A virologist and Vice Chancellor of Crescent University, Abeokuta, Prof. Ibraheem Gbajabiamila, has frowned at how taxpayers’ money is being used by the federal government to train medical personnel across the country and lose them to developed countries through brain drain.
Gbajabiamila called for concerted efforts to reverse the ugly trend, which he said has affected the country’s system on many fronts, noting that excess workload, poor working conditions, low remuneration, insecurity, and inadequate equipment for practice in specialised areas of medicine are impediments associated with the health care sector and reasons why medical personnel seek greener pastures abroad.
The Vice Chancellor was speaking in Abeokuta, the state capital, against the backdrop of the ills the “Japa syndrome” has done to the nation’s health care system, as part of activities to mark 20 years of academic excellence of the private varsity founded by former Justice of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, late Prince Bola Ajibola.
He added that it takes approximately N100 million globally to train a medical doctor, lamenting that after the health professionals are trained by the government, bearing the burden, they leave for abroad to strengthen healthcare delivery elsewhere, while Nigeria’s own system is left in a coma.
The university don urged the federal government to put measures in place to retain doctors and nurses in Nigeria, while also calling on developed nations to pay attention to the predispositions of WHO and UNESCO, which discourage poaching of healthcare workers from poor countries.
Speaking earlier, the Proprietor of the university, Prince Mahruf Adesegun Ajibola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), noted that there would be a 20th anniversary lecture in the coming weeks and awards to outstanding alumni and distinguished Nigerians in appreciation of their contributions to the growth of the institution.
He renewed the call on the federal government to extend the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) intervention capital projects to private tertiary institutions in the country, which are also training the needed manpower for the nation’s economy.
He explained that such intervention, if extended to Crescent University by TETFund, would go a long way to expand existing facilities to provide more young Nigerians with opportunities for university education.
The Proprietor described the establishment of Crescent University in 2005 by his late father, Prince Ajibola, as one of the greatest legacies for humanity, committed to producing high-quality graduates for the nation.
On academic feats attained by the products of the university and numerous contributions to the economy, he cited them as further attestations to the university’s role in manpower development.
“Our first class is world-class. We recall one Rafiat Gawat who made a first class at Crescent University and replicated the feat at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, at Master’s level with a distinction. Rafiat Ali achieved the same feat in Forensic Accounting from the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom, also at Master’s level. Many others abound afterwards.”
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“Proudly, our alumni have consistently been demonstrating these traits of excellence in character. Employers of labour across the world rate our products highly in character and integrity.”
