Obstetrics Professor Calls for Early Preparation for Life After Service

A Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Emmanuel Otolorin, has advised medical practitioners, particularly doctors, to begin planning early for retirement to avoid financial hardship and loss of purpose after active service.

Delivering a lecture at the Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Oyo State branch, Prof. Otolorin stressed the importance of proactive financial and personal planning beyond the medical profession.

Speaking on the theme, “After the Final Rounds: Finding Fulfilment Post-Retirement,” he noted that the country’s economic challenges have made salaries insufficient, thereby increasing the need for doctors to secure their future early. He urged doctors not to wait until the last minute to plan, recommending investments in areas such as farming, fisheries, real estate, and stocks as sustainable options to generate income and ensure a fulfilling retirement.

He said, “The thrust of this lecture is to tell my colleagues that they should not wait to start planning when it is very late. Do not be a last-minute dot-com kind of planner. You should start very early. Moreover, do not rely on Nigeria’s pension scheme. The money is minimal. The salary that doctors get in this country is minimal. The pension, therefore, is tiny, and you cannot sustain yourself.

“When you are in service, you do many other things. You consult here and there. You give lectures or you do some other stuff that keeps you going. Now, you must make sure that you prepare for retirement. You must calculate how much you will need to live a decent life without compromising your quality of life. Once you know that, you will remove the pension. Then you have to invest in other means of income. It could be stocks, agriculture, fish farming, or anything else. Nevertheless, just make sure you have a plan. Do not rely on children to take care of you. It does not work that way anymore. The children of these days have numerous problems, and parents are even helping them to solve some of those problems. So, you have to prepare yourself.”