Use Today to Prepare for the challenges of Old Age By Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

There are three major segments of life worthy of consideration: childhood period and challenges of childbearing.

Prime age and challenges of wealth acquisition, while the third one should focus on management challenges of the problems associated with old age.

Parents are, therefore, challenged on the right of custody of the child through a safe and secured environment and effective provisions for physiological needs against the possible odd of peer group effect.

The growing child must have a good foundation of right and correct natural nurturing for him or her to be able to weather the storm of struggling to break even during his or her prime age in the voyage of acquiring wealth with the needed attendant wisdom to manage it. He or she must, therefore, shun the frustrating sides of life that may easily weaken the strong ones into a pathetic state of indolence.

However, for him or her to enter the stage of a senior citizen, he or she must be prepared to leave a legacy of self-sufficiency and good social interaction which are basic prerequisites for the comfort of old age.

The question now, is how prepared are we to overcome the problems of old age? We may not be able to achieve so much in this respect without enjoining the grace of divine intervention in our affairs.

The sermon for the present, therefore, for our spiritual diet is from Ecclesiastes 12: 1-5,''1Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

3In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

4And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

5Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:''

The above worrisome description of old age emphasizes the inseparability of Science from Religion, Medical Science itself depends so much on Technology or process equipment.

All Disciplines, therefore, interlink for human usefulness.

The Holy Quran equally emphasizes the need to be prepared, rightly, spiritually, socially, and medically, in particular, to monitor and manage well our growth profile for good.

The Holy Quran 30: 54 refers, ''It is Allah Who created you in a state of helpless weakness, then gave you strength after weakness(prime age) then, after strength gave you weakness and a hoary head: He creates whatever he wills, and it is He Who has all knowledge and power.''

The inferences of all these analyses are that we must allow our houses of God to be functional to benefit well the adherents for them to be Scripture Compliant, rather than been nominal deadwood. This is because, at every segment of our life development, there is a dire need for divine intervention which we must work for, for its realization. While the foundation of childhood care and prime-age caution is important, we must not neglect the need for every individual to overcome the problems of old age. Be wise.