the government would look at this and do the needful”, Dr Asodun charged.
The Chairman, Ijede Development Foundation (IDF), Alhaji Fola Salu, also speaking on the issue, said that it is important for the government and other employers of labour to encourage those developing themselves while in service through study leave so as to serve as good examples to the youths and give the assurances that the years they spend on study leave would be considered as additional years to their actual service tears.
He said that the IDF decided to honour the former TCN AGM Audit, because of his exemplary character which he said young men needed to copy from him.
“IDF decided to honour him as a role model, not only to the Ijede community but also as a shining example to the Ikorodu Division and Lagos State in general. This is somebody who started from a humble beginning as a cleaner/labourer at the former NEPA, but due to his determination and seriousness, rose through the ranks and retired as the Assistant General Manager with the present TCN”, Alhaji Salu who is a dealer in sportswear and equipment, said.
“You could see that with determination, anything is possible and that calls for making him a good example for all these young guys engaging in acts that are disorganizing the society, causing troubles and those having troubles with their studies such as references or failing an examination. They should not see their present situation hould as the end but continue to struggle until they succeed.
“That was why we decided to make Alhaji Bashiru Akinwale Saminu, as a shining example with the role model award today. In this regard, I think that employers of labour, especially the government, should try to assist those that are trying to uplift themselves”, he reiterated.
“You can imagine a situation where a worker get a study leave and returned to work to perform very well, though, you upgraded him, but I don’t think that years when such worker was granted study leave should be added to his/her years of service, rather, it should be deducted and be allowed to still serve for those years, because these are people that are retired but not tired.
Like Dr Asodun, the IDF Chairman also called for change in the government policy to address the situation.
“They are still useful to the company and the government. I think that the government should look into it as a national policy that years of study leave should not be added to service years of anybody that went on study leave when considering their retirement age”, he said.
Alhaji Bashiru Saminu and Mr Oluwaseyi Ishola, CEO, Roving Tourist.
Mr Oluwashina Ishola, Chief Executive Officer, Roving Tourist, described the stipulated laws that automatically retire civil servants as soon as they clock 60years or after they have spent 35 years in service, as a disservice to the nation..
“Unfortunately, some individuals get into the civil service at a very tender age and spend 35 years before they attained the age of 60. This is a disservice to the nation itself, because over times, we discover those that retired at early ages of about 52,53,54,55years, are still at their optimum reproduction level when they are forced to retire as a result of that law”, he said.
“I am of the option that individual that get to the civil service early enough and are able to rise through the ranks by developing themselves educationally while in service, should be given the opportunity to continue serving after attaining 35 years of service until they are 60 years.
“lf such individuals are not given scholarship approval with pay, they should have the number of years spent on further studies while in service, netted out of their years of service because that period was taking care of by themselves and were not receiving any money while it is assumed that they are still working with the organization or government”, he explained.
Like the previous speakers, charged the government to review the law to allow those that embark on study leave to have the years spent added after reaching 35 years in service.
“The government should look into how to change such laws because it is becoming obnoxious. We have people at the age of 52 and 53 being forced to retire because they have attained 35 years in service”, he said.
“Meanwhile, within that period of 35 years, they must have spent 5 to 6 years in acquiring tertiary education with some of them going to the Polytechnic or University, as the case may be. The would spend 5 years to study and one year for national youth service before they returned to the service to continue with their jobs.
“So, those 6 years that were supposed to have been used for service but were used for their education without receiving salary, should be netted out of their years of service to the government, such that the government itself will have the right advantage to such individual”, he added.
“These are people that developed themselves with their own resources and when they attained the managerial position, the government will still use its resources to train and retrained them to becoming who they are, unfortunately, when that they are supposed to start using the benefits of experiences or knowledge gathered through trainings, they are eased out of the civil service, thereby, denying the government from benefitting from the quality of their knowledge and capacity acquired at the managerial level”.
Mr Ishola, therefore, called on lawmakers to ensure that the civil service procedures are changed to allow years workers spend on study leave to be added after the stipulated 35 years.
“I suggest that our lawmakers should look into that law and change it such that individuals that are in government service and go to school without pay, is allowed to have those years of their education taken away from their 35 mandatory years of services to the government”, he said.
He also called for national awards for civil servants that distinguished themselves while in the service.
“Aside that, the government should also look into giving awards to individuals that performed qualitatively while in service with the government. Awards like Order of the Niger should not be reserved for private sector participants alone, civil servant that have served creditably and without blemish should also be encouraged with such honour to serve as motivation to others in service”, he said.
