It is no longer news that some doctors have been ‘sacked’. The story is even being modified to different versions. While some believed that all doctors have been relieved of their jobs, some others think Nigerian doctors were divided into 16 parts & a part was rendered jobless. The ignorance exhibited by some people is at the least pitiable. I read with utter dismay how some resorted to lampooning the doctors. I think it is beneficial for us all to get informed and rightly so.

 

THE PRESIDENT, MY PRESIDENT 

My President strikes me as someone who has good intentions but lacks the wherewithal to give effect to his intentions partly due to his weak mindedness & also due to the expert ‘sycophantic’ advisers he surrounds himself with. It does seem any of his followers can make anything look good to Mr. President & he will be magnanimous enough to accept it without proper evaluation. If Mr. President has a headache, his advisers can ask him to cut the head off while experts who know about headache tell him to use an analgesic. My dear president would see nothing wrong in getting the head cut off. Afterall, the headache disappears either way and the option given by his trusted advisers is infallible.

 

THE RESIDENTS

Resident doctors are those who, having acquired a permanent license (which can allow them practice either in the country or outside) following the undergraduate medical training, housemanship & the NYSC, have gone back for post-graduate training in a chosen field of medicine. They become a specialist at the end of their training. They know something about every field of medicine, and everything (or almost) about their chosen field so a patient with a diagnosis involving that field can be handled effectively & decisively by such a specialist. Like their name imply, resident doctors, where they exist, are always on ground and constitute a bulk of the doctors in the hospital. They contribute greatly to teaching of medical students & houseofficers and also work with and under instruction and guidance from the consultants for the optimal care of a patient. 

 

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT (FG) AND THE MASSES

By the FG, I mean Mr. President and all the forces around him. I believe many Nigerians know that the FG and many of our politicians in power care less about how good the masses fared while they accrue to themselves unmerited wealth. It is as if the government deliberately takes & strategically places its decisions to either kill the citizenry or kill the few who try to liberate & enlighten the masses. The masses themselves, as if programmed to self-destruct, does not help matters. Many sit in the comfort of their homes and spew gibberish on the social media without getting informed. 

 

Afterall, Talk, like ignorance, is acquired cheaply but its effect can be costly. 

The system is crumbling. 

Failure rates skyrocket in the Educational sector. 

Security can’t be any worse than it is presently. 

Power is in a state of status epilepticus . 

Agriculture has nothing to show. 

Life expectancy keeps dropping, Quality of life has declined significantly. 

All, under the present administration keeps getting worse. 

 

And the populace prefers to just take solace in a hopeless hope. They now think the FG is a saint in the problem facing the health sector while castigating the doctors who are making efforts to revamp the sector? The government goes to the media to pay lip service to & window-dress serious issues, claiming to be on top of the situation while in reality, they’re buried under the situation. When the FG in Nigeria tells you good morning, it’s either the sun is scorching or the moon is adorning  the sky.

 

NMA

Despite the harsh condition and aforementioned inadequacies of the FG, I make bold to say the NMA did go ahead to play a vital role as regards the Ebola outbreak. From dues paid by medical doctors nationwide, NMA at the state and national level sponsored adverts, workshops, jingles and rallies, printed pamphlets, rented canopies and sound systems, etc. all in a bid to sensitize the public and give adequate information about the Ebola epidemic. Besides, a directive was given for members to respond to the challenge as much as the sanity in the system permits. The doctors are ready to respond to the emergency situation if the government shows dedication to preserving the sanctity of life of its health workers. The press release where the NMA gave the directive to its members to respond to the scourge is a click away lest someone makes an ill-informed comment.

 

CONCLUSION

For those who have praised the FG for ‘sacking’ the doctors and are shouting, ‘crucify them’ ‘crucify them’, do well to know that there are various countries requesting for Nigerian doctors. Our training placed us in such a position. The number of Nigerian doctors practicing outside the country is ‘far’ more ( and I mean ‘far’ more) than those within Nigeria so the decision of the FG to ‘sack’ some doctors, reminiscent of the military era, will only end up draining the country of its doctors and worsen the already bad situation resulting from shortage of doctors. Who suffers at the end? Our so called leaders travel abroad to treat toothache so its decision to sack some doctors should not be viewed as one in favour of the masses.

 

Having said all these, I leave you, as a member of the public to reappraise your view of the FG’s stance and the medical doctors agitation so it won’t be said of our dear country thus: When the wicked prosper, the city rejoices. When the righteous perishes, there are shouts of joy.