The Vice Chancellor of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, Prof. Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, has enjoined retired and intending retirees of the University to see their state as another phase of life, and not as death sentence.

The Vice Chancellor who was represented by his Deputy, Professor Chike Nwoha, in a one-day workshop organized for retired and intending retirees of the University on Wednesday, enjoined the “senior citizens,” to thank God for keeping them in good health and for seeing them through their service years.

He further enjoined them not to allow retirement thought to weigh them down, adding that the Management of the University considered the workshop necessary in order to guide them into other meaningful endeavours even after retirement.

In his presentation titled ‘Perspectives on Retirement: Reality or Myth,’ the Managing Consultant, Celvic Plus Consult, Celestine Akwuwa, urged the retirees to rebrand themselves by venturing into services and businesses in order to remain relevant in the society.

He stated that retirement plan ought to have started from the day a worker accepted his or her appointment letter but stated that it is better late than never.

He further enjoined them to always network with their social contacts and to equally prioritize their financial goals.

The Pro-chancellor, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Comrade Fidelis Ede, equally spoke on the theme “Agribusinesses and Opportunities for Retirerees,” enjoined the retirerees not to stay idle but to reinvent themselves into any of agricultural value chains to stay financially afloat.

A former Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Prof Godian Mbah, who is one of the retirees, thanked the ESUT Management for organizing the workshop, stating that it has exposed his mind to other ventures which would keep him meaningfully engaged after retirement.

Another retiree, from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Iwuoha Catherine, while expressing her gratitude to ESUT Management for the workshop, added that she would take what she learned and venture into a business.