Why do Nigerians like to claim false longevity? It is very common in our environment (Nigeria) to see people claim old age falsely for their grandparents. I have seen burial programs where families claim their old one lived into unbelievable old age. It is not uncommon to see aged 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 110, 105, 98, 94, 115 etc on burial posters when the true age of the departed is several decades below the quoted age. It leaves one to wonder how such families come across such preposterous age they boast about. The oldest verified living person ever was Jeane Calment a French woman who died 122 years and 164 days. No one has lived up to that age again in modern times, so it makes me wonder why some Nigerians believe someone could truly be 130 years in this 21st century. In fact, my research shows that we have very few people ( not up to 10 000 people ) in Nigeria that are currently aged 100 and above, these set of people are called centenarians while people aged 110 and above are called super centenarians.

Please if you have ever believed someone attained 110 and above in Nigeria please give your reasons.

If you have had a family member with such bogus age claim, please give your family members perspective on the issue.

Let's discuss.

T

cc lalasticlala

Leaving aside those who want to impress .... The problem mostly comes from no verifiable info or records to buttress the claims of age for most old people esp those born before the advent of birth certificates . So they rely on hearsay or deductions.