A BILL ostensibly aimed at curtailing the exodus of young Nigerian doctors to foreign countries for greener pastures has passed the second reading at the House of Representatives.

Sponsored by Ganiyu John (APC Alimosho, Lagos), the Bill is for an Act to amend the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act 2004. 

According to the sponsor, the amendment is meant to force Nigerian-trained medical doctors to give at least five years of service before being eligible to travel abroad for greener pastures. 

His reason is that government spends a lot to subsidise their education. They must give back at least five years to the country before they can leave.

This Bill, on its surface value, makes a lot of sense. According to the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Nigeria lost about 10,000 doctors between 2015 and last year. A country of about 213 million people now has only 24,000 doctors, down from about 34,000 in 2015. What it means is that only one doctor is available to treat 9,083 Nigerians. The World Health Organisation, WHO, says a country with our population strength requires at least 363,000 doctors.

We, however, believe that Hon. Johnson’s panacea for this problem has not been thoroughly thought through. It smacks of a typical military mentality that believes that simply making a decree can solve a problem. 

How will this shackling by law actually stop the brain drain in the medical sector? Every Nigerian has the constitutional right of movement. No law made by the National Assembly can interfere with a citizen’s freedom of movement.

The brain drain problem in the sector is not only about doctors. It is more about medical professionals, which includes doctors, nurses and others. As doctors troop out, so do nurses. Will the Bill also tie down the nurses? 

Doctors are paid pittances; some are owed months. We impoverish doctors, we can’t cage them too.

It does not take rocket science to know what we must do to retain our medical professionals and even attract expatriates into our system. 

We need to emulate other successful countries and invest heavily in the health sector at all levels to provide adequately for the welfare of its professionals.

We must equip and maintain our public hospitals. We must make our health sector work so well that our leaders will prefer to be treated in Nigeria, rather than the current practice of rushing to hospitals abroad, abandoning the very hospitals they built. 

Subsidising the training of our doctors is only one part of the solution. We must also provide adequately for their welfare and afford them the right work environment.

This Bill is just a mere publicity stunt for Hon. Johnson. We need a comprehensive reform of the health sector which should be a presidential initiative.