WHY THE LINGERING PROBLEMS IN THE HEALTH SECTOR IN NIGERIA?

 

(1) DOUBLE STANDARD.

The Nigerian government represented and personified in the Ministry of Health through her head the Minister of Health Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu has not managed the crisis effectively. He has been at the forefront in escalating the crisis. He was the one that authorized the issuing of the circular that brought this mess,based on the advice of NMA/MDCAN. When JOHESU challenged the action of the government, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu , hurriedly went to court to restrain JOHESU from going on strike through a court injunction. 

 

When JOHESU won the Government in the case which was brought to the National Industrial Court by the Hon Min of Labour and Productivity, the Government through the Ministry of Health, is yet to implement the Court judgment. Now NMA/MDCAN who had tried through the back door to undermine the statutory rights of JOHESU members by going to Court and lost on this same issue, is the one the Government through the Min of Health Prof Onyebuchi CHukwu is negotiating with, even when some of the issues are in court and some have been thrown away by the court. 

 

The same Prof ONYEBUCHI CHUKWU who had in an accelerated mechanism, gone to court to stop JOHESU in their rightful demand, was not able to stop NMA/MDCAN. Note that NMA/MDCAN by law is not a registered Trade Union, so as such cannot declare a strike action. The Government has failed to restrain NMA/MDCAN from these acts of impunity. Government has blind folded her eyes and has allowed NMA/MDCAN to continue the numerous serious acts of misconducts, by suddenly forgetting the provisions of the Public Service Rule (PSR). PSR 030301(h) which states that negligence is gross misconduct.PSR 030401 (e) calls Absence from duty without leave serious acts of misconduct.PSR030401(r) calls Nepotism or any form of preferential treatment acts of gross misconduct. Without sounding immodest the tenure of Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu as Min of Health has been the bedrock of Nepotism for NMA/MDCAN against all other healthcare staff. 

 

And MR President Dr JONATHAN EBELE GOODLUCK, should note that this is no good news for the healthcare sector in any ramification.

 

(2) CALCULATED SABOTAGE. 

The events of the day have shown that the strike action by NMA/MDCAN is a calculated sabotage against the state, in order to entrench NMA/MDCAN professional imperialism in our hospitals. Again, without minding the dire need of the Nigerian citizens and their right to healthcare services. Even with a court order restraining NMA/MDCAN from the strike action, they still went ahead in defiance of a court order. 

 

It should be noted that when JOHESU is on strike, the Chief Medical Directors/Medical Directors of the different hospitals calls all the members of the top management team to make sure that skeletal services are rendered. Interns are told to always be around, that, they are not part of the strike action. How come when NMA/MDCAN went on strike that the CMD/MDS could not call their top management team and their Interns to give skeletal services as they always compelled Interns when JOHESU is on strike. 

 

. Even when MDCAN, in a false posture had lied to the world, that they are not on strike, as a result of the court order from the National Industrial Court restraining them to join the strike, why is it that all the CMD/MDS could not compel members of MDCAN to come to work and attend to patients.?

 

. Why is it that Most Management of the Hospitals decided to even cut of light in the hospitals, in order to completely stop services to patients ,when it was only just members of NMA that were on strike in the hospitals? 

 

The answer to this numerous question is that it is a calculated sabotage against the state.PSR 030401 (S) and (T) states that divided loyalty and sabotage are serious acts of gross misconducts. There is only one common denominator among all these stakeholders that did not act, when they were expected/supposed to act, starting from the Minster of Health Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, all the CMDS/MDS, the President of MDCAN,Dr Steve Oluwole and even the NMA President Dr Kayode Obembe are all members of MDCAN. MDCAN has been instrumental and cardinal in the lingering crisis in the Health Sector in Nigeria. A situation where a non registered Trade Union turns herself into a fifth columnist and stands in the forefront to undermine court orders is nothing but sabotage.

 

(3) LAWLESSNESS AND IMPUNITY.

The demands of member of NMA/MDCAN demonstrate gross lawlessness and impunity. Which violates the code of conduct for a public officer? Their demand is prejudicial, and as such is an affront on the Nigerian Constitution. Section 172 of the Nigerian constitution states “A person in the Public Service of the Federation shall observe and conform to the code of conduct of the Federation” The fifth schedule part 1 code of conduct for Public Officers says:

(1)A Public Officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.

(2)A Public officer shall not do or direct to be done, in abuse of his office, any contrary act prejudicial to the rights of any other person or contrary to.

 

(4) GOVERNMENTS INABILITY TO FIRMLY CAUTION NMA/MDCAN

Government has not demonstrated firmness in this matter. A situation where the Government is negotiating with NMA/MDCAN when it is not a Trade Union undermines the rule of Law. Secondly, the Government cannot be negotiating with NMA/MDCAN on issues before a court of competent jurisdiction. Thirdly the inability of the Government to have out rightly declared the action of NMA/MDCAN illegal gives room for impunity and lawless. Government must be seen to be firm, fair and courageous to do what is right.

 

SOLUTION AND CONCLUSION.

(1)For there to be lasting peace and harmony in the Health Sector, the Health Sector needs urgent restructuring where no professional group is made a sacred cow, to dominate others. And should thwart Government policies and laws at will, as demonstrated by NMA/MDCAN without Government, calling them to order. Government as the employer of labour must only be the one, to decide, what she pays her workers, and not one professional group who are employees of the Government, dictating what Government will pay other workers, even when they are not in the same cadre.

 

(2) In order to avert further strike, Government must be firm to do what is right and must stop all these negotiations with NMA/MDCAN that are anti Healthcare Workers who are not members of NMA/MDCAN.

 

(3) In order to avoid this continuous sabotage, in the system the Hospital leadership should be handed over to Hospital Health Administrators/Hospital Health Managers as it were Pre-1985.

 

(4) Government should fully implement the Scheme of Service of every Healthcare Professional for them to reach the Zenith of their career as provided for in the Various Schemes of Service.

 

(5) All demands of NMA/MDCAN that are based on the issues, that are before the Court, Government should out rightly stop negotiations, on such matter, because that is an abuse of Court process.

 

(6)In order to tackle the unwarranted disruption of healthcare and to provide effective healthcare services in Nigeria, Government as a matter of urgency should adopt the Total Integrative Medical System Initiative (TIMS INITIATIVE) Which is Integrative Medicine or Medical Pluralism, integrating the use of conventional therapies and ethnomedical therapies like in Alternative Medicine, Traditional Medicine(TM) and Complementary Medicine in the treatment and management of diseases.

 

(7)Government should really empower the Natural Medicine Development Agency Koffo Abayomi Victoria Island to develop a curriculum for the training of Ethnomedical Practitioners in Nigeria for the onward integration into the National Healthcare System, like what you have in other advanced Societies.

 

(8)Government should introduce the practice of Ethnomedicine in our hospitals and create an Ethnomedical Council of Nigeria to regulate its practice and practitioners.

 

 DR BENJAMIN CHUKWUNONSO AJUFO

Secretary AMLSN DELTA STATE/Doctor of Holistic Medicine wrote from Kolkata, India.

 

"PART 1"