Sen Rilwan Akanbi has urged resident doctors and other health workers in Nigeria to support Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for better welfare package and conducive working environment in 2023.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja, he said a robust health sector would reduce the high rate of medical tourism among Nigerians.
Akanbi was the Chairman of Ibadan College of Medicine Alumni Association, ICOMAA annual meeting, an association of past students of the University College Ibadan/University of Ibadan registered for any undergraduate or postgraduate course in the Faculty of Medicine/College of Medicine.
He spoke on brain drain in the health sector, saying there are justifiable expectations by citizens that democracy should engender better access to public goods such as education, health, roads and security.
His words: โThe notion of state legitimacy therefore rests on the capacity of the state and its agents to provide public goods in sufficient quantity and quality. Whenever state fails to meet citizensโ expectation in fulfilling this overriding obligation, it chips away at its legitimacy and authority such that citizenโs loyalty shifts away from the state to non-state sources of public goods, be it individual or group. It is therefore not surprising that most states that fail to meet citizensโ expectation and demand for public goods often struggle to maintain effective authority, stability and peace.
โThe phenomenon of brain drain in Nigeriaโs health system resulting in the paradox of so-called medical tourism, the impact of brain drain and apparent lack of effective strategy to arrest and reverse the trend is patently palpable.
โBrain drain literally refers to the emigration in large number of highly trained professionals from a particular country. Although there is dearth of accurate data on the extent of brain drain in Nigeriaโs health sector, it is incontrovertible that the phenomenon of brain drain in Nigeriaโs health sector is a monumental threat to the overriding goal of universal health coverage.
โThere are several factors responsible for the high rate of brain drain in Nigeriaโs health sector. They includes poor salary and emoluments, low work satisfaction due to poor working conditions, inadequate opportunities for career progression, poor quality of practice due to lack of equipment, poor treatment of the sector by the government among others. that the challenges of the sector have been identified and that efforts would be put in place to tackle them.
โThe decision of some resident doctors and health workers to migrate to other countries is worrisome. Although other professionals in the sector are also migrating, that of the resident doctors, health workers are more challenging.
โWe need to fix the condition of service and welfare package so that it will be attractive and conducive for the practitioners to operate in 2023.
โNigerians all over the world in their different careers are the best brains, but the problem is a lack of appropriate environment to perform. I am assuring you that the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will, however be committed to addressing it.โ
