Professor Akin Osibogun, the President of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN) in Ijanikin, Lagos, has issued a renewed warning about the critical shortage of graduate doctors available for specialist training in the country.
Addressing a media briefing to announce the 41st convocation ceremony of NPMCN, today September 21, Osibogun expressed concern that the ongoing brain drain in the health sector is depleting Nigeria’s pool of medical professionals essential for delivering quality healthcare.
According to Osibogun, the college is not exempt from this issue, as the number of available doctors to train as specialists continues to dwindle. Many graduate doctors are choosing to leave Nigeria in pursuit of better working conditions and financial packages overseas, a phenomenon often referred to as the ‘Japa’ syndrome.
He noted that teaching hospitals are also feeling the impact of this brain drain, resulting in a shortage of resident doctors in the country. Osibogun added that some West African countries are actively recruiting Nigerian medical professionals by offering higher salaries.
“In addition to this, there are approximately 11,000 Nigerian doctors in the United Kingdom, 12,000 in the United States and Canada, as well as significant numbers in Australia, Saudi Arabia, and other parts of the world. We estimate that there are between 30,000 and 40,000 Nigerian doctors practicing abroad,” Osibogun stated.
To address this brain drain challenge, Osibogun called for increased efforts to train and retain more doctors in Nigeria. He emphasised the need to enhance training processes and urged the Nigerian government to implement mechanisms that encourage skilled professionals to stay in the country.
Osibogun also suggested that the Federal Government should consider offering financial incentives to retain talents, particularly in the health sector, as the investment in training such professionals in terms of both money and effort cannot be easily replicated.
Furthermore, he called on the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to recognise the crucial role played by the college in training specialists and support its efforts to produce more fellows for the country.
Under its responsibility for postgraduate medical education in Nigeria, the college has already graduated 8,500 specialists. The upcoming convocation ceremony will see the graduation of 413 new fellows and 92 doctors of medicine.