Why did the Federal Government fail to take action to avert a strike by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) before the expiration of its 30-day ultimatum?
Following the meeting of the association’s National Executive Council on October 25, its president, Dr Muhammad Suleiman, announced that the council “has declared total and indefinite strike action” starting November 1. According to him, “there is no going back.”
How did things get to this point? He said the association had made efforts to engage the government after suspending its five-day warning strike on September 14. He added that the two-week ultimatum was subsequently extended by 30 days on September 26.
“This grace period has since elapsed, yet the Federal Government has failed to demonstrate the political will necessary to address the legitimate concerns of Nigerian resident doctors,” he declared.
NARD has 19 demands, which he described as “minimum demands.” Notably, he highlighted welfare issues, saying, “There are allowances of over two years, there’s 18 months, there’s seven months, there’s four months, there’s eight months. There’s an allowance error that is over 10 years old. There’s a failure to review even the basic salary of doctors in this country for 16 years.”
The figures he mentioned are astounding. He said: “For all health care workers, I think the outstanding owed is about N35 to N38 billion. If it’s just resident doctors, we’re talking about maybe N400 million, but for all doctors in Nigeria, it could be N600 to N800 million.” Are these figures correct?
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NARD also noted that “The current unsustainable practice of spanning duties across several days poses serious risks to physicians’ well-being and patient safety.”
The association complained that “Doctors continue to work excessive hours far beyond international standards without adequate rest, in clear contravention of established guidelines and international best practices.”
There are other concerning complaints, which informed the association’s 19 demands. NARD called for President Tinubu’s decisive intervention. “You are the father of the nation. Come into this matter, weigh in on it, and solve it for us,” Suleiman said.
The Federal Government should not have allowed the situation to deteriorate to this point. The government’s inaction has serious consequences for those who need health care services in public hospitals across the country. The people should not have to pay for the government’s failure to do the right thing at the right time.
