The Nation Newspaper

Tag: brain drain

  • How to stop brain drain, suicide, others, by psychiatrists

    The Association of Psychiatrists of Nigeria (APN) has held its 49th Annual and Scientific meeting in Lagos, where its members proffered solutions to crises in the sector. OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA reports.

    The mental health sector is in dire straits. With a ratio of one psychiatrist to 3.3 million persons, Nigerians hardly have access to mental health.

    At its 49th Annual  and Scientific Meeting held in Lagos, the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) members brainstormed on how to get solutions to the problem and more.

    With fewer than 200 psychiatrists across the country, and the profession facing a brain drain, the experts agreed the problem was bigger than they thought.

    According to APN President, Dr Taiwo Lateef Sheikh, despite the shortage of psychiatrists, fresh graduates remain unemployed, while others, including psychiatrists in training, leave the country.

    Sheikh said the problems called for concern. “This raises the questions: how will the millions of Nigerians requiring mental receive optimum care? So the theme, ‘Brain drain in mental health’, will help us in examining policies and strategies. And to scale up access to mental health services in Nigeria, including shedding light on various mental health transformations taking place in the country.”

    On why the choice of Lagos for the conference, Sheikh said the state is the best place to discuss germane issues, for it is the first state to work on mental health bill.

    “Lagos has the highest urban population in the country with a population of 25 million, according to  the UN-habitat and International Development Agencies’ estimates. It is also not surprising that it, arguably, has the highest concentration of private and public employed psychiatrists in Nigeria. Many people have achieved their  exit from the country via Lagos.   Sadly, among these are mental health practitioners – specialists and trainees – for greener pastures. This certainly depletes our already inadequate number of psychiatrists,” explained Sheikh.

    “For the same reason,”Sheikh said, “Lagos attracts various kinds of businesses that have produced many success stories. Unfortunately, sometimes such success also creates competition – imagined or real – in the midst of scarce resources and vulnerability to unhealthy lifestyles such as psychoactive substance abuse, highlighted by the menace of prescription drugs abuse.”

    He added that these further increase the risks of emotional problems, leading to manifestation of various mental disorders, especially depression and suicide.

    “We are all witnesses to the rising tide of suicide in the country, and especially in Lagos. I congratulate the state for leading the way to seek protection of the mentally ill and the mental health practitioners through the passage of the Lagos State Mental Health Law.  APN is asking the Federal Government to halt the brain drain in pyschiatry.

    “What is the essence of investing in the training of a person using tax payers money, only for same to be snatched away by another country. All that is required is to give incentives to these experts and they will stay back. No country has enough Psychiatrists, so it does not speak well for us as a country to train, only for them to exit the system or country,” Sheikh added.

    Local Organising Chairman (LOC) and the Coordinator of SURPIN, Lagos University teaching Hospital (LUTH, Dr Raphael E. Ogbolu said the abysmal low ratio of psychiatrists to patients must be addressed.

    Ogbolu said one psychiatrist to about 200million Nigerians was not good. “If we do nothing now, the situation quackery will thrive. If you don’t have qualified personnel to cater for the mental health of a people, a vacuum will be created, and those that do not have business with the subject matter will be parading themselves as psychiatrists. Complications of mental health cases not well handled will lead to increase in suicide rate.

    “Nigeria is the main supplier of mental health practitioners not only in Africa, but other continents. Brain drain cannot be totally stopped, but the government can do something through policies, to retain trained personnel. We are exploring how to retain a bigger chunk of what are trained, to what we are losing.

    “Burn out is equally affecting the practice because the psychiatrists are doing their best within the system, but it is tedious for them to practise with obsolete equipment, and inclement practicing conditions, patients paying out of pockets, and treatment being impeded. For instance, if a person is mentally sick, will output drop, leading to low income. Yet, we expect the same person to deep his hand into his pocket to pay for his mental health treatment. Where is this done?” Ogbolu added.

    Ogbolu said part of the way out is for mental health treatment to be included in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) via a bill.

    “Mental Health Bill should be passed into law, as it protects the psychiatrists. The person being treated and the costs of treatment taken care of. Look at the criminalisation of attempted suicide.

    “Somebody, who is mentally sick, wants to die, but did not suceed, and the next thing is to take the person in, for 12 months’ imprisonment. That must change. That person needs treatment. SURPIN, for instance, has reached out to many people in 20 locations in Nigeria, despite it’s being situated in Lagos.”

