By Jeph Ajobaju, Chie Copy Editor
Hundreds of Nigerian doctors attended job interviews at Sheraton Hotel in Abuja on Tuesday, conducted by Meeds Consultancy which is recruiting them for Saudi Arabia. Some will be interviewed in Lagos on August 26 by On Y Va Concept.
Doctors undervalued at home are heading East in droves, and in various specialities, including anaesthetics, intensive care unit, paediatrics, surgery, family medicine.
They will join in the diaspora 4,528 medical doctors trained in Nigeria who have moved to the United Kingdom in six years, from 2015 to July 2021.
The figure is apart from the number of Nigerian doctors who were trained in the UK and are practising there, said Miranda Newey, Senior Medical Officer of the British General Medical Council (BGMC), who disclosed this to The PUNCH.
BGMC licenses and maintains the register of medical practitioners in the UK and Newey said the increase in the number of doctors migrating from Nigeria and other countries has led to the opening of a bigger clinical examination centre.
Her words: “The data released to you contains the total of Nigeria trained doctors who gained their primary medical qualifications from medical schools in Nigeria. This is excluding Nigerians trained in the UK.
“The spike in doctors’ migration made us to open a bigger clinical assessment centre to enable us to test more doctors wanting to work in the UK.
“Despite being forced to close during the pandemic, there has been a lot of demand for test placements from people coming in from Nigeria.”
BGMC data shows that the number of Nigerian doctors who passed the examination to practise in the UK between 2015 and July 2021 as
· 2015 (233)
· 2016 (279)
· 2017 (475)
· 2018 (852)
· 2019 (1,347)
· 2020 (833)
· 2021 (509) – between January 1 and July 31
Job interviews in Lagos
TheCable reports that job interviews in Lagos were done on August 22, conducted for the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health by Successlink Consult in Ikeja.
Each applicant paid N10,000 application fee after which medical certificates, means of identification, and other documents were tendered.
After payment, the doctors were screened by a panel of Saudi Arabian personnel.
An applicant who specialises in hematology – the study of blood, blood-forming organs, and blood diseases – told TheCable that it was the “shortest interview of my life.”
Said he: “I showed them my original documents before going in and also presented the duplicates which they took to the interviewers.
“After making the payment, I was taken inside for the interview. The interview lasted like one minute, I think it’s the shortest interview of my life.
“I have been hearing about such recruitments for a while but I had never applied. This is my first time.”
Similar exercises were held in Lagos and Abuja in March 2019 to recruit Nigerian medical doctors for Saudi Arabia.
Labour Minister Chris Ngige claimed at the time that there was nothing wrong with doctors leaving Nigeria as the country has “more than enough” medical personnel.
“There are surplus [doctors] in their country and we also have surplus in the medical profession in our country. I can tell you this. In my area, we have excess,” Ngige said, recalled by TheCable.
“Who said we don’t have enough doctors? We have more than enough. You can quote me. There is nothing wrong in them travelling out.”
But a fact check shows that Nigeria’s ratio of doctor per patient is 1:5,000 – one of the lowest in the world – against 1:600 recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Doctors get N5K hazard allowance monthly, Senators N1.24m for newspapers
The latest doctors’ exodus comes amid strike by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which the National Industrial Court in Abuja ordered it to suspend on August 23 pending the determination of the lawsuit against the strike.
The federal government filed the case after the doctors commenced yet another strike on August 1 over “irregular payment of salaries”, among other issues.
Medical doctors often resort to strike actions to press for improved welfare conditions and increased allocation to the health sector.
TheCable reports a Nigerian doctor gets N5,000 as monthly hazard allowance while Senators are paid 248 times higher (N1.24 million) to buy newspapers monthly.
This situation, among others, has forced many medical doctors to leave the country in search of greener pastures.
Research by Africa Check in 2018 showed that at least 12 doctors leave Nigeria for the UK every week.
NARD blames doctors’ exodus on govt
NARD President Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi told The PUNCH that doctors are at liberty to do whatever they want within the law since Abuja has failed to fulfill its promises.
He said there is no benefit for any doctor still practising in Nigeria, saying those staying back are only being patriotic.
“Everybody is free to do whatever he/she wants. The government has not fulfilled its promises to the health sector. Those who stay behind are only doing so because of patriotism, not as if there is any benefit or something,” Okhuaihesuyi added.
Some doctors, who did not want their names in print, told The PUNCH that this is not the first time Meeds Consultancy would recruit doctors for Saudi Arabia.
“This is not the first time they are organising such recruitment. This was also done in 2018. They held one in Lagos and another in Abuja,” one recalled.
“Lots of doctors are coming out tomorrow (August 24). It is not about being an Islamic country; it is about conditions of service. As a Christian, if it means I have to go to an Islamic country to get better conditions of service, then I will go.”
Other doctors explained to The PUNCH that they are leaving Nigeria because of poor conditions of service, poor investment in the health sector, irregular salary payment, among other factors.
Ahmadu Balarabe
“Look around you, I am sure you can see old people here. This is the situation we have found ourselves in this country. We cannot continue to work in a degraded health system.
“Let us even talk about the NARD strike. These young doctors have been on strike and the next thing the government does is to sue them. Where is this done?
“Most of them (government officials) don’t care about the sector because they know they can disappear to foreign countries. Well, we are also going to join them.
“I have some of my fellow consultants with several years of practice who are also here to try their luck.”
Vivian Okolo
“Concerning the number of doctors here, I am heartbroken. When I came in here, I wanted to cry. Over 90 per cent of the people you see here are consultants.
“Consultants are the ones who train resident doctors. When they leave, who will train the upcoming doctors? But you can’t blame them, because we all are looking for better conditions of service.
“I left medical school in 2011; my teacher who taught me in the medical school is here, a seasoned paediatrics consultant.”
Femi Jaiyeola
“One of the persons we met when we came in said they were expecting close to 600 doctors. The government is to be blamed for this.
“Someone even asked me if I was not scared of going to an Islamic country since I am a Christian. I told him even Ehanire (Minister of Health) will come here if he has the opportunity. Saudi Arabia is offering more than we can ever earn in Nigeria.”
Anonymous doctor
“When Nigerians are ready, they will march to Aso Rock and demand responsibility from this government. The President travels out to take care of his health, meanwhile, the health sector is dying back home.
“The interview is a week-long process. Today, as you can see, we are filling forms. There are other processes. I have not been briefed yet, but we have been told that the process is for a week.”
Meeds Consultancy employee
“This is not the first time we are recruiting for the Saudi authorities.
“They know Nigeria has some of the best doctors in the world. Our doctors are well-valued outside the country. So, don’t blame anyone for leaving.
Adejo Arome, NARD Vice President
“I must truly commend the large number of individuals who came out. We have always encouraged people to look out for other options.
“The Nigerian government does not care about the welfare of doctors; so, the best thing to do is to look out for other opportunities and I am glad that people are gradually seeing the light.”