Reflections On Retirement

Speaking yesterday at College of Commerce, Warri, Delta State to members of staff.

Lessons of Life

1. You will probably spend most of your life at your workplace until the age of 60 or 70 years.

The irony is that when you retire, very few of those you served or worked with will ever check on you. That’s because they have other responsibilities and people to take care of. You will become a past tense in their mind.

2. I noticed that when you are retiring from service as a pastor in a big denomination, the members might shed a few crocodile tears. I bet you, within a few months, when the new pastor and his wife come to replace you, you gradually fade away from their scale of attention. Their new ‘papa’ and ‘mama’ gradually replace you in their minds.

Even if you built the church building from foundation to dedication, you will need the permission of the current pastor to preach there after you’re gone. As you build branches, remember to build your life and prepare your exit plan, especially when they retire you.

Your wife must not let her mind be ‘mummified’ by all the calls of mummy.

If a pastor suddenly slumps and dies (even while preaching), it won’t take long before he is replaced, and his wife and family will be told to move out of the parsonage.

3. I have seen parents who laboured to train their children die alone, without their children, especially when these children reside overseas. I have seen several who did not come for the burials of their parents.

I recently met a man who laboured to send his children to private universities. Now that he is broke, the children abandoned him.

I saw a grandmother and great grandmother who never toyed with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren abandoned by her only son close to her death.

4. I always pray that I do not have to depend on members of my family to cater for my needs in old age.

I also pray that I never had a debilitating illness in old age. I wish to be able to pay for people to cater for my needs in old age. If you have not planned for your health needs when you are old, it can be very tragic. In this stage of your vulnerability, even members of your family can see you as a burden. Some even wish you die quickly so that they can have their share of the wealth.

5. As a woman, you might be shocked to know that your husband has a child somewhere that you did not know about.

Please invest in your life in whatever thing you find yourself doing, develop yourself, and invest wisely. Please note that I’m not advocating for selfish interests and secret investments within a family, which can be a pitfall, but you should always make provisions for your exit plan.

You can be an employee-preneur or an intrapreneur while you are working, if you can’t be a full-time entrepreneur.

God Bless You.