    The guest lecturer, Prof Akin Osibogun, said Nigerians should build recreation centres to curtail the rising rate of suicide.

    “Gone are the days when people find other people to talk with. People talk to gadgets like T.V, handsets and browse endlessly these days. They bottle up so much emotion, and explode. Unfortunately, some comit suicide.

    “Africans have a socio-networking system where one can sit with people over drinks,  or sit on pavements in the evening and watch the world unfolds, and get inspired, or get somebody show interest in him, but that is giving way to the cosmopolitan way now. So, there is a need for socio- re-engineering to ensure the needed support system is there for each and everybody,” Osigogun said.

    Dr Tolu Ajomale of Lagos State Ministry of Health’Mental Health Desk, said Lagos would continue to ensure the mental well-being of Lagosians.

    “We have a desk in the ministry headed by Dr Dolapo Fasawe and we are open to all and sundry 24/7. The state also passed the Mental Health Bill, which will provide leadership, guidance and treatment for the people in the state,” Ajomale added.

     

  • Brain drain hits LAUTECH teaching hospital

    Brain drain hits LAUTECH teaching hospital

    The Association of Resident Doctors of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology [LAUTECH] teaching hospital, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, has vowed not to call off its on-going indefinite withdrawal of services until the state government commences allocations of full subventions and adequate funds, alongside unflinching political will.

    This is contained in a press release issued and signed by the association’s president, Dr. Sebastine Oiwoh, and the General Secretary, Dr. Ayobami Alabi.

    The release called for the immediate stoppage of all attempts by management of the hospital to casualise doctors, adding that the association will resist this vehemently as it is unacceptable to the noble profession,

    despite repeated warnings by the Nigerian Medical Association ( NMA). It stated that plans have reached an advanced stage to implement the dangerous and diabolical policy.

    The association also demanded an immediate reversal of the salary of its members in the teaching hospital to what is obtainable in federal teaching hospitals, as is stipulated in the edict of the health institution, and not the demeaning and paltry 28 percent currently

    being paid since January 2016 salary. ”We are being owed over eleven months salaries. Our indefinite withdrawal of services enters day six today. This action was after exhausting all means of dialogue with several ultimatum shifted for the sake of our patients, populace and for the good of the hospital.

     

     

  • Brain drain responsible for Nigeria’s poor health infrastructure – AU

    Brain drain responsible for Nigeria’s poor health infrastructure – AU

    BRAIN drain is responsible for Nigeria’s poor health infrastructure, Director of Social Affairs, African Union Commission, Ambassador Olawale Maiyegun, has disclosed.

    The AU chief also lamented how some Nigerian health officials, after being trained in the country, migrates to other nations at the detriment of their nation.

    Maiyegun revealed this at a briefing held over the weekend on the assessment of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (CDC) to host the Africa CDC, Regional Collaborating Center.

    He said Nigeria has the responsibility to provide medical support for her citizens and ensure their well being without excuse.

    The event, which held at the CDC administrative headquarters in Abuja, had in attendance the Deputy Director General, China CDC, Dr. John Nkengason; United States CDC boss, Dr. Peter Borus; Nigeria CDC Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Abdusalami Nasidi, including representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS).

    Speaking further, Maiyegun urged the Federal Government to increase its investment in the health sector, adding that the visit was to determine if Nigeria CDC meets up with the standards set by the AU Commission after it was selected to represent the West African region.

    Maiyegun listed the checklists to include government’s commitment, infrastructure, human development and funding.

    However, he expressed concerns over infrastructure and hope the government’s commitment would translate to special budgetary allocation to fund programs of the CDC regional office in line with the overall objectives.

    According to him, the AU commission, China CDC, US CDC among other development partners, are willing and ready to support the country technically, financially and infrastructure.

    He added, “We are satisfied Nigeria can take the responsibility of CDC regional office in the West and as collaborating centre. And on funding, the AU Commission has an existing structure and we will also make use of the Nigeria CDC existing structure which can be improved upon. At interval, the AU will review the operations of the regional CDC offices, so they are expected to meet up with their responsibilities otherwise, they may lose the regional position.”

  • ‘Tim Tally Varsity will arrest brain drain’

    ‘Tim Tally Varsity will arrest brain drain’

    the Vice-Chancellor Tim Tally University in Langtang, Plateau State Prof Bernard Matur Malau, in this interview with ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA, says the two-year-old institution is set to repatriate some of the nation’s best brains back to the country.

