By Adedapo Adesanya
In a bid to check the medical brain drain in Nigeria, the House of Representatives has proposed a bill to prevent Nigerian-trained medical or dental practitioners from being granted full licences until they have worked for a minimum of five years in the country.
The bill passed second reading on the floor of the lower chamber on Wednesday, April 6.
The bill is part of the measures to halt the increasing number of medical doctors leaving Nigeria for other countries in search of ‘greener pastures.
The bill sponsored by Mr Ganiyu Abiodun Johnson read, “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, Cap. M379, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to mandate any Nigeria- trained Medical or Dental Practitioner to Practise in Nigeria for a Minimum of Five (5) before being granted a full licence by the Council in order to make Quality Health Services available to Nigeria; and for Related Matters (HB.2130).”
The second reading was taken on the floor of the House in Abuja on Thursday.
Mr Johnson told the House that it was only fair for medical practitioners, who enjoyed taxpayer subsidies on their training, to “give back to the society” by working for a minimum number of years in Nigeria before exporting their skills abroad.
The majority of lawmakers supported the bill, though a number of them called for flexibility and options in the envisaged law.
One member, Mr Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, opposed the bill on the grounds that it was more like enslavement to tie a doctor down for five years in Nigeria, post-graduation, before seeking employment in a foreign country.
However, a majority voice vote passed the bill for second reading.
The plenary of the House was presided over by the Speaker, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila.
Earlier this year, the National President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, Dr Innocent Orji, revealed that Nigeria has lost about 2,800 resident doctors over a period of two years.
According to him, “We did a study in September last year, and we came up with facts that in a two-year period, we lost 2000 resident doctors. From January to August of 2022, we lost 800 doctors; that is to say, we lose 100 doctors every month.
“I always say, as politicians are playing politics, they should also pay attention to governance because it will come to a time when they will finish elections in February and March and come back to find out that there are no doctors again,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Business Post gathered that a UK immigration report in 2022 put the number of Nigerian healthcare professionals granted working visas in the UK in 2021 at 13,609.
Also, between December 2021 and May 2022, a total of 727 Nigerian-trained medical doctors relocated to the UK.
Although the UK is one of the top destinations for medical workers, Nigerian-trained healthcare professionals also emigrate to Canada, the US, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and other developed countries.
This new bill has already drawn criticism in Nigerian as many citizens have criticized the lawmakers for trying to enslave doctors. They argued that the National Assembly must first make a law preventing public officials from seeking medical attention abroad before stopping doctors from seeking a greener pasture outside.
