Again, Medical Consultants Lament Insecurity, Brain-drain in Nigeria

By Seriki Adinoyi

Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has again lamented the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria, warning that the dimension, frequency, and spread of the situation have continued to be a heightening source of major concern for the Nigerian people.

The doctors canvassed strongly for the restructuring and reinvigoration of the security architecture of the country to combat the floundering current security situation, saying: “It is in our view that this is one very important step towards reclaiming our country from the people bent on keeping our national and personal lives permanently disrupted.

“The political and military leadership of the country should not shy away from seeking help from relevant nations and international agencies in the fight against terrorism.”

Addressing journalists in Jos after its National Executive Council meeting, MDCAN also expressed worries over unhealthy politics currently trailing the appointment of a Vice Chancellor for the Lagos State University, describing it as an attempt to scuttle the process “by erroneously and mischievously claiming that the frontrunners in the process, our members, were not qualified for the position because they do not possess a PhD degree.

President of MDCAN, Professor Ken Ozoilo, emphasised that “the highest qualification required from clinical lecturers is the Fellowship of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, the respective West African Colleges and their equivalents. Let us state that this primordial and narrow politics is highly condemnable especially coming out from the peak of an Ivory Tower.”

MDCAN also raised the alarm on the recent circulars issued by the National Council of Establishment (NCE) addressing qualification for entry into the civil service in the country and the status of interns in the civil service, noting that the circulars appear woolly.

Ozoilo said: “Coming at a time the country is experiencing a massive depletion of health workers to the other nations in an unprecedented brain-drain, these circulars are ill-timed and might sound the death knell for the country’s health sector.

“We strongly urge the office of the Head of Service of the Federation to reconsider its previous pronouncement on the place of interns in the scheme of service, and noteed that house officers have peculiarities by virtue of medical education that should exempt them from this policy.”

The consultants also decried the persistence of non-payment of salaries and allowance to several cadres of health workers in the federal public service despite the assurances made to the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) at a meeting with representatives of the government which led to the suspension of the strike, warning that “this has tremendous negative impact on these health workers’ quality of life, and consequently on their ability to deliver optimum service to deserving Nigerian people.

“We urge the government to pay all outstanding COVID -19 allowance while being proactive in the upward adjustment of the current paltry N5,000 monthly hazard allowance. We also call on relevant agencies of government to ensure the payment of all outstanding salaries and allowance to House Officers working in all federal tertiary hospitals without further delay.”

The doctors also called on the electricity distribution companies and other relevant government agencies to accord all public health institutions their right status and exempt them from the crushing electricity tariffs to enable them to continue to provide highly crucial health services to Nigerians.