(DDM) – Human rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, has accused Nigeria’s political elite of normalizing poverty while retirees and ordinary citizens suffer decades of neglect.
Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) gathered that Farotimi made the remarks during a discussion monitored on Channels TV on Monday, August 18, 2025, where he highlighted the plight of pensioners in Ekiti State as an example of systemic injustice.
He lamented that many retirees in the state have not received their pensions or gratuities for more than 15 years, despite dedicating their lives to public service.
Farotimi further revealed that some pensioners have been left waiting over 30 months without a single payment from the government.
According to him, this is not merely an administrative lapse but a deliberate cruelty that strips vulnerable citizens of dignity at their most critical stage of life.
The activist argued that Nigeria’s political class thrives on exploiting the masses while shielding itself from the consequences of bad governance.
He described the process as “plucking the feathers of the people without anesthesia” to build wealth, comfort, and privilege for a few at the expense of the majority.
Farotimi warned that the entrenched system of exploitation has made suffering a normal part of Nigerian life, tolerated because those who create it are insulated from its effects.
He stressed that until the pain of poverty, corruption, and neglect reaches the same elite who govern, reforms will remain elusive.
“The ruiners of Nigeria have done a fantastic job of feathering their own nest by plucking the feathers of Nigerian victims,” he said.
He added that ordinary Nigerians endure raw, unrelenting suffering while politicians recycle themselves in power with access to wealth, healthcare, and privileges that ordinary citizens cannot dream of.
In his words, the nation has reached a dangerous point where injustice is sustained by silence, because the rich are immune to the suffering that cripples the poor.
Farotimi cautioned that the future is bleak if young people fail to recognize the cycle of neglect they will inherit.
He reminded Nigerians that today’s students and workers are tomorrow’s retirees, and without reform, they too will be abandoned.
The activist emphasized that justice and progress can only begin when the pain of the governed is shared by those who govern.
Analysts note that the plight of Ekiti retirees mirrors wider pension struggles across Nigeria, where delayed payments and systemic corruption have left elderly citizens impoverished.
Civil society groups have repeatedly called on state governments to prioritize pension payments, describing it as a constitutional responsibility that cannot be postponed.
Nigeria has one of the highest rates of unpaid pension arrears in Africa, with billions of naira owed to retired workers across multiple states.
For many, the Ekiti example is a tragic symbol of governance failure and a warning sign of a future where neglect continues to define leadership.
