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Kayode Fayemi, the Former Ekiti State Governor, has urged Nigerian authorities to rethink the country’s approach to healthcare workforce management, warning that the continued departure of doctors could undermine efforts to provide quality medical services.
Fayemi said Nigeria must move beyond expressing concern over the migration of medical professionals and begin implementing policies that make working in the country more attractive. He identified poor working conditions, inadequate incentives and limited access to specialised training as issues requiring immediate attention.
The former governor raised the concerns while speaking at a convocation lecture at the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Osun State. He used his administration’s experience in Ekiti to demonstrate the difficulty of retaining trained medical personnel, revealing that more than half of 50 pioneer medical graduates employed by his government in 2019 had subsequently left the country.
He proposed a system of international cooperation under which countries benefiting from Nigerian-trained doctors would contribute to the development of the country’s medical workforce. According to him, such an arrangement could help Nigeria recover part of its investment in medical education and support the training of additional healthcare professionals.
Fayemi also advocated stronger specialist training programmes and targeted benefits for doctors willing to work in communities with limited medical services. He noted that providing functional equipment, dependable hospital infrastructure and opportunities for career progression would be important steps towards improving staff retention.
He stressed that Nigeria’s response to the challenge should focus on building a healthcare system capable of attracting and retaining competent professionals. He maintained that cooperation between federal and state governments, medical institutions and international partners would be necessary to address the shortage and strengthen healthcare delivery nationwide.
