Care of the Elderly in a Changing Nigerian Society Augustine O. Dokpesi 1 Omoruyi Osunde Department of Sociology & Anthropology University of Benin, Benin-City, Nigeria 1 Corresponding author: dooang@yahoo.com Abstract Traditionally in Africa, there is reciprocal dependency between parents and children. While children depend on their parents in meeting their needs at early stage in life, parents on the other hand, rely on their children for care and support later in life. This exchange of roles underscores the characteristic intergenerational reciprocal obligations obtainable in within the family. This paper is an assessment of how prevailing socio-economic conditions in Nigeria have impacted children’s caregiving obligation to parents in the face of government insensitivity on the welfare of the elderly. It advocates a synergy between informal and formal support systems to ensure adequate social and economic support for a meaningful ageng process in Nigeria. Keywords: elderly, caregiving, intergenerational reciprocal obligation, social support Introduction In most African societies, there exists a reciprocal dependency between the parents and their children. As Dokpesi (2009) observed, the child at birth through infancy is helpless and may not survive without the care of family members particularly the parents. Therefore the birth of a child obligates the parents with certain basic roles, responsibilities and likely challenges. Thus, the family is the primary environment where the child learns the lessons of life, while the parents are the primary teachers who provide training and impart acceptable modes of behaviour (Dokpesi, 2013). Conversely, in late adulthood when parents would have become weak by reason of old age, after several years of hard work, it is expected that they will now depend on their children to assume the caregiving role in their ageng process. It underscores a generational shift in the role of caregiving between parents and their children. In their active years, the parents usually worked so hard and expended so much energy and resources in caring for their children. As they age, by reason of the decline in physiological functioning, the elderly gradually pull out of ‘active life’ to become dependants of their children, who now step in to perform the function of caregiving. In Nigeria, the care and respect for the elderly are values which are culturally rooted (Ajomale, 2007). However, whereas in modern times the economic security, health and disability, and living conditions of older adults have become policy concerns of responsible governments throughout the world (National Research Council, DOI: 10.36108/NJSA/4102/12(0131)