Reflections on age falsification and the need to appear younger (in most cases)
I was randomly scrolling through Instagram posts recently when I stumbled upon a certain actress’s birthday post. In the caption, she referred to something she would do when she was going to turn 40 and I did a double-take. This actress was one of the major characters in a television series on adolescent reproductive health back in the late 90s. There was absolutely no way she wasn’t already over 40 let alone being under 40.
All online articles about the actress revealed no age and I couldn’t find one article that cited her as being on the TV show! I found this especially surprising considering that she is at least one of two actors from the show who went on to become professional actors. Surely, her origin story would be part of her acting dossier? I quickly asked someone I knew who had worked on the production and we had a good laugh about people shaving years off their age and forgetting that other people have receipts.
People have been doctoring their ages since time immemorial. From Nollywood actors to reality stars, fresh graduates to about-to-retire employees, company executives to politicians, many people have been suspected of or caught erasing several years from their date of birth. Many others have successfully slipped through the cracks, uncaught. We find footballers who look much older claiming to be in their teens, politicians who swear they are just turning 60 but look 70, and socialites celebrating their 25th birthday for the fifth time. Till tomorrow, there will be debates about the authenticity of many public officials’ age claims. Even former Nigerian President Obasanjo, current President Buhari, and APC’s presidential flag bearer Tinubu have not been spared as now and again, someone comes out to question their ages.
As far as many are concerned, age falsification is not a big deal. Many people either do it without a thought or are even encouraged to. Changing one’s age is even easy in these parts. It’s as easy as forging a document or swearing a declaration of age affidavit. I remember a friend telling me about a junior colleague who casually told him he was going to get an affidavit to reduce his age because he needed to apply for a job he was already too old for. I have sat in interviews and perused candidates’ CVs that indicated they had completed secondary school at 13 and graduated university at 17 but they weren’t geniuses.
We usually focus on people who reduce their ages when we talk about age falsification but some people increase their ages for various reasons. Like those who forge ID cards stating older dates of birth so they can drive or access age-limiting venues. I believe increasing one’s age usually happens with younger people though. When you are young, you want to become older but when you get older, you want to become younger: one of life’s many paradoxes.
Age is a big deal as it signifies when one is eligible to access certain benefits and rights or equally barred from the same. For example, in Nigeria, until you turn 18, you cannot vote, drive, drink alcohol, or even marry (in some parts of the country, the marriageable age is younger, another reason the age discussion is important). You cannot observe the National Youth service if you obtained a full-time degree and are older than 30 and, in some companies, you may only be shortlisted for assessments if you are younger than 26. If you plan on running for political office, you would have to be at least 25 to be a Federal Representative or Member of the States’ House of Assembly, 30 to be a State Governor, and 35 to be a Senator, Vice President, or President.
The age discussion isn’t solely a Nigerian thing as it is prevalent all over the world. Plans to relocate to another country? Chances are that age is one of the criteria used in their points system. Want to apply for a scholarship, fellowship, or award? Chances are that you have to be younger or older than a certain age to qualify. Granted that many foreign companies are removing or have removed an age requirement at the entry level, there are still cases where age is a factor to hold certain positions and not just in the private sector. It is important to note though that age limits may be fit for some circumstances and unfit for others, one must just strive to ensure fairness under every circumstance.
So, the big question is, why do people adjust their age? The obvious answer is to access opportunities they are not entitled to. Some people believe that they will not find work, get married, or even earn respect if they are not of a certain age. Many who alter their ages are guilty as charged, without excuse. For some others, however, circumstances have driven them towards falsifying their age. Take the Nigerian education and employment situation for one. Considering that access to higher education can be tough, you find people who complete secondary school at 18 but don’t get into university until they are 21. They then end up experiencing strikes and graduate at 26 then go for NYSC and enter the labour market at 27 but then companies have stipulated a 26-year age requirement. The only option they often see is to become the acceptable age by any means.
Just in case you didn’t know, age falsification is a punishable crime. Even though our constitution doesn’t provide a specific definition, it falls under forgery and fraud, and people have been charged to court and found guilty of this offence. I can imagine some people thinking “I can never be caught” but what if you are? Some people are very brave though. How does one celebrate their 40th birthday when the average age of their former classmates is 45 or do they make a completely new set of friends who don’t know their real age? How do they remember what their current age is vis a vis their actual age?
I find it funny that many people think they can get away with it in this internet age when a good part of our records are accessible digitally, especially if one is a public figure. Aside from the available digital records, there are also various identity databases: national identity, passport, driver’s licence, and voter’s register, hosting our biodata. I can only imagine the stress involved in updating one’s assumed age across all of these databases. Maybe if we had achieved the unification of all of our identity databases, it would be harder to falsify ages but then again, maybe it would be easier.
People are free to claim whatever age they want to but I would advise they just don’t use their assumed ages professionally. As far as I am concerned, I have been 28 for the last 10 years and I will keep turning 28 until I decide to turn 21! On a serious note, I understand that age can be an easy barrier in screening for potential access to certain opportunities, but I believe we can become more creative about how we determine access to those opportunities. In all situations, let us also strive towards being fair to all as using age can be discriminatory. As always, this is the way I see things today.