From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has insisted that there is no good in the decision of some medical doctors to leave Nigeria in search of “greener pastures” abroad.
The Council thus asked Nigerian doctors seeking emigration opportunities to have a rethink, reminding them that things were not as rosy as they thought or were made to believe.
MDCN Registrar, Dr. Tajudeeen Sanusi, who spoke to journalists at the induction ceremony of over 200 foreign-trained doctors in Abuja, said though there was a mass exodus of doctors from Nigeria, many of the doctors end up in regret of their decision.
“Aside from other reasons being considered by the doctors, they give greater consideration to the money being mentioned as salary and allowances of doctors practising in such a country. Immediately the money is mentioned, the doctors will quickly reach out to their calculators to convert to naira. But they often fail to realise that naira is not spent there.
“For instance, in the United Kingdom, pounds is the legal tender. So, even if you are paid 10,000 pounds as a medical doctor, and you convert it to naira, you can only spend pounds there and not naira. A bottle of soft drink in the UK costs at least one pound, which is over N1,000 in Nigeria. But a bottle in Nigeria is N200 or little above depending on the location.
“These doctors don’t realise all these things until they get there, and when you try to make them understand the true situation there, they might end up attacking you, accusing you of not wishing them career growth and development.
“However, I prefer to encourage people who want to travel abroad for the purposes of study, particularly postgraduate training and experiences to freely do so, but always have it at the back of their mind that they should return to the country after their studies to render medical services to the country.
“Imagine that we all travel abroad because we could afford the cost and never return. Who will attend the people left behind, or even train the younger ones. I agree that poverty or unfavorable working conditions could be responsible for the professional interest abroad, but there are several ways to resolve the issues.”
He, however, insisted that there’s no good with ‘japa’ and discouraged doctors still considering the option to have a rethink, remain in the country and offer services to the people, with hope of better days and working conditions ahead.