FG’s lamentation over doctors’ exodus

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AT a meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Abuja last week, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, lamented what she termed the undervaluation of Nigerian doctors who travel abroad to practise vis-a-vis their counterparts from other countries. In a statement released on her behalf by the Deputy Director of Communications, Muhammed Ahmed, Yemi-Esan urged the NMA leadership to always counsel young resident doctors and discourage them from seeking greener pastures abroad, saying that they were being lowly priced because of their large population. She also described the rate at which resident doctors travel abroad to practise without serving the country as a cause for concern.

The question, however, is whether Yemi-Esan’s lamentation over doctors’ exodus should be construed as a volte-face by the Federal Government. This is because Dr. Chris Ngige, the Minister for Labour and Productivity, just a couple of years back said there was nothing wrong with Nigerian doctors travelling abroad to practise. He had then maintained that Nigeria had surplus doctors and that it was a positive development for them, their family and the country if some of them went abroad to practise their profession. In his exact words: “There is nothing wrong; they go out to sharpen their skills, earn money and send them back home here. Yes, we have foreign exchange earnings from them, not from oil.” It is yet unclear what has changed between 2019 and now to warrant this significant shift in the government’s position on the issue of brain drain in the medical profession. Or is it a case of discordant tunes?

Whatever is the case, the Head of the Civil Service should realise that no one is hoodwinked into believing that her lamentation about the alleged underpricing of Nigerian doctors abroad was strictly born out of concern and care for their welfare. Rather, her worry was principally about the implications for the Nigerian health sector of an unbridled streaming of Nigerian doctors to practise in foreign land. However, instead of being pretentious about the cause of the sordid state of affairs and what it portends, the government should engage in soul searching to understand the doctors’ unceasing motivation to travel abroad despite their alleged undervaluation there.

Truth be told, there is no sector where there is no brain drain in the country. Most professionals want to leave the country when there is opportunity. In fact, those who have not left are working towards ensuring that they and their children have such opportunities. Most people believe that the future of this country is bleak because of official ineptitude/lack of visionary leadership which invariably translates into total disregard for the welfare of the larger percentage of the citizenry. For there to be a positive change, therefore, the leadership question has to be properly addressed. For instance, if foreign countries underprice Nigerian doctors, what stops the government from pricing them appropriately? And in any case, would the exodus of Nigerian doctors to foreign lands have continued if indeed their relocation had been attended by significant cuts in incomes and the totality of their welfare?

Ironically, it is not the victims of the alleged underpricing that are complaining. Rather, the person lamenting is the head of the civil service, who is a critical stakeholder in the formulation of flawed policies and/or suboptimal implementation of official policies which make the Nigerian work environment unattractive and less than conducive to work in. Does it not speak volumes that those being allegedly undervalued abroad prefer the underpricing abroad, which still guarantees a decent life and living, to being consigned to penury in Nigeria where they are not even priced at all? This is the unfortunate situation of most Nigerians, especially professionals, because of the visionless way Nigeria has been governed and administered by successive administrations. Indeed, the lamentation by Yemi-Esan should be seen as a serious indictment on the government and the leadership regarding official competence and capacity to attract, retain and utilise critical human capital optimally within the economy.

The point should be made, and clearly so, that Nigerians are not so inherently unpatriotic as to reject staying in the country if the conditions are positive and conducive. Therefore, rather than appealing to Nigerians who are busy relocating abroad to have a sense of value even if underpriced there, Dr. Yemi-Esan should impress on the government the need for it to up the ante and get the economy working again and tweak its laws and policies to become more labour-friendly. More importantly, real and concrete official efforts should be deployed to change the workings of the country and its economy to make it worthwhile for Nigerians to stay and work in the country rather than always striving to explore other countries for the proverbial greener pastures.

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