DOCTORS VS THE PRESIDENCY, LET US SEE WHO WINS

  For some time now I have been reading about the Nigerian doctors strike on the Nigerian daily newspapers and what it reminds me of  is one of the music of late Fela Anikulapo Kuti where he sang …. “Na old news be dat”, let us be candid to ourselves, has there really ever been a time when Nigerian doctors worked? maybe their colleagues in the private sector, who most times are the same doctors employed in public hospitals just taking advantage of gross irresponsibility and blatant corruption in our society to set up their private clinics/hospitals and exploit the masses of our country while the public sector is left to decay as in all other public institutions in the country.

  Now I am hearing that the President has decided to sack all the resident doctors in the country, about 16,000 in number, and they have sworn a faceoff with the government. This is actually one of those battles where it is wise for one to sit back and watch both parties do their very worst. Neither of these two groups has really been beneficial to the masses of this country.

  In other countries, medical doctors and other professionals fight the government especially when the government decision affects the smooth running of their professions or prevents them from carrying out their duties in the very optimum condition. In Nigeria, as long as nothing happens to the sacred salaries of our doctors whose roles in recent times have been reduced to that of mere consultants who helplessly watch their patients die of curable sickenesses because of lack of necessary medical facilities, every other thing in our health sector can remain as it is or even regress beyond a humanly acceptable level, Nigerian doctors are really not concerned about that.

  Most of the times, we blame our elected leaders for some conspicuous gaffe in the administration of our nation and in the implementation of their offices, undermining the fact that most of them are politicians requiring the continuous professional and technical expertise of our professionals to be able to manage arising national affairs and issues. How many times in the history of Nigeria have you heard or seen our medical practitioners going on strike to demand that the government updates all public medical facilities or promote quality and affordable health care system for Nigerians?

  Honestly, the victory of any of the two sides, the presidency and the medical practitioners does not benefit the average Nigerian in any way, so for all I care, they can go for each other´s neck, it will not affect my sleep beyond what their inactivity and incompetence has already provoked in majority of us.