About three pensioners, yesterday, collapsed at the ongoing screening of staff and retirees on the payroll of the Osun State government. The senior citizens, it was gathered, had arrived at the premises of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo, venue of the screening as early as 7:30 a.m. and had waited for about four hours before the exercise could commence.
 
Numbering about 2,000, the retirees, including old men and women, who are aged, frail and in some cases sick, came to Osogbo from different parts of the state.
 
Some of them, who were physically impaired and with stroke, were brought to the venue by their children and other relatives. Some of them who could not withstand long standing were seen either lying down, sleeping or sitting on the bare floor to avoid negative eventuality.
 
Many of the pensioners were angry at what they described as inhuman treatment by the handlers of the exercise, who allegedly delayed before starting.In their various reactions after three of them suddenly collapsed, the pensioners advised the state government to decentralise the screening next time.
 
It took the intervention of the medics of the State Ambulance Service to revive and stabilise the victims. The consultant in charge of the exercise, Saadat Bakri-Ottun was yet to arrive at the venue as at the time the pensioners collapsed.
 
The staff audit was earlier suspended for weeks by the state House of Assembly over complaints of inhuman treatment meted to some civil servants by the consultant. 
  
However, the suspension was lifted after Bakri-Ottun promised to amend her approach. In an interview with The Guardian at about 4:40p.m., one of the leaders of Osun Contributory Pensioners, Abduyekeen Adesoye Oyerinde, said the exercise had commenced.
 
He confirmed that his three colleagues collapsed due to prolonged standing, while awaiting the commencement of the screening. Oyerinde advised that the government should ensure decentralisation of the programme when next it is organising staff screening.
 
“You know many of us are bedridden, some have strokes and some, because of old age, cannot walk well, but because of this screening, everyone had to force themselves to Abeere. So, that was what caused the crisis and the collapse of some of us. 
 
“Next time, the screening exercise should be decentralised. If they (state government) cannot do it at local government and area office level, they should do it at zonal level. But, I feel the government cannot do this because of the financial involvement because we are the ones who paid our transport fare to Abeere.
 
“But, the government is dodging the extra financial commitment that the decentralisation may cause because they will be needing more hands and facilities for the screening if it is decentralised and that will cost them more. They are attending to us now and those who collapsed have been revived,” he said.
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