    The National Universities Commission (NUC) is granting more operating licences to private universities against the shortfall of manpower, especially at the tertiary level. Don’t you think this may lead to a drop in quality of teaching and graduates?

    First, the idea that we don’t have qualified personnel or that they are not enough to teach is not true. There is this aspect ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) is seriously fighting and that is academic brain drain. We produce these lecturers here but because of lack of staff welfare, remuneration, research grants and other facilities, most of these people prefer to go abroad and teach. It is not like they don’t like their country but they also have passion for their profession and therefore cannot continue to practice in an atmosphere that is not conducive.

    With the kind of facilities Tim Tally is putting on ground, I can assure you lecturers overseas will return home. We are going to serve as a conduit pipe for siphoning lecturers back into the system. We want our university to be a model that others will copy from.

    What do you think are the problems of education in Nigeria and how are they affecting education at the tertiary level?

    If you say the education standard is falling, then you are correct. But if you say we don’t have brains, I will disagree. One often discovers that most graduates that are produced in this country do well when they study overseas. In fact some of them are the best in their field because they are exposed to the right facilities and environment.

    However, let me also commend President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. He has seen the need for quality education which brings about socio-economic development and empowerment. In the last ASUU-Federal Government agreement that was signed again in December, Dr Jonathan approved a whopping N200 billion for a start up towards holistic restructuring of our universities. On Friday (last week) the president released N100 billion of the money to the universities for infrastructural development only. Within the next few years of his administration, we will see standard, quality and respect will be restored in the Nigerian universities.

    Tell us briefly about Tim Tally University.

    Tim Tally University is two years old. We have been trying to see that the first batch of students secure admission this year. We have pursued vigorously with the all the processes as far as establishing universities in Nigeria are concerned. At present, we have just built some 14-classroom structures. The construction of the Administrative Block is on as well as hostels. It is going to be an institution that would accommodate all students on campus.

    We run a collegiate system. At present we have the College of Arts, College of Management, College of Social Science and College of Law, College of Science and Technology, the Institute of Education and the Entrepreneurial and Skill Acquisition centre. We are at present running administrative programmes, but the real academic programmes starts by September.

    Tim Tally University is dominated in a state that was once crisis-ridden. Won’t this create security concerns for students their parents and workers?

    The proprietor and chancellor of the university is Gen. Jeremiah Useni a southerner plateau. It is the only private university is plateau located in Langtang north, the proprietor’s hometown. Contrary to impression is certain quarters, it is the most peaceful environment in terms of cultural, social, economic and educational development. Even though the state in general has witnessed some crises during the last administration but for the past nine years now, absolute peace has returned to the entire state. Interestingly again, this particular area the university is situated has never witnessed such crisis. The environment is hospitable and the atmosphere conducive for academic learning. I am encouraging people to come and see things for themselves.

    What is your focus?

    Our focus is inter-disciplinary! All the aspects of science, education, arts and humanities will be taken into consideration. One particular area of interest neglected by many Nigerian universities is the entrepreneurial sector. We have Entrepreneurial and Skill Acquisition centre which will be one of our cardinal focus. One of the ways for bringing institutions together and sharing in the wealth of knowledge is collaboration; and we are going to be having series of it

    We now have about 100 private universities in Nigeria and more is still coming. Don’t you feel threatened? What is the new thing Tim Tally is bringing along?

    Today, we have close to 100 private universities in Nigeria including 36 federal universities. I was the immediate vice-chancellor of Catholic University. When we established the university, we thought it was going to be a challenge because it was then the 113th university in Nigeria. But we also discovered that so many universities were not even meeting up with admission. Many students would write the UTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination) yet many would be denied admission. One major challenge in the universities generally is drawing resource persons. As experienced people in the field, we know how to attract people, how to encourage them to go for further studies. Also staff welfare was another thing that made us attract the best brains. By God’s grace, Tim Tally is also coming to reduce the admission shortfall in Nigeria as well as create employment opportunities. Already we have seven professors on ground.

     

  • Reversing brain drain

    Reversing brain drain

    An initiative christened Move Back to Nigeria is helping Nigerians abroad relocate home with ease, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU.

    In September , Ngozi Obiageli Medani, who holds a Masters degree in Maritime Law from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom returned to Nigeria. Though born in Lagos, she left with her mother and sisters in 2004.

    “She (my mother) was of the opinion that Nigeria was just very corrupt at the time, and didn’t want her children growing up in a place where they won’t have equal opportunities. I left Nigeria at 14 and initially I never foresaw my return as a possibility. I had a lot of white friends in secondary school and sixth form and I guess I just got lost in the English lifestyle, leaving returning to Nigeria totally out of my plans,” she said.

    However, by the time she began her undergraduate degree, her social circle became a bit more diverse. “My Nigerian friends painted very fun images of Nigeria to me. Moreover, I started following a lot of Nigerian blogs and I must confess I was captivated by the glitzy images of Nigeria (predominantly Lagos to be fair). I was seeing. All in all, I just felt an increasing desire to move back to Nigeria and be part of everything that was happening there,” she added.

    At some point, she began to feel she would be better at home.

    She said: “While I was in the UK, anytime I looked at my educational background, I just felt I would be able to contribute more in Nigeria. That was the driving force. However, apart from contributing to my fatherland, I admittedly was also wowed by the glamorous images of Nigeria I saw on blogs like Bella Naija. Based on my experience, I would not advise anyone considering the move to use what they see on blogs as a yardstick to move back; chances are you’ll be too shocked when you touch down Naija. Moreover, the “happening” city is Lagos and seeing that I don’t live there, the Nigeria I came to was significantly different to “blog- Nigeria” where there’s a party or an event every evening and life is generally more colourful.”

    Medani is not the only recent overseas returnee. Uzo Obichere, lawyer and blogger, has also returned home after nearly three years of living in the UK.

    Obichere said: “I have been in Nigeria for about 10 months. Since my return, I have applied to several companies and think I have even run out of companies to apply to. Companies that would even consider hiring me often say they cannot afford to pay me. I think that some Nigerian SME employers are often intimidated by graduates who went to school abroad and only big organisations feel they can hire such graduates. I was away from Nigeria for about three years and the unexpected culture shock for me was overwhelming. The way businesses were run was so much different from what I had been used to. People were so aggressive compared to where I was coming from. We all know so much is constantly being said about the infrastructural and lifestyle challenges at home. Some things do get special mention though, such as customer service and electricity. Until you actually live somewhere else, you don’t get to see the flaws, little basic things, such as garbage disposal services that do not work properly in Nigeria.”

    Medani and Obichere are just two of Nigerians who have recently returned home and are finding their feet. Their stories are two of the several success stories published on movebacktonigeria.com, a website dedicated to helping Nigerians abroad who desire a life back home.

    The founder and CEO of the organisation, Adabara Abdullahi, spoke with The Nation yesterday. Abdullahi said: “Movebacktonigeria.com is the fastest growing online community of Nigerian professionals living abroad. The primary objective of Movebacktonigeria.com is to connect Nigerian professionals with various opportunities in Nigeria, ranging from recruitment drives to information & support regarding relocation processes, financial and tax advice and much more. Movebacktonigeria.com also features social interest topics, such as what’s on, where to live, how-to survival tips and so on. Consistently engaging with and featuring Nigerian professionals in weekly interviews, Movebacktonigeria.com regularly publishes social interest articles relevant to the general public. Everyone is welcome to the online discussions and fora and you are invited to air your views and suggestions on the topical and trending matters section.”

    Abdulllahi has an Investment Banking background. He was born in Nigeria and lived in Lagos until he moved to London to further his studies. He graduated with a First Class Degree from Middlesex University in 2007 and began his career as a banker in the same year. In 2012, Adabara founded movebacktonigeria.com to bridge the gap between the various opportunities in Nigeria, and Nigerians in Diaspora.

    He is assisted by Titi Adanne Owoyemi, who is the organisation’s Managing Editor. Owoyemi has a Bachelors degree in English and a Masters in Media and Public Relations. Her professional background includes private and public sector stints in corporate communications, branding, broadcasting and events management in Nigeria and the UK.

    The organisation will hold a Networking Night on December 30 at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos. About 200 business professionals are expected at the event, which will involve talks on entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

    There will also be awards to deserving Nigerians who have made success of their return home.

  •  Ekiti’s model of brain drain reversal

    SIR: The recently concluded Ikogosi Graduate Summer School (IGSS) held at the famous Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort in Ekiti State was another attempt by the administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi to the restore the state to its rightful position as the nation’s intellectual powerhouse. Fifty postgraduate students of Ekiti origin made up of 15 doctoral students and 35 Master’s students drank from the intellectual fountain provided by Nigerian academics drawn from various parts of the world.

    The IGSS scholars enjoyed free tuition and accommodation at the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort which provided the best environment conducive for learning away from the hustling and bustling of the city centre. The programme exposed the participants to modern methods in research, theory, methodology, issues relating to civil society, culture, literature, culture and society, politics, economy, among others.

    The governor, in mooting the idea of IGSS believed that relocating the Nigerian-born foreign-based university teachers to the country in one fell swoop won’t be possible, conceived a programme to bring them home in the summer to share knowledge and experience with young Ekiti intellectuals in the summer.

    Although the IGSS has come and gone, its impact would continue to be felt in Ekiti and other parts of the country where the beneficiaries would find themselves in the nearest future. The forum has offered the participants an opportunity to create and nurture relationships with scholars abroad and also enriched and expanded the training of postgraduate students in Nigeria. It has provided external mentoring to the participants and provided the best traditions of scholarship and networking and has brought back the universe to the university in Nigeria.

    The IGSS has helped to reinvent the image of Ekiti from a state that was in recent past associated with brigandage, violence, electoral malfeasance and impunity to a state renowned for peace, development, academic excellence and enthronement of accountability and good governance.

    What is happening in the state should not surprise other Nigerians as it is only leaders who value education that can formulate policies which can make the sector a catalyst of development.

    It is worthy of note that the governor himself is a doctorate degree holder, his deputy a professor, the House of Assembly speaker a medical doctor, the governor’s wife holder of two Master’s degrees and a cabinet that is made up of achieves in various fields.

    I hereby urge other governors in the country to copy the IGSS initiative in their respective states to prepare the young ones for the future and this will help address the critical problem of leadership that is currently plaguing our country.

    One of the major problems of the contemporary youths is dearth of role models among the present generation of leaders and one if the best ways to mentor the young ones is through quality investment in education as being done by Governor Fayemi in Ekiti.

     

    • Odunayo Ogunmola

    Ado-Ekiti

  • The problem of brain drain

    AS widely acknowledged, Nigeria’s most powerful endowment is not its natural resources but its people.

    Unfortunately, like we export our natural resources to other countries which process and sell back the finished products to us, our human resources also leave our shores to enrich other lands with their expertise.

    We do not provide enough opportunities for our people to exploit their talents so they have no choice but to seek them elsewhere when it is not like we do not need such expertise here in Nigeria. I met Prof Arinola Sanya, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at a conference in Gabon who said she if forced to sign papers for many Nigerian trained doctors and physiotherapists to travel abroad for further training and practice because the teaching hospitals in Nigeria cannot accommodate up to 50 per cent of doctors trained by the universities. She said hospitals lack the capacity to absorb all the doctors that are tained for their housemanship, and afterwards residency, which provides plarform for them to specialise. As a result, they seek greener pastures outside, while those cannot go out are either forced to practice in ill-equipped private hospitals or divert to other fields.

    We need more initiatives like the Ikogosi Graduate Summer School (IGSS) programme that the Ekiti State government inaugurated on Monday. The two-week programme is exposing young academics to tuition and mentoring from our own seasoned scholars, some of whom left the shores of the country in search of greener pastures decades ago. They are now giving back to develop the young academics so they can embark on quality research and publish in reputable international journals.

    They were forced out because the environment was not conducive. Let us address the problems that drove them away so the upcoming generation can stay behind and build our land.

    From my Inbox

    Re: An exam to despise (Thursday, June 13, 2013)

    Kofo, thank you for bringing out the mess in the LUTH School of Nursing. To me the school cheated and failed with way they conducted the last common entrance exam last Sat. They compromised qualiv for the N10,248,000 they raked in from the sales of the 1708 forms sold. The question was this regulated by the govt and what happened to the money? Can any tangible thing comes out of the sordid exam? You need to follow up and tell your teeming readers. Kudos to your efforts. Wole Adediran, Ilasa, Lagos.

    Not withstanding d fact that there was vacancy for just 50 students, 100,000 candidates can apply to sit for entrance exam @ N10,000 for applicatiön form. Consider the IGR factor; 2.consider the biostatistics data generated on the demand for nursing education 3. The exam serves many purposes of which admissiön to d schl was just one. Consider of the many applicants of today who attend visa interview tomorrow and he is asked “have you sat for entrance exam into a nursing school before? The yes! or the no! may mean the difference between passing or failing the visa interview. The entrance exam was an experience. No knowledge is lost. Those applicants who lost their temper at the entrance exam center were not materials for nursing education. They should apply to another – police college, customs or immigrations and tear papers on the notice boards there because they are youths of the country who have right to be psychotics and terrorists with with impunity. Ciao. 070604—-.