Brain drain: Nigeria needs capacity improvement in training doctors
The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, says medical colleges in Nigeria must develop the capacity to train more doctors to bridge the brain drain gap in the sector. Hamzat spoke with the Newsmen in Lagos while reacting to the issue of the brain drain of medical experts in Nigeria.
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He said since many medical practitioners have decided to leave Nigeria for other developed countries, it had become necessary for Nigeria to increase its capacity to produce more doctors to serve the nation.
The deputy governor noted that human migration was inevitable, adding that people moved around the world all the time.
He said, “Human migration is normal. People would leave, and people would come. But as a country, we can train more doctors. I am not against the brain drain of medical doctors, but what we need is to create a pipeline to train more doctors instead of complaining that medical personnel are leaving the country. If we train 5,000 doctors yearly, let us increase the numbers to 15,000, by doing so, the country benefits,” he added.
Hamzat said the government cannot stop people from going wherever they want to go. According to him, in 2022, 197 Americans threw away their passports and became Singaporeans, so people will continue to move around the world.
“The Nigerian government should rather, look for a way to benefit from the countries our doctors are moving to. For example, if 1,000 doctors go to the United Kingdom, the UK Government must pay us something back in return. Therefore, our medical colleges need to increase their capacity by training more people,” he added.
Wumi/Punch
