Healthcare in Nigeria: A Tragedy of Talent, Infrastructure, and Leadership

Healthcare is one of the most important aspects of a nation that is needed to get things stabilized, meaning healthy practitioners going on strike can really be devastating for the country and her citizens at large, and one of the core reasons why health practitioners would want to go on strike is due to them being underpaid, overworked with little or no time to relax, or having poor healthcare facilities and equipment that stimulate their skills, and if I were to consider the state of the health system in my country, I can't help but cover my face in shame at how terrible it was and still is.

The healthcare sector in my country Nigeria is nothing to write home about if I'm being truthful, although Nigerian doctors are some of the best around the world, but if you look at most of those of our doctors making waves, you'll realize they've left the shore of the country to seek greener pastures in a country where they'll be appreciated more and also get to perform their duties with state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment that makes performing their work easier and enjoyable. Year in and year out, at least hundreds of our health practitioners leave the doctors, and in the last 10 years, at least 30% of their entire population has left, leaving our healthcare desolate and at the mercy of the few left behind.

Do I blame those who left or who would still leave in the coming days or month? Of course not; everyone wants the best for themselves, and if you can't get that where you are presently, there's no harm in giving other places a shot. Nigeria's healthcare sector isn't improving in any way, if I'm to say the truth, although I don't like how I've been sick lately, but going to the hospital in the past few months has opened my eyes to a lot of things that are deteriorating in that sector, and I can't help but wonder where we got it wrong and what can be done to turn the tides around in our favor once again.

I remember visiting the hospital last week and having to wait over 6 hours before I could see a doctor despite arriving as early as 7am. Even when it finally got to my turn and the nurses needed to do some medical checkups that would ease the work of the doctor, and they found out my blood pressure was as high as 240, they were shocked and questioned how I got there in the first place, because of how delicate they claim my BP was, yet they couldn't admit me because they didn't have enough bed space to keep me in.

Surprisingly, they wrote emergency on my prescription and lab test slip, and yet they felt it was okay for me to go to the hospital and go home, and that's not to even forget times when the few doctors available presently often want you to buy medicine from them instead of going to the pharmacy because that's their side hustle and means of earning since their salary can't cater for their needs. A lot of things are wrong with our healthcare; the facilities are poor, there is a shortage of staff, poor equipment, and the like, and all these need to be fixed in order to transform our healthcare sector.

Talking about if a strike action would make a difference, the truth is that I doubt it, and the reason for my doubts isn't far-fetched. There's a quote I heard someone say in a movie, saying that the past is a teacher that tells us what the future would look like, and if we look at past strikes embarked on by medical practitioners, we can see for a fact that it doesn't affect our politicians, because they usually find their way in by bribing the leaders, which leads to the calling off of the strike, and when people refuse to call it off, they end up sacking everyone who continues with it.

That's not forgetting the impact such strikes would have on in-house patients and other citizens that might fall sick or be victims of one accident or another during that strike. I remember the ripple effect such a strike had on my brother when he was sick and admitted to the hospital a few years ago, so I don't think a strike is the solution; maybe it's finding ways to change our leaders and voting for those who have the empathy of the nation and her people at heart.

All photos are mine.