As shared by Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, APC Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District.

My position on the Bill to make it mandatory for Medical and Dental practitioners not to be given full practising license until five years after graduation to stem brain drain.

As the Chairman Senate Committee on Health, a stakeholder in Nigeria's Health Sector, and a health system specialist, I am of the view that the legislative proposal sponsored by Hon. Ganiyu is not enough as a strategy to address the challenge of brain drain in the health sector.

This is because the factors responsible for brain drain are multifaceted and the mere denial of full practice license to medical practitioners as contained in the proposal will never resolve and may even aggravate them.

Besides, it is not only medical doctors that are leaving the country for greener pastures abroad, there are other health workers, as well as professionals in other fields of human endeavour, trained but leaving the country on daily basis for similar purposes,

consequently, focusing attention only on the medical doctors is like curing one of many ailments that are threatening the life of a dying patient without finding solutions to the others.

In addition, with all due respect, the issues and facts related to granting of practising license are not understood by the sponsor of the bill, thus, it becomes imperative for me as a stakeholder in the health sector to offer my perspective, this time as a medical practitioner of many years and not particularly as a senator with the privilege of heading the Senate Committee on Health.

2. The piece of the proposed legislation at a minimum violates the right to the "Freedom of Movement" (Sec. 41) and "The right to freedom from discrimination" under (Sec. 42) as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999, as amended.

These rights cannot be ordinarily denied by any person or government. Thus, we can't be seeking legal redress through an illegal procedure.

3. A person who is "qualified as a Medical Doctor" cannot be denied a license to practise having been certified qualified, except if he is found wanting in the ethics of the profession. Labour laws will come into place here.

Furthermore, before the bill can be considered for legislative passage and executives' approval, the following fundamental issues are important to scrutinise:

a) When does the 5-year period start, before or after the housemanship?

b) What sort of license will be awarded to a fully trained doctor instead of a full license to practise under the proposal?

c) Is there going to be a limit in the doctor’s scope of practice, and to what extent are the limits during the five years waiting period? And we need to establish why we are putting such limits; is it for lack of skills, or political expediency?

d) What happens after the five years of denial of rights to practise?

e) Consequently, how will this law advance the quality of clinical services, education, and research in any system, let alone, a crippled one like ours?

Given the above reasons, it is my considered opinion that resolving the challenge of brain drain in the country's health sector cannot be achieved through this bill. Rather, we need to address the various factors that make skilled health workers desire to migrate out of Nigeria

I, therefore recommend that rather than enacting laws that will curtail the rights of the citizens to free movement and seek better opportunities through legal means,

we should advocate for an improved system that will be very attractive and make medical practitioners unwilling to travel abroad to seek better living conditions. That is, we have to make our pastures to be greener so that other people's pastures won't be tempting to them.

We can achieve this through the following recommendations:

i. Medical students could be obliged to choose between paying the standard market rate for their training or opting for government-subsidized training. Quality education in its real sense can't be free.

Those who however opted for subsidized training after their qualification would in return be compelled to work in Nigeria for a certain time or refund the subsidies. This is a practice obtainable even in advanced countries such as the UK.

ii. To achieve the goal of a mandatory work scheme, we can enable a system that will guarantee employment opportunities for medical professionals after their qualification and provide inflation-adjusted living earnings for a few years after graduation

on the condition that they stay in Nigeria to practice. Apart from providing attractive remunerations, their work environment and career expectations should also be prioritized. Incorporating both measures should give us satisfactory results.

iii. Lastly and importantly, we need to improve our health system with sustainable investments to make it conducive for the various health workers to work. We can be assured of better outputs only if what we input is in good condition.

https://twitter.com/official_IYO/status/1644787413821145088?t=_DUBxsBjcKTd1l9MEx2BKQ&s=08

Ashiwaju is here.

There won't be any need for Brain Drain Bill because the urge to japa is going to reduce drastically.

Welcome to A New Nigeria.

Congratulations to everyone in advance! 🥂

In 1830 they came with ships to captured the best among us but today they are using different kinds of programme degrees to take the best brain out of AFRICA.

Application Link in Signature.

