Okowa supports exodus of medical personnel to other nations

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, yesterday, hinted that with proper planning, Nigeria has capacity to export medical officers to needy nations.

He stated this while inaugurating the Collegiate System in the State’s Schools of Nursing, held at the College of Nursing, Agbor, Ika South Council of the state.

He said that rather than contemplate restricting medical practitioners from moving out of the country, more of them could be trained, and from the pool, enough would remain in the country while some could be exported to needy nations.

According to the governor, Nigeria can leverage the massive demand for medical professionals trained in the country by signing bilateral agreements with foreign nations to train and export more of the professionals to these countries.

He frowned at situation where medical professionals no longer empathise with humanity, saying this has become commonplace and unethical.

Okowa urged medical workers to adhere to ethics of their professions by ensuring they put in their best; rendering assistance to patients and showing them love at all times.

‘’I think that as a nation, if we know where our strength lies, we can do things that can enable us to improve. There is nothing wrong if there is a planned programme by Nigeria to train many more nurses than we need, and we enter into a bilateral relationship with other countries to export some of our nurses, midwives and doctors.

“I am not one of those that will come out to say that we are trying to make laws to stop or restrict the movement of medical personnel out of the country.

“What we need to do is ensure there is a planned programme by Nigeria to truly train more than our daily and yearly need and ensure we are able to enter into strategic alliances with other countries,” he said.

He commended the Ministry of Health and the management of Schools of Nursing in the state for their efforts at upgrading the institutions to the collegiate system, adding that this could enhance the training of more nurses and other medical workers.

Okowa also appreciated the Central Bank of Nigeria for supporting the state government to upscale facilities at the college in Agbor.

Secretary-General and Registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Alhaji Farouk Umar Abubakar, in his remarks, commended the governor for his commitment to development of the state, including health and other sectors. He said Okowa had written his name in gold for positive contributions to nursing and other health professions in the country.

Abubakar disclosed that Nigerian nurses and midwives are performing well, globally, and that the country has produced about 21,000 nurses in the past six years.

He said domestication of the community-nursing programme in most states has contributed immensely to producing adequate nursing and midwifery grassroots manpower for primary healthcare services.

Welcoming guests earlier, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mordi Ononye, said the transition from School to College System wouldn’t have been possible without unalloyed support of the governor to the ministry.