Livelihood, Living Condition And Coping Strategies Among Older Persons

Older persons are known for wisdom because they have experienced more days or years on earth more than others. At some point in live, the older persons are disengage from their long life activities and thus, they are deprived of some basic things. The society had been structured that the older persons cannot hold some particular posts or performs some particular activities. The last ASUU-LASU strike has some of the elements of retirement as its core problem with the Government. The older persons are still generally stigmatized, living below expectation and still relegated in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study, therefore, is to examine the means of livelihood, living conditions and coping strategies of older persons. Disengagement theory and conflict theory were used to explain the phenomenon. The study made use of quantitative research method for data collection. The quantitative method involved the distribution of 150 questionnaires but which 149 questionnaires were returned. This implied that there were about 99.3% questionnaires returned. The quantitative method of data collection was done through questionnaire distribution and analyzed via the software called Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The data collected were analyzed using simple percentage and frequency distribution. Four (4) research questions were answered and all were significant. The findings of the study were that the older persons were not been cared for adequately by their family members. The society disengages the older people from its economic mainstream without a replacement for their livelihood. It was also observed that the living condition of the older persons in Ojo Local Government correlates with their livelihood. Their statuses are relative low and thus their living conditions are relatively poor. They are making efforts to improve their livelihood by engaging in various economic activities. The study recommends that every family having older persons should not abandon them but try everything possible to help their living conditions. Furthermore, Government too should put the older people’s livelihood at heart and make it visible in their policies. Furthermore, Non-Governmental Organizations should also look into the plights of the older persons in Ojo Local Government.