Posted on: Mon 26-05-2025

Forty-seven young Nigerian medical students—once full of promise and ambition—now find themselves teetering on the edge of professional despair. After narrowly escaping the brutal conflict in Sudan in 2023, these future doctors are now battling a different kind of war—one waged not with bullets, but bureaucracy.

Despite completing their medical education under extraordinary circumstances, they are being denied the opportunity to sit for the June 2025 Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) qualifying exams, all because of documents they never had the chance to secure during their frantic evacuation.

“We ran for our lives without our passports. Now, we're being punished for surviving,” one of the stranded students told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), voice trembling with frustration.

Back in May 2023, as the conflict in Sudan erupted in full force, the Nigerian government airlifted its citizens to safety. Among them were these 47 final-year medical students from Sudan International University (SIU). After arriving home with no visas or entry stamps—just the clothes on their backs and the trauma of war—they were given a lifeline: an opportunity to complete their medical training at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) in Sokoto.

With the blessing of the National Universities Commission (NUC), the students underwent a full year of clinical rotations, lectures, and assessments. By October 2024, they had graduated—armed with SIU certificates and a determination to serve their nation. But when they approached MDCN to register for their qualifying exams, they were stopped cold.

The issue? They don’t have the original entry and exit visas from Sudan, which MDCN requires from all foreign-trained medical graduates. But how could they? Their passports were left behind as they escaped gunfire and airstrikes.

“We were told that without those visa stamps, we can’t register. But those passports were abandoned in a war zone. Are we supposed to go back into a conflict just to retrieve a piece of paper?” asked Najid Hassan, President of the Nigerian Students Association at SIU.

It’s a cruel paradox. The students did everything right—completed their studies, followed official channels, and persevered through unimaginable hardship. But now, with the MDCN exams just weeks away, they remain in limbo—qualified, but unrecognized.

MDCN Registrar, Dr. Fatima Kyari, has publicly acknowledged the plight of students displaced by war—both in Sudan and Ukraine—and has outlined alternative pathways, including re-enrollment in accredited Nigerian institutions. Yet, in this particular case, the MoU between SIU and UDUTH is deemed insufficient for registration, as the students were not considered to have officially transferred to an MDCN-approved university.

This technicality, however, threatens to derail entire careers. Many of these students are the hopes of their families and communities—some the first doctors in their lineage. They’ve sacrificed years and risked their lives to get this far.

The Federal Ministry of Education has advised the students to escalate their case by writing formally to the Minister of Education, but as time ticks away, their anxiety deepens. With no clear resolution in sight, they are left begging for urgent government intervention.

“We are not asking for favors—we are asking for fairness,” said another student. “We survived a war. We finished our training. We are ready to serve. Please, don’t let our dreams die here.”

Despite repeated attempts, key stakeholders like the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) and UDUTH have yet to respond publicly, even as the students’ cries grow louder.

With the June 2025 assessment around the corner, these 47 future doctors remain trapped—not by war, but by paperwork.

And unless something changes fast, Nigeria risks losing a generation of medical talent—not to conflict, but to neglect.

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