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His mother wants to go on a pilgrimage
to Jerusalem. His parents badly need a new car. Her brother doesn’t do
very much and can’t pay his own rent. His sister’s husband was just
laid off by his bank a year ago, they have no savings at all but school
fees are due and a new baby is on the way. He hasn’t addressed his
family’s immediate needs and says there is no money for a family
vacation this year, yet he is writing a cheque to fund all this.

Her father will buy her a brand new car
since all he can afford is a “tokunboh;” she is not accustomed to
second hand cars. Her parents will upgrade her to business class
because that is what she is used to – he can’t expect her to travel
economy? Her mother buys the grandchildren expensive gifts and his
can’t afford to match that kind of spending which always makes his
family look like the “poorer relations”.

What is social security?

Social security is a term that refers
to personal financial assistance, in its various forms. This in many
countries is a field of social welfare and insurance from which people
receive services or benefits in return for contributions to an
insurance scheme. It is a government’s responsibility to provide for
the basic welfare of the most vulnerable members of the society such as
the very young, the elderly, and the infirm. The objective is to ensure
a threshold subsistence level below which any worker who has paid into
a programme cannot fall.

Where the vast majority of workers are
employed in the informal sector, it is nearly impossible for them to be
covered by any formal government based system, as this is designed to
target formal sector workers. Even where a formal mechanism has been
introduced to provide free basic medical care for the elderly in some
Nigerian states, only a small part of the population is actually
covered and the quality of that care is often called to question.

The extended family

The extended family, which is usually
made up of several generations of people who are related by blood,
marriage, or adoption, is the very foundation of Nigerian social life.
This family group consists of not only a nuclear family made up of
parents and their children, but embraces siblings, grandparents, aunts,
uncles, cousins, and even more distant relatives.

In the absence of a formal and
effective social security system, the extended family system has
evolved into a homegrown version of a more formal welfare system.
Through this basic economic unit, individuals are able to build
networks and pool resources beyond their own to meet pressing needs
such as the education of children and the general welfare of their
relatives.

It is based on principles of
togetherness and reciprocity, involving obligations on members to be
supportive of one another in times of need. This form of co-operation
has had a huge impact on the life of most Nigerians and much of the
emerging world. Almost everyone, in a way or another, is a beneficiary
of a system that plays a role in the care of children and the aged,
with assistance at weddings and funerals, the funding of education,
supporting business ventures, providing shelter in the city, and so on.

Even where one cannot shoulder all the
financial responsibility, and often it is not all about money, one can
still show some concern by contributing in other ways to ease the
burden on a relative. One can provide encouragement and mentorship to
struggling members who have shown potential. Some of the extraordinary
talent in our communities just needs a little attention for it to
blossom. With the difficult economic situation in most Nigerian homes,
it is not easy to stand by if you are in a position to at least render
some help.

In an ideal world, the extended family
provides essential financial and emotional support. When the financial
burden is shared, the burden on individuals is reduced.

Often however, some family members
begin to see it as their right to be provided for by more able members,
and they fail to strive to work hard or contribute in any way. This
sense of entitlement can lead to tension and resentment due to the
complex relationships that exist, with varied earning powers within the
family, unhealthy rivalry and competition. This can lead to conflict
and the breakdown of family ties where issues are not resolved.

Is the extended family system weakening?

Today, Nigerian society has witnessed
significant changes in the extended family system. As a result of
urbanisation, modernisation, globalisation, and other socio economic
factors, we see a gradual dilution of the extended family system. Many
families are caught between the traditional family system that is
characterised by strong family cohesion and group orientation, and the
modern system, which is individualistic, and the nuclear family appears
to be gradually playing a dominant role.

It is of note that Nigerians in
Diaspora continue to send money home to help relatives to meet pressing
needs; this demonstrates that in spite of the fact that these Nigerians
are living and working within the nuclear family setting more common in
the Western world, there is still the strong pull and unity of the
extended family system in the support of relations far away.

Until an organised and effective
welfare and social security system is in place, the extended family
system will continue to play a crucial role in the social welfare of
its members. At the same time, it is clear that as socioeconomic
conditions, cultural values, and technology, continue to evolve, so too
will the face and structure of the extended family in contemporary
society. In whatever form it takes, we must try to protect it.