Prof. Saburi Adesanya, a former Vice-Chancellor of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye in Ogun, has urged workers to engage in personal savings besides the expected gratuities and pensions to guarantee a successful retirement.
Adesanya gave the advice on Tuesday in Benin at the Ramadan Public Lecture jointly organised by the Muslims’ community of the University of Benin and the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).
The erstwhile vice-chancellor in the lecture titled; “Preparing for a Successful Retirement from Service” said that personal savings had become necessary because pensions, gratuities and even savings in cooperative society might not come in time.
According to him, retirees must avoid extravagant living as public service is not designed to make people rich.
“You cannot be rich in the public service, but you can be contented. It takes special grace for someone to be in the public sector to be rich.
“Except you cut corners, you may be rich. But, you may not be happy with yourself on the long run because the failure of the society you have looted will come to hunt you.
“The potholes on our roads and the lack of adequate infrastructure are all caused by maladministration and embezzlement,” he said.
The guest lecturer advised workers to shy away from any issue that could tarnish their image whether while in service or out of service.
He said that messing up while in the system could lead to sack or other grievous sanctions that could make successful retirement a mirage.
Adesanya also urged retirees to always invest in businesses that they could take control over to avert loss of capital.
He also stressed the need for workers to always work hard to reach the pinnacle of their careers, saying it is rewarding and gratifying to achieve the feat than to settle for less.
The lecturer stressed the need to always jump at opportunities by volunteering to do extra-work and make the difference in whatever positions one occupied while in service.
He noted that such would make people to remember such retirees for consultancy services and the likes.
