Former Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has urged the Federal Government to tackle the growing brain drain in Nigeria’s healthcare sector by improving working conditions, strengthening diaspora engagement and negotiating agreements with countries recruiting Nigerian health professionals.
Fayemi said the country must move beyond lamenting the migration of doctors and other medical workers to creating conditions that would encourage them to remain in Nigeria or contribute to its healthcare system from abroad.
The former governor spoke while delivering the maiden convocation lecture of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun (FUHSI), Osun State.
In the lecture, titled Rethinking 21st Century Specialised Medical University in the Nigerian Context: Are the Challenges Surmountable?, Fayemi identified poor remuneration, inadequate medical facilities, limited career progression and insufficient postgraduate training opportunities as major factors driving health professionals abroad.
He noted that Nigeria invested public resources in training medical personnel, only for wealthier countries to benefit from their expertise after graduation.
However, Fayemi cautioned against coercive measures aimed at preventing health workers from leaving the country, arguing that the priority should be to make Nigeria’s healthcare system attractive enough to retain them.
He also called for agreements with countries recruiting Nigerian health professionals, urging destination countries to contribute towards training replacement personnel and strengthening the institutions responsible for producing the workers they employ.
According to him, such arrangements should form part of Nigeria’s bilateral negotiations with countries benefiting from its healthcare workforce.
Fayemi further urged the government to improve salaries, provide functional medical equipment and reliable electricity, expand career opportunities, and increase the number of residency and fellowship positions available to medical professionals.
He said health workers serving underserved communities should receive additional incentives, including housing support and access to postgraduate training.
The former governor also called on the Federal and state governments, teaching hospitals, regulatory agencies and university governing councils to work together to strengthen medical education, research and healthcare delivery.
He maintained that specialised medical universities required adequate and predictable funding, institutional autonomy and effective accountability to fulfil their mandates.
Also speaking at the event, FUHSI Vice-Chancellor, Professor Akeem Olawale Lasisi, said the university had increased its student population to 3,332 and completed more than 20 infrastructural projects within five years of its establishment.
Lasisi outlined the institution’s achievements in infrastructure, academic development, research and healthcare delivery, despite constraints relating to funding and manpower.
He said the university, established in 2021, commenced academic activities under its pioneer principal officers, who were appointed in January 2022.
The vice-chancellor also disclosed that the institution had graduated its first set of students in four-year programmes without academic interruption, describing the development as part of its progress since inception.
The convocation lecture highlighted the need for sustained investment in medical education and improved working conditions as Nigeria seeks to strengthen its healthcare system and address the continued migration of skilled professionals.
