Corruption, misplaced priorities of the political elite coupled with manpower crisis wreak perpetual havoc on Nigeria’s ever ailing health sector
By Charles Uzoma
Nigeria’s public health sector is in shambles. It has always been right from its inception, but in the recent times, the decaying nature of public health institutions across the country has become an eyesore and a mockery of sorts to the nation that had gained independence from Britain since 1960.
In 1984 when the late President Mohammadu Buhari-led junta toppled the government of Shehu Shagari to truncate democracy and establish military rule, one of his junta’s favorite slogans was, “Health for All in Year 2000”.
Unbelievably, 31 years after, as if Nigeria’s growth was stunted, Buhari who couldn’t pull a string with the health sector slogan, amazingly became a civilian president in 2015. He ruled for two terms of eight years and was not able to lift the health sector from the doldrums. In an unfortunate and scandalous situation for the country, Buhari died in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of The London Clinic in faraway United Kingdom on Sunday, July 13, 2025.
Upon his death in a foreign hospital because he was unable to fix the local health sector, it was revealed to a bewildered nation that another former military Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, was also admitted in the Very Important Personalities (VIP) ICU of the same clinic in London where both former military Heads of State paid as much as £3,500 per day.
Within the Buhari civilian government eight years rule, the public health sector remained in shambles between 2015 and 2023. He forgot the health for all in year 2000 mantra and maintained medical trips abroad for himself and family members. His action portrayed the insensitivity of the ruling class and political elite towards the development of critical infrastructures in the country.
Health workers under the Buhari eight years of civilian rule writhed in endless pain due to poor remuneration and inadequate provision to rehabilitate the ailing health sector. Industrial crisis marred the advancement of the sector under Buhari, and it was during the period that the country witnessed mass relocation of health workers abroad for greener pastures.
Government’s misplaced priorities against the health sector continues under the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. On Tuesday, July 29, 2025, the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) commenced a seven-day warning strike to protest the government inability to improve their working conditions, including better remuneration packages and engagement of more workforce to ease their workload.
The NANNM had issued a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet its demand on improvement of their welfare packages before the strike. But the government had inexplicably ignored the warning which resulted in the industrial action.
The warning strike cut across all federal health institutions, including Teaching Hospitals and Federal Medical Centres in the country. It also affected all nursing services nationwide. In a circular signed by the National Secretary of NANNM, Comrade Enya Osinachi, the Association directed all its Units across the country to withdraw their services within the seven days.
The circular read, “Following the decision taken by the National Executive Council of the sector during the Emergency Meeting held at the National Hospital, Abuja, on 10th July, 2025, and subsequent to the directive of the National Headquarters of the Association, you are hereby directed to embark on 7-day warning strike commencing from 12 midnight of Tuesday, July 29, 2025.
“This is as a result of failure of the Federal Government of Nigeria/Federal Ministry of Health to take proactive measures to address our concerns and avert this industrial action despite the 15-day ultimatum given from Monday, July 14”.
On its part, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has also given the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to meet its welfare demands or face a total shutdown of the healthcare sector. Rising from its Emergency Delegates Meeting (EDM) held in Abuja on Saturday, July 26, 2025, the Association said it was disappointed by the lingering negotiations with the Federal Government on issues affecting the welfare of its members, especially as it concerned a controversial circular from the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) on the review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS).
The communique of the meeting of the NMA, which was called at instance of its National Officers Committee, and signed by Prof. Bala Audu, its president and Secretary General, Dr. Jamin Egbo, said the Federal Government only suspended the circular but did not withdraw it. The meeting was also convened in response to the delay in the payment of the seven months arrears from the 25/35 percent CONMESS adjustment, government’s failure to implement various signed Collective Bargaining Agreements, as well as general neglect of the healthcare sector by the authorities.
“The EDM following extensive deliberations unanimously condemned the attitude of the Federal Government officials to issues affecting Nigerian doctors.
“The EDM issued a 21-day notice of a total and indefinite strike in line with the relevant labour laws effective from July 27, 2025 should the government fail to address its demands comprehensively within this period “, the communique read in part.
While the NANNM warning strike lasted and crippled medical services across the country, and the NMA notice of strike lingered unattended to by the Federal Government, the Tinubu administration did what many opinion leaders regarded as a spite of the medical services’ associations. These alleged that the government had run amok with its profligacy signature and misplaced priorities when it gifted the Super Falcon women footballers and the D’Tigress women basketball players with $100,000 and a three-bedroom flat each as a compensation for winning in their tournaments.
The Super Falcons won for the 10th time this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON held in Morocco, while the D’Tigress clinched their fifth conservative Afro Basketball title and seventh overall winners in this year’s tournament held in Cote D’Ivoire.
The decay in Nigeria’s healthcare sector has lingered since independence with the ruling class paying a lip service to upgrading medical services’ infrastructure as well as the welfare of its practitioners. The neglect of the sector has resulted in huge human capital and financial losses to the country and its citizens.
These losses are a result of the unending medical trips abroad being embarked on by the political elite and other affluent citizens, and the migration of nurses and doctors to European countries in search of the greener pastures.
A recent report had indicated that Nigerians wasted an estimated $3.6 billion on yearly basis on medical trips and services. The report also estimated that between 2015 and 2023, the eight years of Buhari’s ill-fated rule as civilian president, the country may have lost a whopping $29.3 billion to foreign healthcare trips abroad, a waste of resources experts said could have been enough to fix the rots bedeviling the health sector.
The report further suggested that Buhari might have spent a total of 225 days of his eight years reign to embark on medical trips to over 40 different countries, again analysts said such venture was an indication that the ruling class and the political elite lacked the capacity to fix the ailing health sector.
Incumbent President Tinubu has, within the two years of his administration, spent a total of 60 days in eight medical trips abroad, notably to France. Tinubu’s aloofness to the plights of the striking nurses also indicated that he is far from being able to tackle the country’s healthcare problems.
The sheer neglect of the healthcare infrastructure and its practitioners has also resulted in visible brain drain within the sector. The number of doctors and nurses who left the country in search of the greener pastures in other climes are alarming. Recent reports have it that over 94,000 Nigerian doctors, midwives and nurses are scattered in different countries where they are practicing their profession as a result of the abandonment of the sector in the country. Nigeria is facing acute manpower shortage in its health sector. The shortage which is due to poor remuneration of the healthcare workers, has also resulted in Nigeria not being able to achieve the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended ratio of one doctor per 1000 persons in a country. However, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) report indicated that there are only about 55,000 licensed medical doctors rendering medical services’ currently in the country, which translates to one doctor attending to over 9,000 citizens in a population of over200 million people. This development has further resulted in lessening the average life expectancy in the country.
Investigation revealed that there may be up to 90,000 registered doctors in the country, of this number, more than 30 per cent have fled the country to Europe, America and Asia. Similarly, a report by the NANNM indicated that about 75,000 of its members have left the country to practice in foreign countries. Another report indicated that in 2024 alone, almost 4,000 medical doctors left Nigeria to practice in the countries where their labour is valued and appropriately remunerated.
