The Nigerian Medical Association has expressed worry over the increasing number of doctors leaving the country, revealing that the desire to seek opportunities abroad now begins among some medical students before they qualify as doctors.
The NMA President, Prof Afekhide-Ernest Omoti, disclosed this while speaking on the growing migration of medical professionals, warning that the trend could deepen the shortage of doctors and place additional pressure on Nigeria’s healthcare system.
Omoti said some students were already preparing for foreign professional examinations while undergoing their medical training or internship, with the aim of securing opportunities abroad soon after completing their registration in Nigeria.
He said the situation reflected the diminishing confidence among young medical professionals about their prospects at home.
“The Nigerian medical student, even before he graduates, is already planning how to leave the country because he’s seen what is ahead of him, that there is no future ahead,” Omoti stated.
The NMA chief said many young doctors use their internship period to begin the process of obtaining foreign qualifications, enabling them to relocate soon after completing the mandatory registration requirements.
He urged the Federal Government to urgently address the conditions that are making young doctors consider migration as the preferred option for career development.
“We cannot continue like that. We want that junior doctor, or that medical student, to look ahead of him and see that the doctors ahead of him are living fairly comfortably, and are not living in fear, they are not living in penury,” he said.
Omoti disclosed that the NMA had presented the government with a proposal for a minimum retention package designed to encourage doctors to remain in the country.
He explained that the demand was not for Nigerian doctors to receive salaries matching those obtainable in richer countries, but for the government to provide conditions capable of making them comfortable enough to continue practising at home.
“We’re not asking that you give us what is equivalent to what people earn abroad, but we’re saying give us what will make the doctor happy to remain in the country, and that amount is not that much,” Omoti said.
According to him, most doctors would rather practise in Nigeria if the challenges surrounding their welfare, security and working environment were adequately addressed.
“Every doctor wants to remain in this country, I can assure you, hardly any doctor ordinarily would want to leave. We want to stay. But for many people, they just cannot do it anymore,” he stated.
The NMA president further warned that the continued departure of doctors amounted to a loss of the enormous resources invested by the government in their training.
“The government spends so much money to train an average doctor, and these doctors leave for free. Who loses? The government loses; the Nigerian people lose. It is important to do everything that can train these doctors to retain them,” he said.
The latest warning adds to longstanding concerns about the migration of Nigerian health professionals, with doctors and other workers leaving in search of improved remuneration, working conditions, career advancement and safer workplaces.
The NMA has consistently called for better pay, improved medical infrastructure, enhanced security and stronger incentives to keep health professionals in Nigeria.
The association has also pushed for an upward review of the retirement age for clinical health workers, arguing that keeping experienced practitioners longer in service could provide temporary relief from the manpower deficit.
Omoti also drew attention to the increasing cases of attacks and harassment against healthcare workers, describing the development as a major concern for the profession.
He disclosed that a national policy aimed at protecting healthcare workers from intimidation and harassment had been developed and issued following the recommendations of a committee constituted to examine the problem.
He said hospitals were expected to strengthen security arrangements and ensure that individuals responsible for attacks were prosecuted and, where appropriate, compelled to compensate affected health workers.
The NMA president advocated stronger security measures in hospitals, including adequate security personnel and CCTV cameras, particularly in emergency units where tensions can escalate quickly.
Omoti said some attacks were triggered by the grief and frustration of patients’ relatives, as well as inadequate communication and misunderstandings about the realities of hospital care.
“You can’t expect that everybody who comes to a hospital, no matter how bad it is, must survive. So, the fact that you are grieving doesn’t mean you take your anger on the doctor or on the healthcare professional,” he said.
He called on hospitals to communicate more effectively with patients and their families, especially about the consequences of the shortage of healthcare personnel.
“Because of the limited workforce, the only person there in the emergency, with so many patients, and then you expect that one doctor will divide himself into 10, and attend to 10 patients at once. You can’t do that,” Omoti added.
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