Anti-Brain Drain Bill Will Not Address Exodus Of Doctors, Says Prof Agboola

Economist and policy consultant, Prof. Dayo Agboola has called on the government to reject the anti-brain drain bill, describing it as ill-conceived policy that will make no positive impact on the Nigerian health system.

Sponsored by Ganiyu Johnson (APC/Lagos) the bill titled: “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, Cap. M379, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to Mandate Any Nigeria Trained Medical or Dental Practitioner to Practice in Nigeria for a Minimum of Five Years Before Granted a Full License by the Council in Order to Make Quality Health Services Available to Nigeria; and for Related Matters,” was meant to check the mass exodus of medical professionals from the country.”

Commenting on the bill,  Agboola opined that it is a very wrong way to address brain drain, even as he described the bill as retrogressive, human rights-infringing, anachronistic and draconian.

“It won’t stop the exodus because it will only affect doctors who are not yet fully licensed. To me it is an ill-conceived policy that will make no positive impact on our health system. I think the question we should be asking ourselves as a country is, what is the remote cause of the brain drain in the health sector?,” he averred.

According to him, what is required to stem the tide of brain drain in Nigeria are simply good remuneration to medical practitioners, proper motivation for their personnel, standard and state-of-the-art-equipment, high incentives, good working conditions in hospitals, improved budget, and very good payment of salary and wages among others.

Rather than the anti-brain drain bill, the economist however advocated for a ban of all political office holders from traveling out of the country for medical care, adding that they too should stay in the country and suffer what other Nigerians are suffering medically.