By Abdelghaffar Amoka Abdelmalik, PhD
The trending news/video of the over 500 doctors that turned up in Abuja at the Saudi health ministry organised recruitment meeting to pick Nigerian doctors for work in Saudi Arabia reminded me of a comment by a Nigerian Professor in a university in the UK sometime in 2008 or so. There was a discussion on the management of PTDF oversee scholarship scheme, the scholars in the UK, their future, Nigeria, and capacity building, and he said, Nigeria is perhaps the only country in the world that spends a lot of money to train scholars and doesn’t care what becomes of the scholars after the training.
This scenario is common to all the scholars funded with government money. We send scholars to the UK and other countries under PTDF, TETFund, NEEDS Assessment, NITTDA, etc and we do not care if they return home or not. As a matter of fact, there is no provision at the home institutions for the utilization of the knowledge acquired by the scholars during the training on their return. It’s like you were trained for yourself and not for the system. Those that return are not better than how they were before they left as no laboratory to train others. They most times become more frustrated.
Then, how do you expect a system that makes no provision for scholars sent abroad for training, to make provision for those we managed to train at home? This is the case with our Medical Doctors moving to other countries to practice. Even though we do not have enough medical personnel, Medical Doctors after their residency sometimes finding it difficult to get a job as Consultants. So, why they should not move to the UK, Canada, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, etc to practice?
One fundamental issue that we need to deal with is the lack of respect and value for our universities, professionals, and intellectuals. It got worse when our leaders abandoned our institutions while they take their families abroad for education and medical care. They are not even ashamed to post their graduation pictures on social media and shamelessly requesting us to celebrate with them. I actually thought COVID-19 and the Lockdown will teach us lessons, especially our leaders, but it seems we have not learned any lesson from the experience.
I read a comment sometime back that during the slave trade, our people were forced into slavery, but that if it is now, Nigerians will give themselves up to be taking away. They believe that whatever the challenges are in those countries, it will still be better than in Nigeria.
The gathering of over 500 professionals (Consultants and Resident Doctors), both Muslims and Christians, for a recruitment exercise to Saudi Arabia called for sober reflection and not throwing insults. These guys do not care about the Shariah law and the stories of racism in Saudi Arabia from those that have worked there. They just want to leave. We need to sit down and reflect and ask ourselves questions. What future do we want to create for Nigeria and Nigerians?
Our leaders don’t believe in the country. They rather take our money to London, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia, etc to secure the life of their family members. They patronize medical care in first-class state-of-the-art hospitals established by the leaders of those countries since they can’t make our health sector to be desirable. And they are not ashamed of that as leaders. They travel for medical tourism with pride and class.
You will definitely not blame our Doctors that were trained nearly for free in our “ASUU Strike” public universities by our “ill-equipped” Professors to want to move to London, Canada, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia, etc, to help those countries treat our politicians. Of course, they want a better life too and they will be paid better there. So, why should they be ashamed of running away when our leaders are not? Why should they endure and MILT (manage it like that) when our leaders ain’t prepared to MANAGE our hospitals and our schools LIKE THAT for their kids?
It is unfair to expect the people to be patriotic when the leaders are not and don’t even seem to believe that Nigeria can work. The president, Vice President, the Governor, the Senators, etc that are supposed to make our schools work, have their kids in schools in the UK. The president and other political leaders that are supposed to make our hospitals work receive medical care in the UK, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, etc. How will they make a system they don’t patronize to work? They will just think the system is OK for us as they are and we can MILT.
Come to think of it. How can our Doctors be allowed to be on strike and hospitals shut for patients for over 3 weeks? It is not surprising, after all, they allowed the ASUU strike to last for 9 months and public universities shut for that 9 months. They would not have let that happen if they and their immediate families patronize the system that is on strike.
The leaders don’t believe that the country can be fixed and the led also don’t believe the country can work. Let all of us just run away even if it is to Niger, Cotonou, Rwanda, etc, and let Nigeria fix itself before we’ll return.
While I am in solidarity with our Medical Doctors on strike, I only wish that the strike is not just about salaries and allowance but also on the proper funding of the healthcare sector so that we can have hospitals similar to the ones they patronize in the UK, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia.
The question now is: Do you want Nigeria to work? Just be the change that you desire. Both the leaders and the led.
Meanwhile, the Punch has reported that the Organisers have suspended Saudi Arabia recruitment as DSS disperses doctors, arrests journalists. Is that the way to fix the problem?
It is actually relieving that despite the ASUU strikes, the breaks, and all the insults on Lecturers, our graduate Doctors are still able to pass International examinations and are qualified to work in the UK, Canada, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. To God be the Glory.
Kudos to our “ill-equipped” Professors that have helped to train this Nigerian workforce from 100 Level till graduation for the UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, etc.
Maybe I need to run too. Meanwhile, I am still thinking of the country to run to. 🏃 🏃 🏃 🏃 🏃.
©Amoka
