Nigeria’s Medical Tourism Not Due To Incompetent Professionals, Says FETHI CMD

The outgoing Chief Medical Director of Federal Teaching Hospital Ido Ekiti (FETHI), Ekiti State, Professor Adekunle Ajayi, has stated that medical tourism in Nigeria is not caused by a dearth of competent health professionals.

Prof. Ajayi, who stated that the country can pride itself on having competent medical workers comparable to their peers worldwide, also identified brain drain as a hydra-headed social menace affecting every sector in the country.

The CMD stated this during his valedictory media chat in Ido Ekiti, where he also outlined the significant achievements of his administration over the past eight years, stressing that the necessary tools and actions were required to address brain drain.

He also stated that medical tourism was partly caused by consumers’ choice, saying the decision to seek medical attention abroad is not linked to the scarcity of competent health personnel and facilities in Nigeria.

“We can’t blame people for making their choice in terms of health services they desire to consume because they may have their reasons for it, and that is not an indication that there are no good health facilities in Nigeria to handle their cases,” the CMD said.

Insisting that Nigerian doctors and other health workers were among the best trained in the health system globally, Ajayi said, “You can see them demonstrating their skills and expertise when they go abroad.

“So, I won’t say the medical tourism thing is due to a lack of capacity, even though people tend to demonise Nigerian health workers as people who lack capacity.

“The majority of those who travel abroad to seek medical attention go there to meet Nigerians who were trained in the same environment we train in this country; it is not about lack of capacity”.

The outgoing CMD noted that progress was being made in improving facilities in the Nigerian health sector.

“We are making significant progress. There has been an unprecedented level of investment in Nigeria’s health system over the last few years. All that have been reeled out as our achievements were not done by my personal money but they were done through the responsible utilisation of government funds.

“So, we must give credit to the federal government for committing itself to understanding that there is an infrastructure gap in our health system and for ensuring that there is improvement in healthcare delivery and bridging the gap for the benefit of our people, and this we must recognise and appreciate,” he said.

Highlighting the measures to curb the brain drain menace in the country, the CMD said, “These may include improving salary for workers, staff retention policies, improving security, road access, welfare packages, improving quality of education, among others.

“An average doctor or pharmacist may be demanding a salary increase; for an average patient, it may be improving the work environment; a manager could be asking for unbundling of the system. A person who has experienced kidnapping before may call for security improvements. For another suffering from a water shortage, it may be an improved water supply that allows them to remain.

“So, the approach to mitigating brain drain is multifaceted, and it is not just limited to what the Federal Ministry of Health alone could do; it requires the involvement of every facet of our society,” Ajayi said.

Speaking on some of his achievements, Ajayi said, “I introduced reforms that will cause improvement in quality of service delivery. I am confident that we have laid a solid foundation, which successive administrations can continue to build upon.

“I am handing over a hospital that is now more stable, more productive, more visible nationally and better for the challenge than when I assumed office”.

The CMD, who said he will return to personal capacity building for continued service to humanity after bowing out on January 1, 2026, thanked President Bola Tinubu for allowing him to successfully carry out his assignment.