Why Nigerians Will Not Miss Their Doctors

When I am tempted to talk about the JOHESU strike

And the only thing that enters my mind is that one day, Nigerians will wake up from their sleep and they would have no Doctor to attend to them.

Few weeks back, my friend and his wife both doctors came to our house as they bid us an emotional farewell... They were relocating out of the country.

For me, for the past few months, I have been between and betwixt... Should I continue or should I still hold on... Should I focus on my other passions, and leave seeing patients.

Practicing medicine in Nigeria is dangerous, either you are gazumped in your work place, by people that feel you are proud, arrogant, ignorant or overpaid, or those outside who think you earn more than a senator, or those in the media who think you are over pampered.

Back to the main gist...

Nigerians won't miss their doctors..

A Nigeria, where a seasoned journalist does not know the difference between an opthamologist, optometrist, optician or a market glass seller... And out of convenience calls all of them eye doctors will not miss her doctors.

A Nigeria, where people gather in front of a man displaying leaves and talking about how leaves cure ailments, yes in a city road and are willing to part with their shekels for these will not miss her doctors.

A Nigeria where a Professor believes his problem is caused by Staph, even when his doctor says otherwise will not miss her doctors.

A Nigeria, where a very learned person who has a stroke believes his stroke was sent from the village and refuses to take his medication even to the grave, will not miss her doctors.

A Nigeria, where the hospital and indeed the doctor is the last resort, when every other modality has failed, will not miss her doctors.

A Nigeria, where citizens believe their politicians more than their doctors, and the doctor is viewed as a harbinger of evil will not miss her doctors.

A Nigeria where traditional bone setters drag and many times see more orthopaedic cases than even trained orthopaedic surgeons will not miss her doctors.

A Nigeria where every one is a doctor and everyone knows what is medically wrong with them will not miss her doctors, chemist dey nah.

A Nigeria, that does not know the difference between a CHEW and a nurse, or where everyone on white in a hospital is a doctor, or every female on white is a nurse, will not miss her doctors.

A Nigeria where any Chindah, Tamunoibim or Sunebari can walk into any place where drugs are sold and get any medication without being properly checked and with no prescription will not miss her doctors.

A Nigeria, where anyone walks into any lab, does investigations, gets drugs in the laboratory including injections and drips and calls a doctor when things go left, will not miss her doctors.

A Nigeria where leaders would not even bring their dogs for check up if they were allowed to the hospital ... Will not miss her doctors, they don't even know what happen in our hospitals and when they attend it is either to  commission what they will never use, or to get a report for a foreign hospital or at worst during an emergency.

You see this infighting, higi haga, brouhaha, crinkum crankum... Wu Wu not take it.. and all points to the failure of governance at all levels.

If the government was on top of the situation and everything  working the way it should be, we will not be fighting and pointing fingers on the wrong persons.

Yawns...

If I was the federal government, I would have conceded all tertiary hospitals to private investors and strengthened the health insurance system.

And when this is done, the system will  automatically generate relevance, you will earn as you work, you will earn according to your relevance.

How many of our government hospitals have an automated medical record system... Go and get your folder and you will understand in details what long suffering sometimes mean.

How many produce their own drugs...

How many are foremost centres for  research...

How many are proffering lasting solutions for perennial issues like ebola and Lassa and all...

Will the vaccines come from any of these hospitals...

Will the research from that will put an end to malaria come from any of our tertiary centres...

Yawns...

When these hospitals are conceded... Many people disturbing will definitely be redundant...

Go abroad and discover a lot of things in the hospital are now automated...

Go abroad and find out if many of the higi haga here exist there..

And as government, fails once again, they watch as their hospitals are locked by striking workers, their hospital doctors working are mobbed, patients are driven away from the hospital, by striking workers.

The irony of all this is that, many of the doctors currently working round the clock, to see and attend to patients, are still not paid, as those who pay them salaries are on strike..

That is why when I look at this picture, I am forced to be silent...

Like I said earlier, one day Nigerians will wake up and have no Doctor to attend to them...

While many go abroad, some will leave medicine all together and focus on other interests.

Medicine is more than staph, typhoid and malaria.

Again what do I know?

#HearWord #HearWordseries

© Ovundah Nyeche