For the past five (5) months, it was the public university lectures that were on strike and then it was the public hospital doctors. The doctors across the nation under the umbrella of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) promised to continue with a "full blown strike" indefinitely from January 6th, 2014. They (the doctors) said the strike is as a result of the non-implementation on the part of government on the issues raised last September. According to them, apart from reconstituting and inauguration of a governing board for the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, nothing else was implemented.

 

ASUU strike was equally disturbing and uncalled for but it will be just a child play when compared with that of the NMA. Lives of poor and less privileged country men, women and children will be lost and when life is lost, it can't be revived. Already, the five (5) days warning strike has caused fatalities across the nation serious enough for both the government and the NMA to seat down and resolve things the honourable way.

 

While calling on the government to do all the needfull on its part which of cause include respecting, proper and timely implementation of all the contending agreements reached with the doctors (if any), it is also necessary to appeal to the doctors to -in the interest of the nation- try other means to press home their demands other than the strike.

  

Also, the doctors should be putting the welfare of the patients ahead of there egos. Always demanding of this-or-that especially salaries/wages and or allowances alone can not solve the problems in the health sector. As self-centred as ASUU is as many argued, they atleast includes among their demands the total and overall revitalisation of the education system in the country. Contrary to this NMA is always demanding for either salary increase or the maintenance of the so called "hierarchical order" in the public hospitals and health sector which will in turn ensures their retaining of supremacy.

 

It is clear to us all that only the populous country masses that will suffers and not those at the helm of our affairs when the public hospital are shut down. While the former can not afford the otherwise higher prize of the health services either at the private hospitals or abroad, the later can afford that with comfort.

 

All hands should be on deck in order to salvage our country, the excessive and almost perennial strikes will only end up dragging us down. The ball is now in the court of both the NMA and the government, we the masses are crying, please save us.

 

By Mustapha Saddiq, 

Mustapha Saddiq is a student of medical Laboratory Science in Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto.

He could be reached @ [email protected]