NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BILL TO PREVENT EMIGRATION OF NIGERIAN DOCTORS: a misdirected approach

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Some weeks ago, I wrote about the alarming mass exodus of Nigerian doctors in this post . The past 24 hours have witnessed mixed reactions after the Official Twitter Account of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria tweeted on April 6, 2023. “A BILL TO PREVENT NIGERIAN-TRAINED MEDICAL OR DENTAL PRACTITIONERS FROM BEING GRANTED FULL LICENSES UNTIL THEY HAVE WORKED FOR A MINIMUM OF FIVE YEARS IN THE COUNTRY HAS PASSED SECOND READING.”

While the above bill is appreciated as a recognition of an attempt to salvage the alarming mass exodus of medical doctors from Nigeria, it has been opined to be misdirected and illegitimate. The Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), an affiliate of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has swiftly reacted to the bill through a press release, describing it as misdirected, ill-informed, and poorly thought through. Rather than tackle the problem of brain drain from its root cause, the National Assembly, through the bill sponsored by Hon. Abiodun Ganiyu Johnson, has decided to machete the problem's roof.

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Hatching a problem at the roof rather than its root is only a temporary solution and will only aggravate the spread of the problem. The assembly failed to understand and tackle the reasons previously highlighted in my post on the brain drain of doctors in Nigeria.

Medical Doctors have lamented the poor remuneration, unfriendly practice environment and inadequate essential hospital equipment. The average Nigerian doctor earns between N200,000 and N350,000 ($270 - $470) per month

Medical tourism has not ceased to plunge the index practice of medicine in Nigeria as the rich and government officials would rather opt for foreign medical treatment than be treated by doctors and hospitals here in Nigeria they failed to properly equip.

By implication, the Assembly is attempting to bond Nigerian-trained medical doctors into forced labor, which is against international laws. The MDCAN has lamented that none of the interventions suggested to relevant agencies to salvage the problem of brain drain have been implemented. Nigeria is not the only country experiencing this massive brain drain of health professionals, and enacting such a law would only cascade mediocrity and a decline in the study of medicine in Nigeria, eventually worsening the situation. Various alternatives, such as car and mortgage loans to medical doctors, scholarships for the study of medicine, improved welfare programs, the provision of standard hospital equipment, etc., have been proposed to relevant agencies to ameliorate the massive exodus, which has fallen on deaf ears.

The bill has been grossly rejected by the public and relevant medical bodies and practitioners. It is hoped that the Nigerian government will take more seriously the need to innovate policies that will benefit health professionals and, as well, improve the standard of healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

The next few days or weeks will expectedly bring an update to the bill, as we will know if it will scale the third reading or be withdrawn.

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