Happy Easter!

Nigeria as a nation has failed her citizens.

This is good thinking
Let them address the root issues rather than chase shadows
Once all root issues are addressed
- Brain drain will flee
- We will have more jobs here
- Naira will stabilize
- And all will be well

That bill made sense only to people who prioritise waste of time as a lifestyle. It costs a lot to emigrate to a country which offers better value for labour but people are doing it anyways, and in large numbers too. Hell! Nigerian medical professionals are in high demand outside the shores of our country. And instead of the government to seek ways to make here like there, they're trying their usual 'shut down whatever you can't control tactics'.

The reasons teachers don't have much advantage like doctors is the required teaching qualifications. Is the government aware though that UK for example has made it easier for teachers in Nigeria to apply for QTS which once approved, they can just emigrate and get a teaching job without having to take an additional course?

The minimum salary for the lowest level of teaching (NQT) in the UK is about £28,000 per annum; an equivalent of #25m in Nigeria.

Nija my country. Where d cause of a thing is not addressed but how to stop people's progress.

Lol

nlfpmod:
As shared by Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, APC Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District.



https://twitter.com/official_IYO/status/1644787413821145088?t=_DUBxsBjcKTd1l9MEx2BKQ&s=08

Looool

I'm just observing

Another very useless bill by bunch of criminals

People go enter Cotonou use that side Japa. E no pass that one na.

The only condition I can support the bill is for them to include in the bill that every elected person in Nigeria will not travel abroad for any medical reason for the period of his/her 4 years tenure, since they claim that graduates must serve the country for 5 years, they should also patronize that service from the graduates for 4 years in Nigeria....

Onefornaija7:
I need advice please.


Are Jiji premium paid ads worth it?

If No, what are other better places to advertise gadgets like phones, laptops, cars?.

If this is an awareness campaign/marketing strategy from Jiji team, then it's a fcking dumbshit. They are known already, so I don't get this nonsense posts from you their Online sales reps these days.

Get a life and stop spamming Nairaland.

A very arguable discussion.

The main reason why doctors are fleeing the country is that they deserve better. And yes this is very true.
Unfortunately due to high level of corruption going on in the land, every sector is in deep shit. Not only the health sector.

The lecturers are clamouring for more pay, they embarked on a lengthy strike that saw students staying at home for close to a year. Who suffered?

The masses.

In the end, almost nothing changed.

If the Doctors all find their way out of the country because of the corrupt state of things, who will suffer ?

The masses.

Believe me, the masses are already feeling the heat. Go to the hospitals, you will know.
It is only a matter of time before you and I are left with only quacks to treat us. Nigeria as it stands is a poor country and can't compete with the standards of what the developed countries are offering.

Yes, on the surface this is a very wicked bill. (Despite the fact that they have the right since they provided subsidized training for the Doctors to earn their skills and license)
Let's leave that aside.
It is still a very wicked bill.

But looking inward, I feel it might not be a bad call after all.

I only wish the politicians can also make such calls for themselves too. Take for instance, they should also pass a bill neccessitating all politicians to use the countries hospitals.

That way we will all agree that they mean well.

The average Nigerian doesn't care about all these. All they care about is their tribe and religion. Any other thing is really of no interest.

Doctors must serve for 5 years, Politicians must also be ready to patronize only local hospital

Dem no want make we travel

May Jagaban succeed!
May we all succeed!
May Nigeria succeed!

Onefornaija7:
I need advice please.


Are Jiji premium paid ads worth it?

If No, what are other better places to advertise gadgets like phones, laptops, cars?.

Dem swear for you?
You Have been posting and spamming front page threads with this nonsense for almost three days now.
What do you want to achieve?

Dozie32:
Nigeria as a nation has failed her citizens.

The citizens failed themselves. Lazy black monkeys....

nlfpmod:
As shared by Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, APC Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District.



https://twitter.com/official_IYO/status/1644787413821145088?t=_DUBxsBjcKTd1l9MEx2BKQ&s=08

Honorable Ganiyu just dey collect wotowoto

The fact is Nigeria is bleeped up and a lot need to be done to rectify the situation. Brain drain is not only synonymous to the health sector, in fact the technology and financial industries has also had their fair share of experts relocating abroad. I know of a guy whom a leading Nigerian Bank is still paying his salaries even though he has relocated….working for the bank as a consultant coz there are no experienced persons to take up his role.

