A concerned citizen and retired civil servant, Mukadam AbdulGaniy Akorede Zakariyyah has called on the Federal, States and local Governments to exclude elderly citizens in the country from payment of taxes in recognition of their roles in the development of the country.
He similarly urged all tiers of government to improve on the welfare package of the elderly and the senior citizens and ensure that they do not go through stress while receiving their gratuity and pensions after retirement.
Mukadam Zakariyyah who made these suggestions in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital while answering questions on a Radio Kwara personality interview programme,Playing Host noted that after serving for thirty five years, retired workers ought to enjoy their retirement benefits.
He added that social security programmes should be put in place for the elderly as practiced in developed countries as part of efforts to move the country forward such as free health care and free transportation.
Mukadam Zakariyyah who retired as a deputy director in the Kwara State Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development appealed to government to ensure regular payment of pension and gratuity more so now that the economic recession is biting harder.
The retired deputy director appealed to civil servants to reorient their minds and identity their passion while in service and described the civil service as a training ground in preparation for their private life and urged them to guide against living a flamboyant lifespan as to have a smooth transition.
Mukadam Zakariyyah who is a trained teacher called on government to rejuvenate teachers training scheme so as to add value to the teaching profession and stressed the need for an harmonious relationship between the government and the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) .
He urged the Federal Government to stabilize all policies on Education and work assiduously to ensure that all the laid down procedures and guidelines are religiously adhered to.
Mukadam Zakariyyah enjoined various stakeholders in the education sector to come up with position papers and forward to the National Assembly for legislation and endorsement in other to improve the dwindling education standards.
He appealed to parents to ensure that their children and wards reach maturity age before sending them to school observing that these are some of the factors affecting the quality of education in the country.
According to him , no quality of education can rise above the quality of its teacher hence the need for teachers to be trained and retrained .
Answering and question , Mukadam Zakariyyah enjoined Nigerian youths to be creative and cautioned against too much dependence on white collar jobs I but rather diversify into agro allied business.
He stressed the need for the Federal Government to be strict with its policies in the agricultural sector and empower the Bank of Agriculture to reach out to genuine farmers through soft loans with less bureaucracy .END
