Buhari’s Chinese Medical Experts: Are Nigerians guinea pigs?
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Fifteen Chinese medical doctors and experts were recently imported from China by Buhari's administration to "help" Nigeria in its fight against COVID-19. China as at 10th April 2020 has an official record of 3,214 deaths of its citizens arising from COVID- 19 incidence while Nigeria has recorded less than 6 deaths from the same menace within the same timeframe.

As widely known, COVID-19 originated from Wuhan, China. It is reported by analysts from Australian Strategic Policy Institute that the virus was transmitted from animals to humans there in China from where its spread took off to all parts of the world including Nigeria.

Though the fifteen Chinese medical doctors and experts were ferried into Nigeria by a Nigerian owned air carrier- Air Peace, the 'importation' cost of these Chinese medical doctors and experts into Nigeria put at over one million dollars was reportedly borne by the Chinese government.

China has an unenviable negative record of being a country whose real intentions behind every of its good deeds are purely for its selfish gains. In this period of COVID-19, this belief about China was brought to the fore. Beginning from the way China hoarded vital information on the malicious nature of the virus to the publication of accurate figure of fatalities it recorded within its territory, China not only birthed COVID-19, it incubated it, escalated it and unleashed it on the rest of the world. The United States Vice President Mike Pence lent his voice to this belief about China and said that “the reality is that we could’ve been better off if China had been more forthcoming” about the virus.

While the economy of the entire world is on life support with IMF predicting global recession worse than what the world witnessed in 2008, China’s economy is making steady recovery from the blow of COVID-19 with much of its earnings coming from filling the orders for production and exportation of vital medical supplies, test kits and medical information to the rest of the world. Not only that, it has also gained for itself massive unfair geopolitical posturing as it is the only super power in the world at the moment rendering help to other nations hit by COVID-19.

At the wake of the pandemic, quite a number of countries that had looked up to China for help or medical supplies got the highest casualty rate thereafter the ‘help’ came namely: Italy, Spain and even the US. Some other countries that have received medical supplies and test kits from China such as Netherlands and Slovakia discovered to their horror that a large percentage of those items and medical supplies they received from China were either faulty, defective or failed basic integrity test. It got so bad that the prime minister of Slovakia, Igor Matovic while rejecting China’s relief items ordered that about a million test kits already received from China be thrown straight into the ‘Danube’. Danube is a river in Slovakia.

With all these news making rounds, Buhari’s administration is cautioned not to be too eager to receive medical supplies from China and where it has already received same, to subject those medical test kits and supplies to strict medical scrutiny. Buhari’s administration should also not be seen opening its hands in warm welcome to Chinese medical doctors unless it wants to further prove to Nigerians that it has entered into pact to use Nigerians as guinea pigs for COVID-19 vaccines as is been rumored in some quarters.

Exactly a year ago, Buhari’s administration through its minister of Labour & Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige informed Nigerians that Nigeria has surplus doctors and medical experts and that Buhari's administration is not bothered by the massive emigration of Nigeria’s indigenous trained doctors to other parts of the world.
For a government that does not care a hoot about the mass exodus of its indigenous trained medical personnel to other countries to now welcome with wide arms Chinese doctors at this time that the entire world is wary of China would leave the Nigerian masses with no other conclusion than that Buhari’s administration really means ill for Nigerians.

While China’s offer of free medical supplies, free test kits, and free experts' assistance could have fueled the desires of Buhari’s administration to welcome these Chinese doctors and medical experts into Nigeria against the backdrop advice of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and other well meaning organizations and Nigerian citizens, Buhari's administration should be wary of these medical freebies from China for nothing is free even in Freetown.

Instead of salivating at these freebies coming from China and putting the lives of Nigerians at risk, Buhari's administration should take stock of Nigeria's rich incalculable large human capital in the area of medicine and extend respectful hands of invitation to the over 4000 doctors of Nigerian descent practicing medicine in the United States, to the over 5,000 doctors of Nigerian descent practicing medicine in the UK and to the over 27,000 doctors of Nigerian descent practicing medicine in Australia, Canada, Europe and South Africa most of whom are leading experts in the medical field. It is strongly believed that with good offers made to these Nigerian doctors abroad, majority of these individuals will respond positively to the request and come home and render the much needed medical help to our dear country.

Also legally speaking, the Buhari’s administration is reminded of the provisions of Sections 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18 of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act Cap M8, LFN, 2004 which principally provide that it is an offence punishable by fine and imprisonment for anyone who has not been licensed and registered by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to practice medicine in Nigeria. These imported Chinese doctors and experts are not licensed by Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and are precluded from coming into Nigeria to practice medicine in the name of assistance. If at all the government is insistent on having these Chinese medical doctors and experts render medical assistance to Nigerians and practice medicine here in Nigeria, they must fulfill the provisions of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act else their activities here are illegal.

With all these valid hues and cries against the importation of Chinese medical experts and doctors into Nigeria at this dangerous time, it is hoped that President Buhari will listen to the voice of good reasoning and send back the Chinese doctors and medical experts to China for we do not need them.


By Lawrence C. Nnoli
10th April 2020

We sure this Chinese doctors are not here with the so called vaccine to test on us.

The same Fulani government killing her citizens?
You can only prepare for the worst

You said it well.

Brilliant piece! What a shame for a nation of Nigeria's status under such irresponsible leadership.Mr.President health tourism destination is UK but he never deemed it fit to seek their input towards COVID19 but turned attention to China-the epicentre of this raging Coronavirus pandemic.