Japa: Tinubu Issues Executive Order On Health Workers Leaving Nigeria
Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju
Japa: Tinubu Issues Executive Order On Health Workers Leaving Nigeria
Published
6 mins agoon
9 March 2024
The Minister of State for Health, Tunji Alausa, has said the Federal Government has directed all health workers immigrating abroad to resign their appointments before leaving the country.
The Minister made the announcement on Saturday during his visit to the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He warned that the era of health workers exiting the country after applying for a leave of absence is no longer acceptable.
Alausa stated that the ban on the leave of absence for health workers emanated from the executive order issued by President Bola Tinubu as part of drastic steps to combat the challenge of brain drain fondly called ‘Japa Syndrome’ confronting the nation’s health sector.
He said, “You cannot eat your cake and have it. If you are going, just resign your appointments with the Federal Government, rather than applying for leave of absence, that is the Presidential executive order that has been communicated to all the Chief Medical Directors of Federal Government-owned health facilities to implement.
“The problem with the leave of absence is that such a fellow is out there in the UK or Australia working, making money but his name still appears on the payment roll of the government and so to replace him is difficult because he is still being considered as a staff whereas he has left the country.
“So, to solve this problem, the President has directed that health workers going abroad to work should just resign their appointments and not apply for leave of absence. This way, you won’t be blocking others who want to work and of course piling burdens for your colleagues that you left behind.”
Alausa also revealed that the FG has commenced the production of manpower in the health sector such that the annual enrolment of nurses which used to be 28,000 is now 68,000 and that by the end of this year, it would have gone up to 120,000.
“The government is not unmindful of the Japa effect on our manpower in the health sector and the President has ordered for massive production of manpower such that when people go, there will always be replacement.
“It is against this background that we are working intensely on the enrolment of our nurses. What used to be 28,000 is now 68,000 and our intention is to take it to 120,000 by the end of the year, so there will always be abundant skilled manpower to take over from those leaving the job,” he added.
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Kudos to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for this timely move!
As the saying goes, “A stitch in time saves nine”
In real time it’s not too late ( like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted) and in any case, it’s better late than never when to date we have this sorrowful statistic staring us in the face: Nigeria: the medical brain drain.
Between 2019 and September 2023 a staggering 5,000 to 7,000 Nigerian doctors migrated to the UK, the US, United Arab Emirates and other African countries
This debilitating brain drain could have been nipped in the bud much earlier, however, we've now got to be both grateful and content with the presidential prerogative of better late than never.
Today, President Tinbut could say, “And so, my fellow Nigerians ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.”
The fact is that some of his “ fellow Nigerians” have become Americans ( “Nigerian Americans” )
Back in the day, in Sierra Leone, circa 20 so-called "National Scholarships" were awarded annually ( I was a recipient of one such, in June 1965) and the main thing about the National Scholarships was that you were not bonded to do any payback time ( work for government or country for a stipulated X number of years after completing their studies) which didn’t make much sense to me back then. Why have this provision for the most talented and the best in the country - in any given year ( based on A-level performance)? All the other scholarships - the vast majority, were bonded ( if bonded I would have opted to work in the Foreign Service and it wouldn't have been too bad to go for some training in New York or Washington DC, meet Miles Davis, shoot a few holes, make some whoopee, blow their minds.) Sadly, I suppose that system has fallen into desuetude over there and is not the case in Nigeria
But surely anyway, the Jagaban could do a little more to curb the tide - issue an executive order that criminalises the brain drain: No unauthorised person to leave the country in search of greener pastures anywhere!
But then the sour grapes p-ssies would accuse him of being a dictator!
Is there a medical brain drain from China? Cuba?