Nigerian doctors in diaspora: How FG frustrated us when we offered to improve healthcare back home

The Diaspora Professional Health Initiative (DPHI) has accused the federal government of frustrating its efforts to improve healthcare in the country.

The association comprise of Nigerian medical practitioners who are based in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, South Africa, among others.

A member of the association, who did not want to be named, told TheCable that those in DPHI were inspired by other professionals from the African continent, especially Ethiopians, who are now being supported by the Medical school of University of Toronto, Canada, to create more solutions in their country.

He said for three years, they worked on strategies they could use in sharing skills with their counterparts back home but the Nigerian government turned its back against them just when they were about implementing their ideas.

The doctor said at an event to discuss the project in Washington, in 2019, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), had described the idea as “a win-win situation for both sides, and ultimately for our country.”

The doctors’ hopes were, however, dashed in January when Osagie Ehanire, the health minister, wrote to inform them that the project, scheduled to kick off on 27th of that month, had been “suspended till further notice”.

The source said in preparation for the January 27 kick off, “27 physicians and nurses in oncology neurology nephrology and ophthalmology had bought tickets and volunteered to be in Abuja last week for the pilot phase of the DPHI that we have spent the last three years fleshing out with the ministry of health.”

“I am aware the Federal Ministry of Health has been in cordial partnership with your associations to develop and improve Healthcare delivery services in Nigeria. I use this opportunity to express my delight, and appreciation of your various collective and individual contributions to the Health sector of your country,” Ehanire wrote in his letter dated January 20.

“I wish to also commend all your contributions and enthusiasm for the launch of the pilot programme of the brand new ‘Diaspora Professionals Healthcare initiative.’ It is a laudable Idea which has been embraced by the Ministry of Health.

“However, I regret that due to salient circumstances around programme design and preparation, this initiative, scheduled to be launched on the 27th January, 2020 had to be abrogated and deferred till further notice. This will give us time for more detailed preparation to broaden and deepen the scope of your engagement and magnify the value to your service to country and people.”

Ehanire told DPHI members that the project would be redesigned “for far more impactful and beneficial delivery of service and utilisation of knowledge and skills, better ‘ownership’ and appreciation by all stakeholders.”

But another doctor told TheCable that the project is “as good as dead” because of the role played by government.

“When you hear something like ‘put on hold till further notice’ in Nigeria, just know that, that project is as good as dead,” he said.

“We spent about three years doing meetings physically and virtually aimed at skills transfer between Nigerian physicians in diaspora and those back home.

“Of about 80,000 registered physicians with the medical council in Nigeria, 45,000 are now outside of Nigeria. The basic minimum of informing the professionals in Nigeria and putting required materials in place in Nigeria, they did not do and yet they set the date and we sought for and told our initial batch of volunteers to buy air tickets. Then, abrupt cancellation of the programme or postponement till whenever. Three years of planning!”

Ehanire did not answer calls placed to his telephone and also failed to respond to a text message, seeking his reaction on the matter.
Dabiri-Erewa did not also respond to inquiries on the issue.

https://www.thecable.ng/nigerian-doctors-in-diaspora-how-fg-frustrated-us-when-we-offered-to-improve-healthcare-back-home

Stories like this are numerous.
Many people who have made efforts to do something for naija have been frustrated by the people in government.
It's unfortunate.....infact anything you want to do for the masses that has to pass through government hands abeg! Find another way those guys are the real "village people, enemy of progress, evil from my father's house".

Not surprised. Any idea a group of individuals in the government sector can't benefit from financially is dead on arrival. The kind of corruption in Nigeria has seen free deeds as something to be benefitted from monetarily before it could be done.

Really? Like seriously seriously

This is what happened when you vote in the people in government who supposed to be gatemen in Lagos mainland .. tufiakwa imagine Buhari come be our president? Buhari that supposed to join his fellow aboki selling sugar Cain for mile 12 market.

Nigerian government ain't serious for anything

The Buhari government will never support any positive move .

Same story everywhere

Sad

Why won't they frustrate u, u don't want dem to av reason to travel out again or use medical check up abroad as an excuse to jump bail

Hmmmmm, my country my country

Lol

Attention seekers

A government that doesn't value academics. A country that promotes yahoo-yahoo and quick-fixes above hard-work and patriotism. Until we collectively want to be one country and love ourselves, we can never advance as one.

