DISCRIMINATION AGAINST OLDER ADULTS AND ITS EFFECTS IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF SAMARU, ZARIA, KADUNA STATE.

Discrimination against the older adults is pervasive in Nigeria. This research aims to explore the manifestations, factors responsible, and consequences of discrimination against the older people in Nigeria using Samaru, a suburb of Zaria, Kaduna State, with structural functionalist theory as the theoretical basis. A descriptive design was employed with questionnaires administered to 180 sampled respondents, from which 158 were validly returned and analyzed. This study reveals that discrimination against the elderly has been strong and persistent in Nigeria in different forms and indicates that depression, high mortality, substance abuse, suicide, murder, and injuries are some major problems identified to be associated with discrimination against the elderly. In Samaru and indeed Nigeria, discrimination against the older adults is seen as a private issue; hence, people are largely not aware of agencies or organizations that protect them. It is not surprising that perpetrators of such acts go scot free. It is recommended that better knowledge about the problem, more effective laws and policies, and more efficient prevention strategies be focused on