- As NMA-Delta Explore Ways To Fight Brain-Drain
- Head of Service Institutes Best Physician Award
BY PATRICK MGBODO
For generations, medicine has been seen as one of the most prestigious and rewarding callings; a profession where years of rigorous study and sleepless nights in lecture halls eventually lead to financial stability and social respect. The white coat was not just a symbol of healing, but of a secure and comfortable life. Yet in Nigeria today, that promise is fading. In a struggling economy, doctors now find themselves searching for ways to survive.
This concern took centre stage at the 2025 Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Delta State Branch, where doctors and policymakers gathered in Asaba to discuss ‘’Improving Life Beyond The Stethoscope: The Importance of Cooperative In Financial Growth and Stability.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the NMA-Delta, Dr Isreal Adaigho, said the topic was relevant to the everyday lives of doctors as their salaries can no longer provide for them amidst the terrible inflation and high cost of living in the country. According to him, there is an urgent need for doctors to diversify their income and investment.
‘’It is becoming very unbearable for doctors to meet up with the responsibilities of transportation, raising a family and even taking care of themselves on their salaries. So, it is time for us to diversify because if we rely on the civil service salary, we will not be able to survive just like every other Nigerian who is struggling under the harsh economy’’ he said.
Dr Adaigho held that the need for diversification to make ends meet would not distract medical doctors. ‘’That was why we chose the cooperative option, where we can invest and have access to funds outside our salaries. I do not think there will be distractions because we will not be actively involved (in managing the investments). When we need funds for anything, we can access loans and seek help because our salaries can no longer carry us.
‘’Nigerians should know that doctors are out there doing their best to improve healthcare for them, and they should always remember to pray for us and to ask the government to improve the welfare of doctors because it is becoming very hard to practice in the country, and that is why our colleagues are leaving in droves. The government should put up some incentives for us to stay back. For those of us who stay back and are overworked, there should be incentives to retain us’’ he said.
The state NMA chairman gave an account of his stewardship in the last year, which includes the implementation of the accoutrement allowances, which enable the doctors to change their ward coats and buy mobile diagnostic kits. Other achievements include the implementation and payment of renewed MRTF for resident doctors in the state, negotiations and engagement of the government on issues of remuneration and welfare of doctors, NMA loans, among others.
Declaring the event open, the Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Mininim Oseji who chaired the ceremony, reminded the NMA of its mission; ‘’to build a sustainable professional association of medical and dental practitioners that will advance the delivery of qualitative healthcare services through continuing professional development, advocacy and policy development, knowledge management, public education in collaboration with other partners’’
While commending the NMA-Delta for honouring her with its highest award, Dr Oseji encouraged members of the association to intensify internal advocacy in ensuring adherence to the medical profession and also the public service rules, and urged them to embrace peaceful resolutions of any conflicts.
Reacting to the call for financial diversification by doctors, the Head of Service encouraged them to consider agriculture, which is the only ‘’side hustle’’ legally allowed for civil servants.
‘’Firstly, the income of the doctor varies with the kind of qualification they have. So, if they get additional qualifications, they get additional income. We are also aware that there are some forms of private practice that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) allows doctors to venture into, especially those in the public sector. So, I would like the NMA to look at those regulations and see if they can do that (diversification).
‘’Again, we have also been advocating for intramural practice, which is something that will bring in more private patients into the hospital, and it will be a win-win for government hospitals and the doctors and their teams. So, there are a lot of innovative ways in which doctors can get extra income’’ Dr Oseji said.
Meanwhile, the Head of Service is not resting on her oars in aggressively reforming the state civil service for efficiency in line with the MORE Agenda of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori. At the AGM, Dr Oseji instituted the Delta State Physician of the Year Award, which she said was ‘’To promote the aims and objectives of the medical association by recognising physicians who have displayed the qualities of an ideal medical doctor.
‘’It is something I first started with the Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), which I was a former state and national president. I felt that the guidance and mentorship I received made me rise in my career very rapidly, so I wanted to give back. Now that I have reached the peak of the civil and public service as Head of Service, I have decided to also focus on both the men and women medical doctors. This was why I instituted the award’’ Dr Oseji said.
Addressing The Pointer on the sidelines, the Vice Chairman of NMA-Delta, Dr Akponana Mudiaga, said doctors, by their nature, do not venture into business and that has affected their financial strength, particularly in an ailing economy. ‘’So, we are bringing in a system where we can improve on how doctors can venture into businesses that will not take up their time and also increase their income so that we can reduce the brain-drain syndrome.
‘’There are various ways we can improve our income; it is not just by having salaries and then waiting for another month to end. Thus, we are considering how we can mobilise funds through cooperative societies and how we can invest those funds to multiply our income’’ he said, adding that the event also provided an opportunity to sensitise their members on the new NMA Cooperative to be launched soon.
Also, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Technical Education, Dr (Mrs) Gloria Patrick-Ferife, who is an Ophthalmologist, among other things, supported the need for doctors to explore opportunities in diversifying their income, especially ahead of retirement. She held that such opportunities through the cooperative option would not pose a distraction to doctors, but would ensure their concentration and focus in discharging their duties as they would not be under financial pressure.
Similarly, the immediate Vice Chairman of NMA-Delta, Dr Anthony Okwunze, supported the move for doctors to diversify their income streams. In a chat with The Pointer at the event, he said, ‘’If you look at the way the economy is today, a salary earner with just one source of income would find it very difficult to cope. So, you have to ask yourself what you can do to augment your salary. The economic situation today is not palatable. Therefore, we should be looking at other streams of income such as agriculture, real estate, among other things.’’
