PATHETIC daily sun

Nigerian doctors turn refugees in South Africa
From ANDY ELEREWE, Abuja
Monday, April 27, 2009

His passion for the medical profession began right from childhood. As a little boy, he fantasized over how he would cure and save dying patients. He dreamt of how he found medical solutions to some of mankind’s hitherto incurable diseases. And he thought about how he would make history by becoming the first Nigerian medical doctor to win a Nobel in medicine.

That little boy with big dreams, Emeka Obiodunukwe is now a man. And he had kept his own side of the deal by ‘burning the mid-night candles’ for seven years at the College of Medicine, University of Calabar until he bagged a degree in Medical sciences. But the good aspect of the story seemed to have ended prematurely there.

The hash realities that confronted his post-graduation life have left him in doubt as to whether to practise the profession he so much cherished. Emeka, who evidently has now lost zest and drive in the profession he once held in high esteem, thinks a bleak future awaits him as a medical doctor.

His sudden loss of love for his profession was heightened on account of his hash encounter during his sojourn in South Africa. Like many Nigerian doctors, his plan was to go and start his residency programme while practising in South Africa. But his trip ended in sour tales.

From a wounded heart, Emeka narrated his mind-boggling experience while he sojourned in the supposed land of ‘greener pastures,’ precisely in Pretoria, South Africa. “I used to be proud of my profession, but my trip to South Africa has changed my mind set completely. I am almost regretting that I studied Medicine,” he said.

Problem started when he finished his one-year compulsory medical internship training in 2007, and was due to go for service in March 2008. University of Calabar, in what is becoming a curious tradition, skipped the names of all doctors due for the March, NYSC. As expected, this led to a heightened frustration.

Emeka and his colleagues had to practically stay idle at home for months waiting for NYSC. “At a point, I got so frustrated that I gave in to the pressure from a cousin to come to South Africa,” he lamented.

Although he had plans of travelling abroad, he had never thought of South Africa as his destination. But for his imposed idleness, coupled with the fact that his cousin came back to Nigeria to marry after spending only about five months on the job as a practicing doctor in South Africa, got him really impressed. He didn’t need any further conviction to make up his mind about traveling to South Africa.

After a harrowing experience of scaling the visa huddle, he bided good bye to his country for South Africa in June 2008. Despite that it was freezing cold on his arrival that morning; he could not but relish in the admiration of his newly found serene environment.

“The first thing I noticed was the level of development in the country. As my cousin drove me to his apartment in Johnson Street, Pretoria, the capital city of South Africa, I was stunned by the orderliness of the people, the clean cars which were ubiquitous; superb and sophisticated sky-scrappers, among others. I can bet there is hardly any difference between South Africa and Europe or America,” he recalled.

But then, no sooner than he arrived that the realities on ground dawned on him. He was still basking in the euphoria of his dreams when he noticed the first snag. He was to be integrated into the system- that is getting a temporary resident permit, registering, writing and passing the South Africa Medical Board Exam. That was when he encountered what he was told was a temporary problem, but which soon became a major hitch as it dragged for months.

The new boss at the Health Profession Council of South Africa, the regulators of the South African medical board exam had suspended doctors of Nigerian extraction from writing the board exam. The suspension also affected hundred of Nigerian doctors that had written, passed, and had even received appointment letter for job posting. They were all prevented from resuming in their various postings. “The whole situation was chaotic, frustrating and hopeless,” he lamented as he narrated his ordeal.

However, the reason for excluding Nigeria, he said was based on an evaluation conducted by HPCS, which revealed that there were an overwhelming number of Nigerian medical personnel already in the South Africa health sector. It further posited that this number, if not checked, constituted a formidable threat in future.

Besides, it was disclosed that each time the board exam was held, Nigerians dominated 70percent, while other countries made-up the remaining 30percent. It was further said that out of the 70percent about 69percent or sometimes all the Nigerian doctors sitting for the exam pass, while just 10percent make-it from other countries. And this, over the years, has led to a significant increase in the number of Nigerian doctors in South Africa

ikeyman00:

well just like gsm, these ghana must gos must come together for good as a coperate body to build hospitals right, look at these exposed doctors worldwide

i think there are money to make

u cant keep emblezzling in name of securing your family future when in the real sense there are better way to cement your family stand in nigeria for life

i knew im dealing with monkies, zombies and vampire, i can only hope they are listen

imgaine me a president damn, picture paris in anambra state

these people just makes black man or shall i say nigerian look weak!!

if only u come out abroad, u will be shocked to see how much the outside world hate nigeria, na envyness oo, so u can imagine when we fly high, what next

sucessful1:

on serious note why do our doc's have to go abroad 2 work while our pple are dying everyday,when we were young pple go abroad to learn and come back home to use their learned skill to helep we pple,now a days every of we young doctor's are going away.i think god that gave u brain to b a doc want u 2 save ur pple's life,why go abroad while there are sick pple everywhere.i think world health org should discuss this issue and put a stop 2 doc's going abroad to work,if they dont by the yr 2070 the westerners will buy all the doctor's in the third world countries and that will cause a massive catastrophy.there'll b a time all we'll find in 9ja 'll only b pastor and native doctor's,because oyibo man go don buy all our skilled pple.our goverment egba wa.