A Professor of Urological Surgery, Prof. Sulyman Kuranga has enjoined the preparation of medical doctors in leadership and managerial roles, saying mere promoting them is not enough.

Kuranga declared this at the 10th Year Celebration of the Ilorin Emirates medical Doctors’ Group (IEMDG) and its Annual General Meeting.

The Consultant Urologist, called for the move to bridge the leadership and management gap in Nigerian Medicine.

The former Head, Urology Unit, Department of Surgery, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), said the nation’s health system is under strain as 76 per cent of national expenditure is borne directly by the patients as out-of-pocket payment, and Nigeria’s ecosystem has changed while the doctors’ training has remained the same.

“There were 55,000 practicing doctors in Nigeria in 2025, which is 16.9 per cent down from 66. 241 in 2024. As we have over 16,000 doctors that have migrated between 2017 and 2023.

“And the people asked to repair these are we. We have doctors leading NCDC, NHIA, NPHCDA, State Ministries of Health, Hospital Management boards and teaching hospitals, yet, management was never in our curriculum,” he said.

He said the existing leadership gaps were already costing Drug stockouts in hospitals, poor data, demotivated staff and failed accreditation, which needs to be addressed urgently.

The former UITH CMD said: “though clinical excellence possessed by Nigerian doctors are necessary but not sufficient for them to fit into leadership and managerial roles.”

According to him: “there are three gaps needed to be closed; No Leadership Curriculum, No Career Path for the Doctor-Manager and Leadership Regarded as a Distraction.

“It is imperative to emb leadership, health economies and management modules in undergraduate medical education and in every residency programme.

“In addition, we should also deliberately pair residents and young consultants with serving CMDs, Commissioners and agency heads.

“Thereafter, there should be an established structured qualifications , in terms of a diploma or fellowship in health leadership, and in time a Nigerian College of Medical Leadership

“Most importantly, we should recognise , protect and properly remunerate managerial roles, so that competence, not accident fills them,’’ he said.

The IEMDG is a group of doctors from Ilorin Emirate who came together to serve, sacrifice, collaborate and impact their community.

Over the past 10 years of its existence, the group has attended to over 10,000 patients in their different medical outreach programmes, engaged in either solely as a group or in collaboration with other people or groups.