Only days ago, Nigeria became the latest country to be certified Guinea worm free by the World Health Organisation. This certification came in after 3 years with no record of any new infection.

The celebrations for the country’s much strained health sector were short lived as the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) supported by the Assembly of Health Professionals and Associations commenced a 3-day warning strike starting on Wednesday 22, January 2014 following the alleged breach of agreement by the federal government. Their grouse this time; government’s non-implementation of a collective bargain agreement, despite a judgement by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. They also faulted the recent announcement of the appointment of a Surgeon-General of the federation as Nigeria is only imitating foreign countries “without any recourse to what is operational in those countries’’.

Other long noted demands include increase in retirement age for members from 60 to 65 years, placement of Medical Laboratory Science interns and post-NYSC graduates on a higher salary scale,  enablement of consultancy services by health care professionals.

While some of their demands seem fair and legitimate, it is worrisome that doctors and other health care workers have come to see strike actions as the most effective means of getting their voices heard. It is more worrisome that the government’s body language has given off and enabled this impression. From University lecturers and their colleagues in the polytechnics to electricity workers, agreements have mostly only been implemented after series of painful, avoidable strike actions that lead to uncountable losses.