For the ignorant members of the populace gloating over this mass sack of Doctors, let me explain to you what just happened. Lets just take a simple contraption and super-impose it on the medical hierarchy so you will appreciate the fact that your President has taken the health sector on a final journey to Golgotha:

Now you know Doctors have hierarchy all over the World, imagine the world of Medicine to be the educational sector where the top Doctors are graduates (the Consultants and Professors).....,and the Medical Students are still in Kindergaten, what that means is those in Primary and Secondary Schools will be the Resident Doctors, those whom GEJ just fired. Note that for a kindergarten to become a graduate, he has to pass through Primary and Secondary School, this is a necessary link.

What our President has just done is to severe that link in Medicine. Imagine a country with University graduates that all of a sudden stopped Primary and Secondary education nationwide. That link in medicine, depending on the specialty is between 5-8 years long, sometimes even more. In essence, the Post Graduate Medical Training in Nigeria is officially dead. When these Consultants retire, there will be NOBODY to replace them, and after Medical students graduate, they CANNOT specialise. When you fall ill with certain kinds of ailments that require specialist input, YOU WILL BE DONE FOR. Its just a matter of time. But even now, there are still dire consequences.

These Resident Doctors just sacked (16,000 of them) carry many skills that those below them (the house officers) do not have, skills that those above them (the Consultants) have forgotten and may not perform proficiently or even at all. It will be practically impossible to replace these set of Doctors. The immediate consequences of this deficiency should the hospitals resume would be very obvious. The chain of command will be broken because a vital part of that chain is lost, and morale will even fall lower. So....,keep your gloating to your-self. Your dear President has just scored an own goal.

It's really a shame that the fed govt had to resort to this. It is simply a reminder of our military days. "Sack the workers so that they come begging for their jobs". What a shame. It's on record that NMA has offered their services to contain the EVD and bomb blasts despite being on strike. Let's face it, as it is the teaching hospitals are simply ill-equipped to handle this epidemic. God help us all

dis is serioz oo
so wat happens next?

Round two! Let d battle continue. Meanwhile I just dey observe

Mods...front page pls

I don't know about the laws establishing the medical and dental council of Nigeria BUT if they can be controlled by the NMA, the next logical step might be a due accreditation of all medical schools.

doctors who take up locum appointments may also have either their licences revoked or their names struck of the doctors register.

Nurses tried these line of loggerheads with government in 1985 and they have CHEWS to contend with. I foresee a creation or role expansion of other professionals in no distance. This is the time for alternatives and by joves Nigerian government must have had a lot of it to embark on these chaos.
Consultant doctors are irreplaceable sure but residency training now will be on government terms.

phantom: I don't know about the laws establishing the medical and dental council of Nigeria BUT if they can be controlled by the NMA, the next logical step might be a due accreditation of all medical schools.

doctors who take up locum appointments may also have either their licences revoked or their names struck of the doctors register.

This is your major problem now because MDCN is a parastatal of FG and government can delist any doctor from its register and even licence can be revoked too making you illegible for any foreign and local jobs. NMA can it sue against government since it is not a registered trade union?

MrsAwesome: Nurses tried these line of loggerheads with government in 1985 and they have CHEWS to contend with. I foresee a creation or role expansion of other professionals in no distance. This is the time for alternatives and by joves Nigerian government must have had a lot of it to embark on these chaos.
Consultant doctors are irreplaceable sure but residency training now will be on government terms.

residency training on the terms of government? please don't make me laugh.
tell your president he had shot himself on the foot.
this path has been toed before by the military. what happened after? what were the consequences? history is there for you.

phantom:

residency training on the terms of government? please don't make me laugh.
tell your president he had shot himself on the foot.
this path has been toed before by the military. what happened after? what were the consequences? history is there for you.

Laugh it out but your trainer, sponsor, employer deserve respect and a great deal of it. If it is not forthcoming they will suspend you and spell out another term of contract. It is their term and you must abide by it or you quit and wait your residency turn in a private facilities which we have limited number of in Nigeria.
Most of us JOHESU learnt a bit of medico legal aspect of medicine before we graduate, we know who we are answerable to and what all these bodies represent in policy making,the consequences of disobeying government orders etc. But I can't say the same for doctors honestly I think you people don't know who is the piper here.

MrsAwesome: Laugh it out but your trainer, sponsor, employer deserve respect and a great deal of it. If it is not forthcoming they will suspend you and spell out another term of contract. It is their term and you must abide by it or you quit and wait your residency turn in a private facilities which we have limited number of in Nigeria.
Most of us JOHESU learnt a bit of medico legal aspect of medicine before we graduate, we know who we are answerable to and what all these bodies represent in policy making,the consequences of disobeying government orders etc. But I can't say the same for doctors honestly I think you people don't know who is the piper here.

...watch how this drama ends! NMA has not even started.

Phantom sheay those with private hospital say them go close down abi? Hmmmm! No let them decieve u o...

Samgreguc: Phantom sheay those with private hospital say them go close down abi? Hmmmm! No let them decieve u o...

Sammie, a beg leave matter. if you people have not realised that anyway this drama ends,the doctors can't lose then you don't see very far.

the truth is Jonathan is like a carpenter with only a hammer.
he sees a nail in every problem but no worry,NMA go clear im doubt.....