Use the Knowledge Gained to Add Value to Your Lives, ECWA Scribe Urges Prospective Retirees

Our Reporter

The 5-day pre-retirement seminar organized for prospective retirees in ECWA has ended with a charge on them to adequately utilize the knowledge acquired during the seminar.

ECWA General Secretary, Rev. (Dr.) Ayuba Asheshe threw the challenge at the end of the event in Jos.

Addressing the participants, the ECWA General urged them to ensure adequate and effective use of the knowledge they have acquired during the 5-day programme.

He also advised them to use the knowledge to add value to what they do in their various places of assignment.

While acknowledging their commitments and dedication to the expansion of the ministry work in ECWA, the cleric applauded them and encouraged them to use their retirement to support the gospel by fostering an atmosphere of peace and harmony in the Church.

This year’s seminar featured paper presentations by resource persons, including the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, ECWA Portfolio Management Assets Limited, Mr. Jimoh Bolakale, who spoke on the topic “Navigating the Golden Horizon: Holistic Planning for a Rewarding, Restful, and Purpose-driven Post Service Life.”

Mr. Bolakale, in his paper, posited that to ensure a peaceful, restful and fulfilling post-service life, retirees should focus on what he tagged “foundational strategies” that include “Active Rest” philosophy, robust financial positioning, spiritual mentorship and kingdom impact.

He said, “You possess institutional memory and decades of spiritual maturity that the younger generation in ECWA desperately needs. Use your newfound time to mentor youth pastors, guide administrative staff, and provide corporate governance counsel to church-backed enterprises.”

While admonishing participants not to view retirement as a “setting sun” but “merely the dawn of a different kind of day,” Mr. Bolakale advised them to approach retirement with “confidence, structured planning, and an expectant heart.”

“Secure your health, protect your finances, cultivate your community, and keep your eyes fixed on the eternal prize. The future after your retirement is bright, secure, and firmly held in the hands of God.”

Presenting a paper on the topic “Estate Planning and Will Writing,” ECWA Legal Officer, Barrister Victoria Yemisi Olaniyan, defined estate planning as the process of arranging how a person’s assets, properties, and responsibilities are well managed and distributed during an individual’s lifetime and after death.

Barr. Olaniyan reminded participants that in the journey of life, aging and death are inevitable, adding that one can leave a “well-thought-out plan” that would enable their family to grieve their passing and move on with life easily, or leave them with a “mess” that could lead to “conflict and potentially, protracted legal battle” that leads to more grief.

Describing Estate Planning as an important legal and financial practice that helps individuals in protecting their wealth, providing for their families and avoiding unnecessary disputes after their passing, it commonly involves preparing legal documents such as wills and trusts.

“Estate planning, Will writing and Trusts are essential legal and financial instruments for protecting assets and ensuring the orderly transfer of wealth. Proper estate planning helps individuals safeguard the interests of their families, minimize conflicts, and provide financial security for future generations.

“Therefore, individuals should seek proper legal and professional guidance when preparing Wills and establishing trusts to ensure their wishes are properly implemented and it meets the requirements of the law,” she stated.

In a separate presentation on psychological well-being, developing a positive emotional and mental readiness for retirement, a clinical psychologist and trauma healing specialist, Mrs. Pamela Pwanabeshi Kumwar, described retirement as “one of the most significant transitions in adult life, adding that in Nigeria, retirement carries “layers of meaning” that go far beyond simply leaving a job.

According to her, psychological well-being has to do with a person’s emotional, mental and social health, adding that it has to do with how individuals think, feel, cope with stress, make decisions, relate with others, and adapt to life changes.

She added that while Nigerians admit that if the body is well but the mind is broken, the man is not well, but our society has historically struggled to openly discuss mental health by labelling emotional struggles as spiritual attacks, weakness of character or family abuse.

While highlighting some of the emotional and psychological challenges associated with retirement in Nigeria, Mrs. Kumwar listed loss of identity and purpose, anxiety about the future, loneliness and social isolation, depression and emotional distress, marital and family strain, the ‘big man’ syndrome and sudden loss of status as well as spiritual crisis and questions of legacy as some of the challenges are common among retirees in Nigeria.

On developing positive emotional and mental readiness for retirement, Mrs. Kumwar submitted that understanding the challenges is the first step to overcoming them.

She recommended early psychological preparation, redefining one’s identity beyond one’s career title, maintaining and expanding connections, developing healthy daily routines, prioritizing physical health as a foundation for mental health and learning healthy stress management techniques as some of the practical strategies in readiness for retirement.

Mrs. Kumwar concluded that with proper psychological preparations, a positive mindset, strong social and family support, healthy living, purposeful engagement, and faith in God, retirement could become the most meaningful, impactful and joyful chapter of life.

Speaking on lifestyle change and healthy living, Chief Executive Officer, BonzerHR Consults Limited, Mrs. Abigail Samson Bugama, posited that retirement is not the end but a new beginning, emphasizing that the goal of retirement is not to stop living but to live differently, intentionally and fully.

“Nigerians who prepare intentionally for retirement-physically, mentally, financially, socially, and spiritually, experience significantly better health outcomes, greater life satisfaction, and more meaningful post-career lives. Begin your preparation today. Your future self will thank you,” she stressed.

The high point of the 5-day programme was the presentation of certificates to the participants who are from various ECWA institutions, strategic business units, departments and units.

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