NSITF’S REHABILITATION PROGRAMME

It is restoring hope, life, and dignity to injured workers, writes EMMANUEL ULAYI

Forty-year old Taiwo Adebola bade his young family goodbye as he left for work on a Tuesday morning in June 2024. His wife, Shade, reminded him to send her the two thousand Naira needed to process her online registration for employment with a government agency.

However, the call she received next destabilized all plans. Her husband laid in the hospital bed, severely injured in a road accident just a few metres to his office. She borrowed money from a neighbour, made arrangements for a neighbour to help pick her toddlers from kindergarten and rushed to the hospital. Thus began a harrowing experience.

For the next six months, she juggled between home, school, and the hospital. She missed the deadline for the online application she had planned on making and missed two more job interviews.

Taiwo operated the paper-cutting machine at a small printing outfit. But with the loss of his left hand, he could no longer carry on his duty after he was discharged from hospital. With the wife unemployed and two children to care for, he turned to friends and family for help since what little investment he had vanished in the course of treatment. With time, it was proving increasingly difficult getting any bailout from them.

Then came hope! Hassan, Taiwo’s boss recollected he had grudgingly registered his company into the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS) run by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) only to fulfill requirements for getting grade “C” printing contracts from government offices. He wasn’t fully aware of the full benefits of the Scheme until an NSITF employee, learning of Taiwo’s situation, enlightened Hassan about them.

After he was assisted to file for claims, the Fund reimbursed Taiwo N4 million for his medical expenses, compensated the company for loss of productivity, and paid a lump sum of N1.650m to Taiwo’s as salary backlog.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive of the NSITF, Barrister Olúwaṣeun  Faleye, while presenting the cheques to Taiwo, stated that Fund “will continue to pay Taiwo 80% of his monthly salary until he attains the age of fifty five.”

Taiwo is just one of the roughly 2.4 million workers globally who suffer work-related accidents per annum according to International Labour Organization’s (ILO) data.

NSITF did not leave it there, since his disability took away aptness to perform on the job he was doing prior to his accident, the Fund gave him another way to make a living.

Having received training as an auto diagnostic technician, Taiwo is optimistic about the future. “I now have a means of earning income. Modern cars often require computer diagnosis and most mechanics neither have the know-how nor the equipment to perform this. NSITF has given me both knowledge and equipment. The future is bright.”

The Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA 2010) established the ECS to provide just and adequate compensation for Nigerian workers who suffer: workplace injuries, occupational diseases, disabilities (temporary or permanent), or death arising out of the course of work.

Due to the efforts of the Oluwaseun Faleye-led Management team, Nigerians are now becoming increasingly aware of the Employees’ Compensation Scheme. However, not many are aware of the comprehensive rehabilitation programme as it was just onboarded mid 2025 by the new Management Team after almost one decade and a half of operating the ECA.

Work-related accidents, injuries, and diseases often leave the victim unable to continue working in their previous line. Compensations and medical treatment have their limits.

The goal of the rehabilitation programme is the restoration of productivity of workers who lost their ability to continue their work consequent upon work-related accidents, injuries, and diseases.

Mrs. Nkiru Ede-Ogunnaike, General Manager Claims and Compensation at the NSITF shed light on the operationalization of the rehabilitation programme.

According to her “Section 1(b) of the ECA 2010 mandates the Fund to provide rehabilitation to employees with work-related disabilities while Section 16(1) states that the Board may provide vocational rehabilitation, to get an injured employee back to work.”

Continuing, she explained that “The vocational rehabilitation programme is structured into three phases: orientation; vocational training, as well as empowerment and startup.”

“The phase one focuses on mindset reawakening, entrepreneurship, and psychological support, phase two provides practical hands-on training in a chosen vocation or skill while the third equips the beneficiary with start-up kits and empowerment for self-reliance.”

Ogunnaike listed some skills currently available under the rehabilitation programme to include: ICT and computer literacy, tailoring and fashion design, electrical works, safety and health compliance, and auto-mechanics diagnostics.

Taiwo is not the only beneficiary of this NSITF Rehabilitation Programme. Fifty-six other injured Nigerian workers have benefited from the programme since the Fund commenced running it July 2025.

Philip Anjour Terwase was trained in furniture making, Daniel Onah Imale, as an auto diagnostic engineer, and Nambour Ezekiel received training as a POS operator with all of them properly empowered and equipped to start their businesses.

Other beneficiaries of the programme include: Offor Kingsley Emeka, piggery; Emeka Okoro, foodstuff sales; Opara Lizzy, sales of hair attachment; Sani Mohammed, POS operator; and Ejeh Gabriel George, POS operator, amongst many others.

Another beneficiary, Kosoko who was trained and empowered to start a poultry, thanked NSITF Board and Management profusely. “This is a new lease of life for me. I didn’t know I would be on my feet again not to talk of owning my own poultry. I thought the compensations was all, but the new Management has helped me out. I thank them and hope they will continue to support us.”

Taiwo couldn’t hold back tears as he recollected a colleague who lost his hand to a cutting machine at work and now has to beg for his livelihood. He appreciated his boss, Hassan, for complying with the Employees’ Compensation Act.

Commenting further on the Rehabilitation Programme, Ogunnaike stated that the 57 beneficiaries were drawn from selected zones and promised that the programme would go national by the turn of 2026 to accommodate more beneficiaries.

The GM revealed that “adequate preparations have been made with over 800 employees of the Fund trained and ready to train,” adding that “beneficiaries of the programme are also trained to mentor new beneficiaries to create a multiplier effect.”

The programme has served to further create awareness on the Employees’ Compensation Scheme encouraging more employers to subscribe and provide social protection for their workers.

“I worked in a small scale enterprise and I have no pension. The rehabilitation programme of NSITF saved me from a life of shame and helped secure my children’s future,” Taiwo summed.

Since it’s commencement in the middle of this year, NSITF’s rehabilitation programme under the Employees’ Compensation Scheme has been a success story of restoration of hope and dignity for injured Nigerian workers and their dependents. It has continued to give new lease of life to people who otherwise would have faced a bleak future.

Besides, the humane programme has served as a promotional tool for the Employees’ Compensation Scheme of which it is a crucial component, perhaps, more than any other initiative. Furthermore, it reduces workers turnover for employees and boosts national productivity

Dr Ulayi is a Principal Manager at NSITF