Muslim professionals charged on healthy lifestyle, retirement plans

MUSLIMS need to regularly evaluate life goals and show priority to issues of health, especially as they approach the mid-adulthood stage.

This was the advice of a medical practitioner, Badru Olamiji, at the 2022 professional development seminar of the Majlis Tajdeed Tadhamunul Muslimeen Association (MTTMA) held in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, recently.

Speaking on the topic ‘Health Challenges and Peculiarities of Midlife Syndrome’, Olamiji described the mid-adulthood stage, usually between the ages 40 and 60, as one characterised by various health and emotional issues.

These issues, he said, could only be effectively dealt with through proper understanding of the reality and cooperation of the society.

He said sleeplessness, abuse of medications, extreme sadness, pessimism and heart failures, among others, were consequences of people’s inability to deal with situations that had produced negative aftermaths.

Since the mid-adulthood stage is inevitable, Olamiji recommended regular exercise, personal counseling, increased level of spirituality, community activism and mentoring as some of the antidotes to the physical and emotional challenges associated with the stage.

Meanwhile, an entrepreneur, Mr Adebayo Tajudeen, while speaking on the topic ‘Pragmatic Steps towards Retirement’, advised working Muslims to always review their cash flow, cultivate the habit of saving and invest widely in order to avoid the shock waves associated with retirement.

He identified poor planning and inefficient financial management as reasons for failure of retirement plans and called for early preparations for the reality of life after retirement.

On why many retirees do not live long after paid employment, Tajudeen stated that many people were either not mentally prepared for retirement or lacked the financial wherewithal to cope with the situation.

The Head, Professional Department of MTTMA in Abuja, Ustaz Daud Adelakin, noted that the theme for the seminar, ‘4:40 – Misconceptions, Challenges and Prospects’, was apt in an age when mortality rate had increased drastically, especially in the developing world.

He, therefore, called on Muslims to always prioritise issues that could help them maintain a healthy lifestyle.

He commended the participants who thronged the venue.

The Abuja coordinator of the MTTMA, Ustaz Ali Shuaib Abdul Salam, said it was high time Muslims took charge of their financial and health affairs in order to be more productive to the family and the society in general.

He said unemployment, poverty and diseases would be effectively checked if people became more personally responsible.

Muslim professionals across the FCT and Niger and Nasarawa states attended the seminar.

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE