The United states have more than 300 million people with more than 800,000 medical doctors, Nigeria have 175 million people with just 27,000 medical doctors, 16,000 of them resident doctors, the remaining who are consultants cannot work well without them. Take for example the substantial amount of money being spent on the 360 representatives and the 109 senators in NASS Abuja and weigh it to what the Bundestag (the German legislature) is spending on each legislator, a Nigerian legislators get paid more than their German counterparts and don’t forget that Germany is the richest European country and 4th in the world, haba!
I don’t think what so ever these 27,000 doctors want is too big, let them be given. If common sense will be applied let’s divide 175,000,000 by 27,000, each doctor will get more than 6 million people to look after, and the government is doing away with 16,000 amidst a health disaster of Ebola Virus Disease outbreak, for the fact that Mr president disburst an intervention fund of almost N2 billion which is commendable even though I have my reservations as to how these funds will be used.Only God knows how it shall be spent because we are talking of a government that harbors oil subsidy cabal, ministers that spends a quarter billion on 2 BMW cars and also turn deaf ears on 20 billion dollars missing oil funds in NNPC and the petroleum ministry.
This is a government that also sheilded Abdulrasheed Maina on missing pension funds that resulted to poor pensioneer’s untimely death.Why not also see ways to reach agreement with these agrieved doctors. Any country that cannot meet the desired basic needs of majority of her citizens like food, shelter, education, security and affordable and qualitative health system should be termed ‘Nigeria’. I read last year that Nigerians spends more money than any 3rd world country on medical trips abroad, this is because we don’t have a befitting medical system, and these doctors are fighting for their rights of good condition of service and the government is acting deaf? Haba! Where then did we keep our sense of rationality. Somethings are beyond playing politics with, and health is one.
TIJJANI SANI AHMED, Lafia, Nasarawa state, Nigeria.
The views expressed above are solely that of the author and not of Omojuwa.com or its associates.
