Seeks increased allocation to TETFund to cater for health institutions
The founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Afe Babalola, has said that the institution was able to prevent members of staff of the institution from seeking greener pastures overseas, which was nicknamed ‘japa’, by topping their salaries and emoluments by 35 per cent.

The legal luminary, who disclosed this, yesterday, in a statement in Ado-Ekiti, said that it was a notorious fact that Nigerian doctors and other medical personnel had been leaving the country in droves because of the dearth of quality medical equipment and facilities in public hospitals.

As part of ways to stop the trend, Babalola urged both the federal and state governments to increase allocations to their respective hospitals, saying: “This will enable them to procure quality equipment, consumables and hire competent consultants and allied medical workers.

“In ABUAD, when the ‘japa’ syndrome became so prevalent in Nigeria, we had to top the salaries and emoluments of our members of staff by 35 per cent, over and above what obtains in public universities.

“It is a notorious fact that Nigerian doctors have been leaving the country in droves because of the dearth of quality medical equipment and facilities in our hospitals.

“Both the federal and state governments should increase allocations to their respective hospitals. These will enable them to procure quality equipment, consumables and hire competent consultants and allied medical workers.”

The ABUAD founder also canvassed increase in TETFund allocation by one per cent, which should be used by medical institutions to buy quality equipment and hire competent members of staff, noting that additional allocation would equally enable research and collaboration between hospitals and universities with reputable hospitals.

Babalola, who said that there was nothing wrong in doctors establishing private hospitals, said: “I am worried about the state and performance of private hospitals today. Most of them are not better than mere slaughter slabs.

“My experience in the last two years shows that patients who otherwise would have died were rushed to quality hospitals at the point of death where their lives were saved.

“I, therefore, suggest that the laws establishing private hospitals should be amended to ensure that they procure quality medical equipment. Doctors should also be advised to come together to form partnerships similar to cooperative societies to enable them to establish quality private medical outfits.”