“If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter…” – The Hippocratic Oath (horkos)
In Nigeria, unfortunately, healthcare professionals, under various forms of umbrella such as Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), among others, have held the Hippocratic Oath more in the breach than in its observance. The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by physicians and other healthcare professionals. It requires a new physician to swear to uphold specific ethical standards. It is quite obvious that the wisdom behind this oath, which is essentially to uphold the sanctity of life and protect humanity, is lost on Nigerian doctors.
How else can one explain the incessant and usually prolonged strike actions embarked upon by healthcare professionals in Nigeria at the slightest opportunity? The ongoing strike by NMA, which is the latest in the series of industrial actions in the health sector in less than six months, is particularly callous, insensitive and irritating. The NMA, composed mainly by dental and medical practitioners, had embarked on an indefinite strike since July 1, to compel the federal government to meet its 24-point demand. The demand, which range from the sublime to the ridiculous, include: the NMA is opposed to the appointment of directors in hospitals and appointment of non-doctors as consultants, skipping of Grade 12 (CONMESS 2), adjustment of the doctors’ salary to maintain the relativity, implementation of the January 3, 2014 circular, immediate adjustment of the doctors’ salary to maintain the relativity, passage of the National Health Bill (NHB), and extend universal health coverage to cover 100 per cent of Nigerians.
Others are appointment of Surgeon General of the Federation, upward review of clinical duty allowance for honorary consultants and hazard allowance, immediate release of circular on rural posting, teaching and other allowances, immediate withdrawal of the CBN circular authorising the Medical Laboratory Scientists Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) to approve licenses for the importation of In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs), immediate release of circular on retirement age for medical doctors as agreed with the federal government, among others.
But after series of meetings to placate the NMA to call off its strike met a brick wall, the federal government resorted to draconian actions to whip the doctors back to the theatres with their statoscopes. The federal government, last week, suspended residency programme in all federal hospitals and sacked the over 16,000 striking doctors. In a swift reaction, NMA President, Dr Kayode Obembe, demanded immediate reversal of the suspension and unconditional reinstatement of the doctors. “Government should show commitment on her part in resolving the current impasse with the NMA rather than resorting to punitive measures that will only further aggravate the already deplorable situation,” he said
While the arm-twisting tactics of the federal government could be regarded as an over-kill, it is difficult to rationalise Obembe’s threat that even if the sacked doctors are reinstated, the strike will subsist. It beats the imagination why the NMA has also rebuffed all entreaties from well-meaning compatriots like Senate President David Mark, and even from among its rank as well as a court order to sheathe their swords and join the battle against the dreaded Ebola Virus. JOHESU, some of whom are also members of the NMA, has since faulted the doctors’ strike. It urged NMA to obey the injunction restraining the association from embarking on strike in the interest of the “rule of law, the patients and the national emergency situation in the country.”
The Obembe-led NMA should appreciate the fact that the bulk of its demand is egocentric. It is, therefore, as untenable as it is unrealistic. Thus, doctors cannot continue to hold the nation to ransom by their inordinate and insatiable demand. Moreover, tackling the current challenges thrown up by the Ebola pandemic is of more over-ridding national importance than the parochial interest of medical doctors. While acknowledging that the health sector is in dire-straits, it is trite to state that Nigeria is still bereft of good governance. The entire social, political, and economic spheres of the country, with the exception of the corruption industry, are either comatose or are, at best, epileptic. This is why the isolation of one sector or group such as NMA, ASUU, ASUP, judiciary staff, etc., for attention by the federal government to the exclusion of others, is merely scratching the surface and postponing the evil day. Getting rid of the rot in the Nigerian system requires a holistic approach otherwise the resort to industrial dispute will remain a vicious circle in our polity.
NMA would do itself and the nation a lot of good to heed the calls by JOHESU and the Senate President, who has promised to take up the vexatious issues with President Goodluck Jonathan, to call off the strike, now.