Nigerians in need of medical care may soon be at the mercy of traditional healers unless steps are urgently taken to address the issue of medical brain drain in the country, Dr Segun Mimiko, a medical doctor , has said.
Mimiko had at different times served as Commissioner for Health, Secretary to the Ondo State Government (SSG), Minister of Housing and Urban Development and Governor of Ondo state.
The former governor noted that the rate at which doctors are leaving Nigeria for foreign countries in search of greener pastures has become a cause for concern.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned that Mimiko said this while giving his speech during the induction ceremony of the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery students at the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, on Friday.
‘A situation where doctors and other health workers that were trained at a subsidized rate in Nigeria later abandon the country for developed countries has become a worrisome development.
We are in an emergency. If we continue at this rate, in another five to 10 years, only the ‘babalawos’ (herbalists) will be available to take care of us. It is an emergency, and the government must see it as an emergency. The government must disincentivise the rate at which our medical doctors and medical personnel are emigrating from this country.
We cannot continue to hold this nation unaccountable. We can take advantage of the opportunity for our professionals to learn new skills. I don’t think any serious government can look the other way while other countries decide to empty it of its human resources, especially in the health sector. We are a great country; we have an incredible young population that is ready. This country has the capacity to train two million to three million students, but those countries that stand at that end to benefit from this training must also do something to expand our capacity to train our people.
The government must take it up at a very high diplomatic level. We cannot show indifference and allow all our best human resources to leave this country. It is like a war situation. But I know one thing for sure: if the government does the necessary things, it can be a win-win situation for us as a nation’ he said.
Mimiko added that the institution was though established during his administration to address the dearth of medical workers in the country, other countries had however been poaching those that had been trained there.
The former governor commended Governor Rotimi Akeredolu for resisting pressure to relocate UNIMED from Ondo town and for his efforts at giving the institution the best which had been demonstrated through the appointment of Prof. Adesegun Fatusi as Vice- Chancellor of the university-Team@orientactualmags.com
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