This bill is bidirectional to me as I believe the it is very unfair to train in Nigeria with the same dilapidated infrastructures, subsidized tuition and accommodation, and japa straight outa the country. It’s just fair to at least to a corporate responsibility to the society that gave u the skill in the first place.

Contrarily, the system is bleeped up.., they have refused to employ the doctors coz I know most doctors work in private institutions and only few are employed with the government and some are even unemployed. The employed ones are overworked, and exposed to varying degree of hazards. In fact some have to procure basic amenities such as gloves by themselves.

Like I said earlier, Nigerian doctors needs to know that all sectors of the country is bleeped up. And from my own biased perspective, doctor and nurses are still a top predators among the Nigerian educated population.

When I was in school, I fought for a lot of scholarships, all to no avail. Same with my colleagues who studied other biomedical sciences. But as a medical student ur chances of gaining a scholarship is like 70%. A number of my medical colleagues were earning above 600k per year as a student. They were on Mtn, Glo, Agbami, seplat etc. scholarships. In school, they have their own hostels and a lot of other privileges attached to them. They go on house jobs and are paid and their nysc always come with special packages.

In truth, a lot of Nigerians who graduated from other courses with good grades are still wallowing in unemployment….even ppl with first class are managing less than 100k jobs. That is the reality of Nigeria and that is why the whole system is bleeped up. And to me, the doctors are still a privileged few no matter how we construct the story.

I want Nigerians to know that Nigeria is not US and not UK. In fact those countries are in the zenith of global economies. Nigeria is in Africa and is one of the poorest countries in the world though with limitless potentials but cursed with unproductive and unpatriotic leaders.

I’m not in support of the bill but Nigerian doctors should be a little more appreciative coz they are far better than many

nlfpmod:
As shared by Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, APC Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District.



https://twitter.com/official_IYO/status/1644787413821145088?t=_DUBxsBjcKTd1l9MEx2BKQ&s=08

This makes sense

APC propaganda machines are really funny. (And I deliberately use the above statement despite I not being political).

Of the doctors left in Nigeria, how many are employed by the government. You guys are really funny. So you want them to keep all medical graduates in the country to do what exactly? What are the plans to employ them, in what capacity, on what salary scale.

Are doctors the only students trained on subsidized education?

Do you know how much more a doctor spends on his training from his personal pockets?

Are you aware most of the infrastructure in federal medical schools are provided by alumni? If you kill that spirit of "alumnism" , what do you think will become of all these funds. Recently, a former graduate from Ife donated about 1million dollar to the school, an alumni..

Are you aware medical students pay more than other undergraduates...in UI, an average undergraduate pay about 30,000 to 40,000. Medical graduates pay about #140,000 statutory school fees.

There's nothing wring with the bill in my own opinion

Well said, our pasture too should be made greener not only for the health sector but also other sector

The brain drain bill should be extended to all graduates of federal universities who studied mbbs, nursing, pharmacy, engineering etc.

We keep training Doctors for Europeans while we remain short of Doctors.

RuddyFusion:
This is good thinking
Let them address the root issues rather than chase shadows

The bill is a very good thing and it supposed to be 10 year or 15 years, not 5 years.Brain drain is destroying Nigeria everyday there is no doctor in our hospitals anymore so this bill is super necessary before our death rate is out of the roof
Not all of us can afford to go abroad for treatment and if you know that your sole aim is to work abroad after you finish your study then you should go abroad to study not to use our system and facility to study and run abroad immediately you finished study
At the same time the government need to increase doctors salary and provide conductive working environment in order to encourage them to stay and encourage those abroad to come back
Brain drain isn’t a joke it destroy nations and that is why Indian,Russia and China always reject free visa from USA for their professional
5 years is too small must be 10 or 15 before we are all dead.
If you people don’t know,brain drain is an hybrid war
It destroy nations