Na der way useless government

Not surprised. They only care about 26bn for senate House renovation.
Mad o

It is saddening but true to know that the Nigerian government is the number one enemy of the progress and development of the country and her citizens.

They will blame PDP for it

Yeye


The real reason US suspends Immigrant travel Visas on Nigerians.

It has little or nothing to do with Boko Haram, has nothing to do with Buhari, has nothing to do with arrest and detention of journalist, has nothing to do with Nigeria’s ban on gays and lesbian, but has everything to do with absence of a workable system in our identification and verification processes.

The main reason Nigeria is suspended from Immigrant visas category is because Nigeria does not have a credible background investigation system that groups like Interpol can rely on to vert and certify originality.

What that means is that if someone commits a crime in lagos and relocates to Kano, there’s no system that can be used to track crimes and people across state lines.

Virtually all African countries have such systems even Ghana has it, Cameroun everyone has original birth certificates but nigeria prefers to have multiple identity cards not because they are interested in monitoring and tracking people but because they want to make money. Our country is a transaction society, you can buy anything even the human conscience.

Most responsible modern states in the world have tracking systems, but nigeria does not. A typical example, if you are about 40 years, if you go to your primary school to get your records they don’t have it. Principals and headmasters do not have computers in the 21st century.

Now only states that are considered rogue nations or failed states that do not have workable systems. Most nations in this category are nations at war. Nigeria is not at war but the irresponsible nature of our government makes Nigeria a war zone.

Now, back to US suspension, let me make it clear that only Immigrants visas are affected. Non immigrant visas are not affected. An immigrant visas is a type of visa that allows you to stay, work or even become a US citizen after you travel.

This category involves the type of visa you get when you marry an American citizen and have to relocate or the type of visas given to parents when their American citizens file for them or the visa you get through lottery.

Another category of visa affected is birth visas, these are medical tourism visas to come to America and have a baby. It is those categories of visas that are affected. Some waivers do apply. However, non immigrant visas like visitors or business visas are not affected, however going forward it will be difficult to get

What America is saying is that we cannot continue to give immigrant visas to your people if our investigators have no tools to work with to verify the true identity of your immigrant populations.

Example, someone who wins lottery or marries a US citizen, the investigators will want to check him up to primary school, but we have no records. Our government should be ashamed that we do not have a reliable working system to track Nigerians instead of deceiving the people to assume it is unfair what US has done.

Our government should be ashamed that today we are grouped with countries like Eritrea and Sudan. A sensible country, what they should be doing now is to put such a system in place, but they will not. Last year, two of my American friends visited Nigeria and came back with Nigerian international passports. That can never happen in Ghana or even Liberia. But with money you can buy a mans conscience in Nigeria.

With as little as three to five hundred dollars people are ready to subvert the law and do the unthinkable. With just Ten thousand Naira anyone can get local governments origin letters, worst still, today traders who never stepped their legs in universities are given degrees and people even serve youth service with fake results. If you are America will you continue to give immigrant visas to a country you cannot verify a simple certificate?

If you are America will you continue to give citizenship to immigrants whose entire documents for relocation to your country may have been forged?

We forge ID cards, we forge bank statements to get visas, we forge birth certificates, we forge marriage certificates, we forge election results, what is it that we do not forge?

We should not blame the US, the truth is we have failed as a nation. More disturbing, those who are clamoring that we need a working system are those who are arrested and locked up on frivolous reasons, charged with hate speech and ostracized by society.

According to my good friend Frank Anoh, he says we are a nation of criminals. I somewhat would agree with him. We are a nation of criminals. However, I blame my generation more, we continue to subvert the system for a plate of porridge. Until this independence era politicians leave the scene, Nigeria will continue to operate in the 16th century.

God help us.

Nigeria only deserve cows, zombies and maybe herdsmen

The minister of health has explaining to do to Nigerians.

Useless government
Useless followers
Useless country
Useless useless useless

This country doesn't respect Nigerian doctors.

Buhari and APC is everything bad with Nigeria Just imagine the incompetent and clueless fellows running this country. SMH

#facts