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Newsmaxngr Online reports that the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has rejected a Bill purporting to make it mandatory for fresh medical graduates to provide services to the country for up to five years before receiving a full registration and license to practice.
Recall that a few days ago, the House of Representatives passed for second reading, a Medical and Dental Practitioners Act (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which was sponsored by Ganiyu Johnson (APC/Lagos), with the aim of addressing the mass exodus of medical professionals from the country.
The MDCAN, while describing the bill as both discriminatory and harsh, stated that the bill could possibly make the already bad situation of mass exodus of medical professionals become worse.
It, therefore, urged the proponents of the Bill to strongly consider its withdrawal to save cost on further legislative processes, while looking forward to attending the public hearing to clarify its views on the floor of the Parliament. “We hereby convey our total rejection of the Bill and pray that it should be thrown out completely,” it said.
According to a statement by the President of the MDCAN, Dr. Victor Makanjuola, “The Bill erroneously assumes that only newly qualified Doctors are emigrating from Nigeria. Our 2022 survey revealed that over 500 consultants were estimated to have left Nigeria over the preceding two years. Along with sister Associations in the health sector, we have provided to the appropriate Agencies of Government both useful and practical suggestions on how to remedy the situation.
“You may wish to know that fresh doctors work under supervision of the more senior ones. Without addressing the retention of the more senior doctors, coercion of the fresh doctors to stay in the system will be a futile effort if quality and effective health care delivery is the ultimate desire of the proponents of the Bill. The question now is, are we going to have another Bill to mandate the senior doctors to stay in the system for 10 years?
“Curiously, the Bill violates the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, as Section 34 (1) b states that “no person shall be held in slavery or servitude” while section 34 (1) c states that “no one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour”. This Bill is therefore an excellent example of modern-day slavery. It is shocking and very disrespectful to consider this rather odious Bill as a measure for regulating one of the noblest professions.”
It added: “The idea that Nigerian trained medical doctors received heavily subsidized education is pure fallacy. Tuition has remained part of the fees paid by every medical student, usually higher than that of non-medical students in most universities.
“The fact that this amount is smaller relative to other countries — especially the developed countries — does not amount to subsidy, as every graduate who is lucky to get gainfully employed afterwards pays back by earning salaries far lower than their peers in developed countries.”