by Alkasim Abdulkadir

…as citizens we also deserve the right to be treated according to the Hippocratic Oath that doctors have sworn too. The rise of medical negligence has caused so much pain and terminated the lives of Nigerians. 

“Health services are in shambles as our hospitals are reduced to mere consulting clinics without drugs, water and equipment.” – The quote above was not made by the head of the striking doctors in Nigeria, Dr. Kayode Obembe, rather it was made by former Head of State Gen. Sani Abacha, while delivering the speech that ended President Shehu Shagari’s reign as a civilian leader. However, today things are worse than the debilitating medical abyss that Abacha painted in that speech.

The strike by Nigerian doctors must be put into proper perspective and not be tagged an affront to President Goodluck Jonathan. Rather, it should be seen as the needed nod for the Federal Government to declare a national emergency in Nigeria’s health sector. Like education, national security, health care is the third leg of despondency that has denied Nigeria the ability to walk firmly as a nation.

The prevalence of malaria and typhoid still goes on. Our pothole filled roads have one of the highest proclivities for ghastly car crashes on the African continent. Then there are the multitudes whose conditions requires regular medication, advisory and treatment, all will not be attended to while medical doctors are on strike. In Minna, an acquaintance Rosalinda Barde was rushed to the Minna General Hospital, already bereft of prompt service on good days, July 1 was not such day. As the NMA strike had started. The inattention of the doctors has cost this young and vibrant lady her life as she had to be rushed to a private clinic. She was pronounced dead on arrival. The tragedy of the demands by the doctors and the on-going strike action is the multitude that will die across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

Via its handle, the NMA tweeted a series of tweets: “Yesterday, we had a meeting with the govt reps namely SGF, Ministers of Health, Ministry of Labour, Perm Sec MOH & Lawyers from Min of health. The meeting lasted 4 hours and with what we have on ground its obvious government isn’t ready to shift ground, just as we maintained our stand too.”

Nigeria remains to be imperfect because we have chosen to run a system a gross state of dysfunction or else how can assault on doctors by laboratory attendants, at best an internal crisis to be handled by a disciplinary committee become the responsibility of the Minister of Health? Some also are procedural and don’t warrant medical doctors downing their stethoscopes like the appointment of the Surgeon-General of the Federation which is the prerogative of the President, also it is in our collective interest for the President to declare an emergency in the health sector as NMA said through the setting up of the Health Trust Fund for upgrading of all hospitals in Nigeria.These are issues that don’t need doctors to stay away from hospitals. But, alas this is Nigeria, our thick skins only respond to militant approaches. While, other sectors continue to demand for greater welfare for their members, it is hypocritical of us to continue to blackmail doctors on weight of their allegiance to the Hippocratic Oath; we should realize they have needs and visit the same markets like the rest of us.

However, as citizens we also deserve the right to be treated according to the Hippocratic Oath that doctors have sworn too. The rise of medical negligence has caused so much pain and terminated the lives of Nigerians. Till date, little has been done by public medical institution to seize the stethoscope of such offending doctors, hardly do they suffer any consequences of their negligence nor do the institutions pay any compensation to the families.

“We have to take this action in order to save the health care delivery system from anarchy that is palpably imminent.” Self preservation should be the beginning of our collective wisdom, in Nigeria no one is immune from the path of our abysmal public health, even if its for first aid.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.