Prof. Emem Bassey, the chairman of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Hospitals, claimed on Wednesday that Nigerian medical doctors and other healthcare workers are now being stolen by other African nations.
Additionally, he claimed that nations like Sierra Leone and the Gambia were giving them up to $3000 to $4000, which was around three to four times the amount in the nation.
The University of Uyo Teaching Hospital’s CMD, Bassey, claimed that a severe personnel shortage is currently affecting the healthcare industry as a result of the exodus of medical professionals.
Additionally, he claimed that doctors frequently went on strike because the government frequently broke its commitments.
“A strike should be the very last resort,” continued Bassey, “but one of the things we have observed is that we see threat after threats. I would assert that governments have previously convened and have negotiated unworkable resolutions only to stop a strike.
They have agreements now, but they can’t carry them out. When you don’t apply it after a specific amount of time, such as six months or a year, people start to strike. Therefore, we must discuss while sitting down together.
Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee, asked the physicians to be patriotic by remaining in the country even if they had better options elsewhere in order to contribute to its progress.
He said that the committee will focus on finding a balance between adhering to the federal character and filling critical gaps in the health sector.
Gagdi acknowledged that the health sector in his country lacked modern medical facilities. As governments, we must take note of the fact that this is true. The lack of patriotism is what has us perplexed.
“Institutions in Nigeria create you (medical doctors). We recognize the brain drain and are looking for answers. We’re glad to have you here. Many of you have relationships that may be predicated on how valuable your intelligence is to being in developed countries and serving them. The majority of you, however, find fashion in improving your own motherland and fatherland.
What do you teach your professional colleagues about being patriotic and giving back to the society that taught you? We ask you to uphold your moral principles and your profession. No matter how unworthy he is of you for going to this lengths to adopt someone else’s father, you cannot disown him. Our nation is Nigeria.
Despite the corruption in our public sector’s compensation, Nigeria produced us as doctors. Let’s see if we can solve that by working together. But let’s stick around Nigeria and serve our own nation.
We would thoroughly review your submissions, Gadgi continued. We would interact with them in a special way for these universities that have open recruitment cases. We will investigate your situation if you don’t have one.
“You have a strong case to support your current balance sheet of federal character. You have been heard by Nigerians. Therefore, the government will act upon any recommendations this committee makes, and it will be fully for our own good.
