WHEN A MEDICAL TOURISM BECOMES AN ALBATROSS

By: Jerome-Mario Utomi

I recently witnessed a fight between two young adults within the church premises. And as expected of me, I immediately intervened. And in my effort to calm their frail nerves, I observed that one was visibly calm and viewed the whole episode as a friendly battle occasioned by a communication gap. The other was, however, furious and unmanageable; a behavior I mirrored as uncharacteristic of his age.

Accordingly, I was moved to inquire what led to the fight, he, ‘the angry boy’ plainly responded thus; he called me an idiot. Surprised at the trivial reason for his anger, I mooted, is that all? Just immediately he again remarked, obviously, it’s not the idiot that got me irked but the positioning of his mouth.

Likewise, each time I ponder on the state of affairs surrounding our nation’s health sector which currently depicts a symbolic imagery of a sector in desolation, the memories of my conversation with the ‘’angry boy’’ naturally comes flooding as it perfectly situates the feelings of Nigerians towards their leader’s (past and present) inability to build/maintain a functional health sector, and their time-honored penchant for medical tourism.

Without wasting words, it’s certain that as humans/mortals, we are bound to fall sick, leaders and the masses alike. What in my views is worrying, looking at commentaries is the degree of distinctiveness and separateness of the solution destinations between the government officials and the masses.

Comparatively, While the leaders have barefacedly demonstrated incapacity to revive/manage the health sector despite having it as a campaign promise, and now opt for   medical tourism, the masses in their affliction, and grinding poverty are made to seek solution from a sector that is visibly sick, ill-equipped, and governed by ignorance and backwardness occasioned by neglect; a state of affairs that has sent many innocent Nigerians down the’ valleys of the shadow of death.

Though not limited to the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, but the recent trip by Mr. President to keep appointment with his doctor in the United Kingdom while his nation’s health sector is in disarray; with the Joint Health Sectors Union (JOHESU) on an indefinite nationwide industrial action in reaction to the failure of the government to meet its demands remains a vivid example of a leadership that listens without being attentive and has in turn, become an albatross.

The trip without a doubt has but, appreciably supported the belief by the vast majority of Nigerians that this administration though eloquent in analyzing the nation’s hydra-headed challenge is grossly inept in turning the analysis to fruition. Standing as a tall example to buttressing this assertion is a recent statement credited to JOHESU which reads in part.

‘Since the government has not shown  commitment to tow the part of honour and meet our demands, especially the core demand for the upward adjustment of CONHESS salary structure as agreed in the memorandum of terms of settlement signed on the 30^th September 2017, with JOHESU, we are left with no other option than to direct states and local Governments to commence and join the strike action nationwide’.

Going by the above statement, it will again necessitate the poser as to what prevented the FG from fulfilling an agreement reached with JOHESU since 2017.

However, even if an answer is provided to this screaming question, it will but only in the interim provide the expected succor as the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has, over a separate demand notified the Federal Government via a release of their intention to resume industrial action if the FG fails to abide by the global practice in terms of the clinical or medical team in which the physician is the head.

Given the above-complicated situation, Nigerians are, however, of the opinion that what JOHESU and NMA are stoically going through is but an emblematic pointer to the bigger frame of challenge; a feeling that have created an underlying suspicion between the masses and the government, with the masses now x-raying the nation as a political pace governed by one constitution with different sets of rules/standard.

Consequentially, Nigerians like the ‘angry boy’ are crying  that the capital flight lost to medical tourism in one year  by Nigerians  is huge enough to build a world-class hospital in this country that can attend to these needs, create employment, bring back the array of Nigerian medical specialists littered the world over and bring foreign earnings to  our nation’s coffers .

Nigerians are not particularly happy that the same medical tourism which in 2017 alone kept our dear president away for about 150days  is left without anything dramatic done to redress or forestall such future occurrence.

And sadly, Nigerians will continue to ‘cry’ because they are tired of going through this state-sponsored poverty and human degradation visited on them by the past and present leaders, until such is reversed.

Lamentably, this unfortunate occurrence in my views is given a boost by the concentration of the government/wealth of the nation in the hands of a small group who dispenses it disproportionately that creates limited gains for the masses and weaker incentives for the institutions.

This explains why many are of the opinion that ‘the poverty of African leaders certainly does not mean material poverty, but lack of commitment to duty, lack of vision and greediness characterized by corruption’.

Conversely, a point our leaders often overlook is that this mal -performance will on the long-run corrode their reputations with nothing consummate or inspiring for the future generation to learn while leaving their leadership era painted as a period when the nation went into desolation.

It will, however, be of a considerable significance to this discuss if the FG realizes that globally, there is no codified principle for lifting a nation from poverty to prosperity but can only be achieved by the government’s ‘disciplined attention to some sectors  such as; education, health, and energy among  others.

To disabuse the minds of the angry Nigerians, therefore, it will be pertinent that the FG respond to the needs of these workers. It has also become imperative that the Federal Government goes extra miles to accelerate economic development, social progress and gets deeply committed to developing strategies that will guaranty the protection of lives and property of Nigerians. That, in my views, may be the little beginning that will bring a great end.

Jerome-Mario,  Springnewsng, writes via; jeromeutomi@yahoo.com.