Reacting to the popular notion that doctors should not be complaining as they are one of the highest paid professionals in the country, Dr Okwunze said, ‘’The doctors go to the same market with every other person, and buy the same things at the same prices. Again, the lives of the doctors revolve around the hospital, and they do not have time for anything else. So, it is time we wake up and see how we can help ourselves to survive in this harsh economy. Regardless of how much we earn, there is a lot that we do with our salaries, and it is not just enough.’’
Corroborating earlier respondents, the Chairman of NMA-Asaba, Dr Chukwuma Ossai, said, ‘’There are a lot of economic challenges currently, and if you want to base your life solely on Medicine, you will not be able to meet up. So, I think this is a good call for doctors to look outside the box in trying to achieve financial freedom.’’
Continuing, Dr Ossai said, ‘’If a doctor tells you how much he takes home as salary at the end of the month, you will be amazed. What people think is not always the reality. If you calculate everything the doctor receives, it may not even amount to 50USD per day, and that is a major contributor, among other numerous challenges like insecurity, to the brain-drain syndrome. Doctors are not well remunerated, and that is the fact.’’
Likewise, the Publicity Secretary of NMA-Delta, Dr Ereku Toritseju, said the AGM afforded the doctors an annual opportunity to come together and review the healthcare sector and come up with suggestions on ways to improve healthcare delivery to the citizenry. ‘’At the end of the day, we aim to, while improving the health indices of Nigerians, look at improving the health of doctors.
‘’There has been a lot of agitation and struggle about optimising the take-home pay of doctors. Unfortunately, because of the economy, we have found out that the salaries of doctors are no longer enough to cater to our basic needs. The inflationary trend in the country is a great contributor to that, and what we are saying is that, outside the hospital, what can the doctors do with their free time? Are there ways they can invest?
‘’Doctors are very cerebral individuals who dedicate most of their lives to the study of medicine. They may not be financially savvy in business dealings and entrepreneurship endeavours. So, the NMA has brought doctors in the state together to expose them to other ways of augmenting their income within the limits of the resources available to us. We are not just a profession that thinks only of our pockets, we are also thinking of how to improve the health indices and also our economic fortunes. This will help retain doctors in the country and stem the tide of ‘’Japa’’
‘’We recently registered the NMA Cooperative Society in Delta State. All the formalities are done, and the cooperative will kickstart its work and come fully into being immediately after this programme. So, this event also serves as an informal launching of the Cooperative Society and also lets members know that this is something they can key into’’ he said.
The Secretary of NMA-Delta, Dr Ejiro Usama, added that while doctors work hard and give their best, they are not properly remunerated, which has led many of them to leave the country against their wish. ‘’Some of us do not actually want to leave the country because of the love we have for Nigeria. So, we expect that with the harsh economy, the government will do something in meeting the basic needs of the doctors. It is not that they are doing us a favour. Doctors are bleeding and this is the harsh reality.’’
In his lecture titled, ‘’Improving Life Beyond The Stethoscope: The Importance of Cooperative In Financial Growth and Stability’’ an Assistant Director of Cooperatives, Delta State, Mr Johnson Idoghor, said cooperatives have been accepted all over the world as a vehicle for economic empowerment, especially in developing climes.
He gave an extensive history and background of cooperatives, describing it as a response to the challenging economic circumstances. ‘’Today in Nigeria, it is very difficult because of the economic stunts we are experiencing, which is further exacerbated by the twin economic policies of fuel removal and floating exchange rates. It has unleashed an unprecedented economic crisis, which has made it unconducive for businesses to grow.
‘’Can only one source of income guarantee one’s financial security? That is a big question. If only one source of income can help you survive, when you have two or more sources, then you have financial security. It is one thing to make money, and the second step is how you can manage that money and then how you can multiply it. It is in multiplying that money that the game-changer lies. This is why you must think outside the box on how to diversify your income streams, particularly through investment opportunities.
Remarking, the Asagba of Asaba, HRM Obi (Prof) Epiphany Azinge SAN, represented at the event by Chief (Dr) Luke Anyanwu, pledged partnership with the NMA in ensuring quality healthcare for residents of the Asaba community, even as he stressed the need for improving the primary healthcare sub-sector.
Delivering the keynote address titled ‘’Improving Access to Affordable and Quality Healthcare through Innovative Contributory Health Insurance Scheme’’, the Director-General of the Delta State Contributory Health Scheme, Dr Isaac Akpoveta, told the success story of the scheme in the state, which he described as the best in the country.
He underscored the importance of the universality of healthcare, stressing that the purpose of the state contributory health commission is to ensure that every Deltan has access to good healthcare, which is their fundamental right. ‘’The state is determined to ensure that every Deltan is covered’’ he said.
Among other things, Akpoveta mentioned numerous innovations by the commission in the last two years to detect negligence and improve the scheme, even as he charged the medical practitioners to always uphold the highest quality of care for insured patients. ‘’The commission’s journey is proof that when vision meets commitment, progress is inevitable.
‘’But our mission is not complete until every resident of Delta State can access the care that they need without financial fear. Let us join hands, government, healthcare providers, rich people, to make Delta State a shiny model for Nigeria and Africa in delivering affordable, quality healthcare for all’’ Akpoveta said.
The event further provided the doctors an opportunity to contemplate on drug abuse plaguing the country, especially among young people in the lecture, ‘’Addiction Medicine: Turning The Tide on Nigeria’s Silent Epidemic ‘’ delivered by Dr Ovie Albert.
As the lights fade on the weeklong event, which commenced on August 11, 2025 with highlights including the Stella Adadevoh Memorial Medical Outreach, a novelty football match, and gala/awards, it is hoped that the welfare of doctors are taken more seriously as they continue to honour the Hippocratic oath. However, they doctors should not get carried away in their quest for financial freedom that they become distracted at the expense of their sworn profession. There should be a balance.
