From Ogbonnaya Ndukwe, Aba
A fertility medical specialist, Dr Okechukwu Kalu, is the medical director of Life Point Medical Centre Limited, Aba, Abia State.
In this chat with Sunday Sun, he described government’s attitude towards the health of Nigerians as very poor.
He, therefore, suggested that the sector be urgently prioritized to provide needed facilities, as well as check the alarming rate at which qualified medical practitioners and other professionals leave the country to foreign lands.
What’s the situation about qualified medical practitioners leaving Nigeria for foreign lands?
The situation is worse now, than what government is telling us. Many medical doctors, especially the young ones, are leaving the country in their hundreds. The world over, Nigerian doctors are ranked among the best and so, are being engaged abroad, especially in Great Britain.
What could be responsible for this human capital flight?
Many of their doctors were affected by the dreaded COVID-19. They are now using Nigerians to replace them. Most professionals, the young ones, have lost hope in the country’s leadership, and so resorted to seeking greener pastures abroad. The environment is not conducive. It is very difficult to manage a business in Nigeria. Many medical doctors I worked with have all left the country for overseas. They are offered between five and seven times what they earned as salaries in Nigeria, and the environment there is good. So, they left. Why would they not leave, since they earn so much than what they get in Nigeria? I can assure you that everywhere in the world, the Nigerian doctor is still among the best.
Don’t you think your position is at variance with that of Labour and Employment Minister, Dr Chris Ngige, a medical doctor too; who once said there was no brain drain among medical practitioners in Nigeria?
It is not true and I don’t believe he said any such thing. He may have been quoted out of context. The minister cannot say a thing like that. A lot of people have gone, left the country for overseas. They (government), even tried blocking Nigerians from going abroad to work. They complained to the British Home Office, to prevent these doctors from going. It is really impossible to stop them. A lot of doctors have worked for me and I know those that have left the country. The minister cannot say that. They know very well, and had tried talking about blocking Nigerians from travelling to the United Kingdom. There’s also Saudi Arabia, in those days. On a particular day, a plane was filled with more than 60 doctors leaving Nigeria. They tried to stop them, and the doctors protested. I can assure you that almost all those, all the doctors left. It is a very, very bad situation.
What should government do to correct the anomalies and stem the tide?
The cause of all these problems, are very clear. Government is insensitive to the priority needs of the people. You can see now that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was still on strike after many months. The priority placed on health and education by the Nigerian government is so poor. Government has not prioritized healthcare. So, those that cannot cope with the present situation have to leave, since they have the requisite qualifications to practice elsewhere. The major thing is for government to prioritize the sector, set up needed facilities. To attend to people’s health needs in Nigeria, one has to go through the bank to be able to procure necessary equipment that are made abroad. Elsewhere, like India and other countries, doctors receive grants and interest-free loans. They also receive grants from government to start business. Government should make healthcare compulsory in Nigeria. There should be no segregation on the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). It should not only be for workers in government and private company establishments. It should be compulsory for every citizen, including those in the rural areas. If this is done, the landscape will change. Funds will become available to provide facilities, procure drugs and attend to the medical needs of all Nigerians, irrespective of status. The insurance is supposed to take care of the financial needs in providing health services and people will feel happy to contribute to the scheme on monthly basis.
Knowing how public institutions are being managed especially in accounting for funds, can such programmes work presently in Nigeria?
Nothing is impossible. Nigerians are corrupt because there is no system to check corruption. Europeans and Americans are also very corrupt, but the system checks them. So, you can do anything, but be ready to pay the price when caught. They have security. There are CCTV cameras everywhere. They have monitoring units that look at every money that comes into the government and those that go elsewhere. You can imagine in this country, that people are still stealing crude oil running into billions of dollars, everyday and there are no plans to get them because those in government are actually the culprits. If we want the system to be okay, let’s start making the health of all Nigerians a priority. That’s what every country is doing presently.
The fertility and reproductive health system is a very expensive one and seems to be a reserve for the rich. Are there plans to extend the service to common Nigerian?
I absolutely agree with you that it is expensive. It is actually a business venture and costs a lot money to establish. So, one has to work to recoup the money he had invested. The media we use are very expensive. The consumables are also costly, but one has to imbibe the fear of God in attending to the needs of the society. However, we may not be the most affordable in the whole country. In view of the prevailing situation, we make our services available to the reach of many. Things are very expensive and everything we use are brought in from abroad. You see, every woman can get pregnant when the funds are available, and in our society, families without children are seen as a taboo. That’s why we are advocating that the government include all health situations in the NHIS programme, so that the rich and the poor will benefit alike. It will favour a larger majority of the nation’s poor. Let’s make it a priority. Those currently enjoying the scheme are less that five per cent of Nigeria’s population and it does not augur well. We want it for every citizen, everybody. Healthcare for every Nigerian, should be the responsibility of government. A healthy community, makes a healthy nation.
Talking politics, what’s your take on the upcoming 2023 elections?
Let the younger generation take over the reins of power and governance. I want Peter Obi and his running mate, Datti Ahmed, to become the new leaders of Nigeria.
Why, is Obi not part of the old system that we are condemning?
We have listened to the man and have been watching him and his running mate. They are, to me, a breathe of fresh air. We need to check the brain drain we are talking about and if we miss this opportunity, Nigeria will be doomed. It is not as if Obi is a messiah. For most young people, if he messes up after being given the mandate, they will dump him and his team. When one listens to him, what he says and if he does a tenth of all he promises to do should he become president, Nigeria certainly will change for the better. I personally don’t know him, but we have confidence that he will deliver. I think that he is an intellectual and not like the other candidates that have expired. His opponents are all expired drugs and should be discarded. We have tested them variously in the past. In Nigeria today, we want someone who will come and do something new in the system. Nigeria urgently needs an Obidatti (short term for Obi and Datti). I have every confidence that they will reposition the country for a better future. It will be transformed to be like Singapore. Obi is a visionary leader and that’s what Nigeria needs at present. About 30 years ago, Dubai was just a mess as a desert, but a visionary leadership turned it to what it is today. Nigeria can be like Dubai. I will end by telling you clearly that they are good things in Nigeria. Nigerian professionals are all over the world making their marks and excelling in their areas of specialization. Many people don’t know that Nigeria is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Yes. In fact, Lagos especially. We are growing. Africa is in focus for economic growth and Nigeria is in a position to get it right this time. Unfortunately, our problem is in bad leadership, but I have confidence that this time, we will get it right and the time is now.