In a well-publicised episode, the VP put the sector under public scrutiny by having a surgery done in Lagos. In opting for local care, he brushed aside advice from several quarters to travel abroad as is the wont of most public office holders when they fall ill. Nigeria’s insensitive and self-indulgent political class, exemplified by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari , should take a leaf out of Osinbajo’s book.
Truly, the Buhari regime made heavy weather of Osinbajo’s preference. Instead of travelling overseas as the country’s elite do – even for minor ailments –, the VP, who reportedly suffered a leg injury during a game of squash, chose to have the surgery in Nigeria. Ecstatic, Nigeria’s medical community described it as vote of confidence for a much maligned and neglected sector by successive governments at every level.
Despite this bright side, there are deep-seated issues encumbering the sector. Medical tourism constitutes a colossal financial drain on Nigeria. The Nigerian Medical Association says the country spends $1 billion annually on it. Medical and education tourism combined drains $10 billion from the country annually, said Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor.
By NMA data, only 40,000 of the over 80,000 medical doctors registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria practise at home. The others work overseas. That gives Nigeria a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:4,000-1:5,000 as against the 1:600 recommended by the WHO. The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria said 5,000 of the registered 30,000 pharmacists in Nigeria had travelled out of the country as of 2019.