Former Ondo governor Mimiko laments brain drain in health sector, says herbalists will soon be treating Nigerians in hospitals

Former Ondo State Governor Dr Olusegun Mimiko lamented the brain drain in the medical profession, saying indigenous doctors and herbalists will soon treat Nigerians.

Mimiko, who stressed that the situation is alarming, said that if it continues, only indigenous doctors will be able to provide healthcare in the country for a period of five to 10 years.

The former governor, who called the situation alarming, said it was extremely worrying that medical professionals were trained at subsidized rates in Nigeria before leaving for industrialized nations.

I said; “We are in a state of emergency. If we continue at this rate, then within 5 to 10 years, only the “babalawos” (herbal house) will be ready to take care of us. It is an emergency, and the government must treat it as an emergency. The government must discourage the rate at which our doctors and healthcare workers are migrating out of this country.”

Mimiko did this over the weekend at the presentation ceremony of the first group of medical doctors at the University of Health Sciences, UNIMED, located in Ondo Town.

The two-term governor explained that he established the organization during his rule to address the shortage of medical staff in the country.

He called on the government to recognize the seriousness of the problem and take appropriate measures to reduce the migration rate of healthcare workers.

Mimiko further suggested that the government should encourage medical professionals to stay in the country and discourage other countries from poaching them.

He argued that it is important for the government to take responsibility and take advantage of the opportunity to upskill the health professionals in the country.

“We cannot continue to hold this country responsible. We can take advantage of opportunities for our experts to learn new skills. I don’t think any serious government can fold their arms while other countries decide to squeeze their human resources especially in the health sector.

“There are WHO protocols for all of this and I think the government should sit down with the government that doesn’t invest in training their people. We have to sit down, and they have to pay for taking our men away.

“For example, if UNIMED has a capacity of 50 doctors and they want to take 30 doctors, they should also provide the facilities and mechanisms for us to expand their capacity to train more doctors.

“We are a wonderful country; we have an amazing young population ready. This country has the capacity to train two million to three million students, but the countries that are in the last place to benefit from this training must also do something to expand their ability to train their people. we.

“The government has to look at this at a very high diplomatic level. We cannot fold our arms and allow all of our best human resources to live in this country. It was like a war situation. But I do know one thing for sure: if the government does what is necessary, it can be a win-win situation for us as a country.”

Mimiko praised Governor Rotimi Akeredolu for resisting pressure to relocate UNIMED from Ondo town and added that the governor’s efforts in bringing in the first medical facility in the country were most evident when he appointed Professor Adesegun Fatusi, the current Vice-Chancellor of the University, based on merit, even with objections from some quarters.

Follow us on social media: