…inducts 147 CoMUI graduates
The governor of Ekiti state, Abiodun Oyebanji, along with the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Fatima Kyari, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, and the Provost of the College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Olayinka Omigbodun, among other guests, have urged young doctors to remain in the country after graduation and contribute to the development of the health sector.
They emphasized that the best way to repay the country’s investment in their medical training is to apply their knowledge and years of education to benefit Nigerians and advance the sector.
The dignitaries spoke in their separate remarks at the induction ceremony into the medical profession for the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) graduating class of 2024 of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI) over the weekend.
The 147 newly inducted set, christened the Lotus 2024, comprise 122 MBBS doctors and 22 BDS doctors.
Leading the call, Governor Oyebanji of Ekiti state, whose daughter, Toluwanimi, was also inducted, urged the new graduates to reconsider their decisions in the face of seeking greener pastures abroad by putting to use their new skills to support Nigerians who require medical attention.
He said: “We have a very nice country. Yes, we are challenged, but I believe strongly that the youths have all the energy and they have the skills to develop this country. So I’m just appealing to them that the country they want to go to was built by some people so they should reconsider this Japa syndrome, and join hands with us so that we can build a country of their own because the future belongs to them.
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“There are a lot of discouragements all around yes. When the going gets tough, then the tough gets going. Yes, there are discouragements but those who are discerning, should stay back and ensure that we reverse the trend. It’s doable.
“What I can tell them is they should not lose faith in themselves, they should hold on to God, they should be committed and they should also avoid what I call a microwave solution to things. Life is a process and once they are very committed to the process they should know one thing that home is home.
“Wherever they go they are from this country and this country needs to be developed and they must stay behind to join hands with progressive forces to develop the country. There is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Also speaking, the first female registrar of MDCN, Dr Fatima Kyari who was represented by the Deputy Registrar and Head of the Medical Registration Department, Dr Okwuokenye Henry said it behooves the fresh doctors to reciprocate government efforts to subsidising their education by finding a way, by all means, to give back to the government.
He said: “The occasion today is an induction ceremony of the new graduands from this highly preferred University of Ibadan. So we have to let them know that the efforts of the government will have to be reciprocated all over the world. We know what it costs to train one doctor and the Nigeria government has continued to heavily subsidize this education.
“The average of what they pay here as was said in the program is $50 for a year but elsewhere we know that thousands of dollars are paid every session to train a doctor. Therefore it becomes reasonable why somebody wants to reciprocate the efforts of the government in finding a way by all means to give back to the government.
“The government is doing all it can to solve the problem of the health sector crisis that we are having today. One of the measures that is being put in place is to increase the production of the health workforce but we also know that a very higher level University of Ibadan would not be in a hurry to do that.
“I will really from my heart plead with the graduands to understand all the efforts that the community have put in their training and find a way to give back to the people. When we leave the country, we still have our family members behind. We don’t go with every one of them. They still have to be taken care of. How do we do this? In what way do we get it done? So we’ll continue to think of how to move this country forward together and we are sure that in no distance time, Nigeria will sing a new song again and that’s the song of abundance of things.”
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor, UI, Professor Kayode Adebowale congratulated the parents and students on the feat urging them to know that the medical profession is a divine call with the Almighty God who heals.
He added that CoMUI parades as her products some of the best medical doctors all over the world, noting that the new inductees have worthy models to emulate all over the globe. He said with the induction ceremony, fresh medical professionals are joining the long train of achievers.
Noting that the healthcare system is under pressure globally, the VC urged the new doctors not to be deceived by greener pastures elsewhere but to help the health sector in the country.
He charged them not to be slack in their conduct, describing them as partners with Divine.
The Provost, College of Medicine, UI, Professor Olayinka Omigbodun commended the parents, and guardians for their sacrifice in ensuring that the new medical doctors scaled through.
She charged them to remain focused and be good Ambassadors of the College, which according to her remains the best in the country and continent.
She added that the government had trained them almost for free and as such they must seek means of giving back to the system by supporting the health sector in the country.
She expressed sadness at the large rate at which the country’s intellectuals are leaving for greener pastures elsewhere.
She said “I am very saddened that most of our doctors want to leave the country. Actually, when I interviewed them, I learnt it’s only one of them that really wants to stay back and work here out of almost 150. It is devastating for this nation.
“These doctors, they are the best of the best. They enter the school on merit and they are from across the country. They were brilliant from the first go.
“Any country that wants to move forward should look for the best. You don’t allow your best to leave. It’s devastating. And not only that, these students were almost trained for free, and their school fees were so small and now that it is time for them to build this nation, they all want to leave the country. So, it’s like the nation has trained them free of charge and have invested and the time that the nation should enjoy them and recouping the investment is gone. You can call it a curse.
“But, there’s a danger in letting your best go. It is devastating and I will appeal to the leadership of this nation to do something immediately.
“At least many of them have made up their minds, but what they can do is reach out to them for a nurturing season. They will still do house jobs, they should reach out to them there. Many of them will not do NYSC because they believe they will go and not come back.
“Like it was done in those days when you graduate from medical school, you get a car loan and accommodation. With that, they have a comfortable beginning. The government can then negotiate with them for further training and then bond them to serve the country. Not many of them want to go but because of the overcentralisation of employment, since this IPPIS came up, giving them jobs has been more difficult.
“You can also encourage them to do research by giving them grants. More so, salaries have to go up. We need to review the salary structure because if we don’t, all our intellectuals will go. Some of them have altruistic hearts.
“Many people who have gone are also yearning to come back too and there is a need for flexibility in the system by considering some of those senior practitioners who still want to come back to engage in part-time jobs like teaching and so.”
Highpoint of the event was the presentation of awards and prizes to deserving inductees.