A young Nigerian doctor and national awardee for (NYSC) Dr. Festus Babarinde who recently relocated to the UK, shares experience and tells OYEBOLA OLU-FLOURISH, a number of reasons why young people in the medical field leave Nigeria daily in search of greener pastures to practice and experience a better life.
I am Festus Oluseye Babarinde, aka Dr. Fabulous. I graduated from the University of Ibadan in 2017 after studying Medicine and Surgery. Presently in the United Kingdom with my family; and I happened to be one of the awardees that recently received the President Honour Award for the National Youth Service Corps, (NYSC) under the Buhari- led administration. I felt so great to be recognised at the National level with all other great minds. Although I was not expecting it, because it met me when I was already planning for other things. Just for you to measure how happy I was, I flew from the Uk just to receive it.
It feels great.
Great! Congratulations on your achievement on winning a national award from Nigeria. Tell us about what you did that facilitated the award.
I finished service around March 2020 at the Federal Medical Centre, Idi-aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State and for the project I did, there was a particular building that was almost falling off. So, what I did was to renovate it and the renovation was more of a grand renovation. I worked with the community members, the leaders, the youths, and everyone. You know, I have the grace of bringing people together, so I brought them together, and solicited funds from colleagues, friends, and family.
So, what I did was to turn that building around. That building was their Primary Health Care (PHC) center in Abeokuta known as Igbore Health Centre, Abeokuta located at Abeokuta South Local Government. It was once built by a particular corp member who couldn’t finish it and the walls were almost falling off, there was no roof on some parts of it. So, I worked on the project, I put a roof, asbestos, chairs, fans, electricity, laboratory, pharmacy, toilet, store, and so many things I put in the building and even partnered with major pharmacies in Abeokuta for them to supply the PMC drugs at a cheap rate. That’s basically what I did and apart from that, I went to many villages, and towns, where I was doing more medical outreach.
I went to the palace, markets, and when I was in town, I was the one in charge of those that do medical screening before they were redeployed and then I was the vice-president of medical CDS too.
I think those were the things they used in considering me for the presidential award. People were sent from Abuja to come and inspect the project.
As a young Nigerian doctor who recently relocated to the UK, The Pendulum Media would like to know what motivated you to leave Nigeria and want to practice medicine in another country?
Being a young Nigerian doctor, I was actually practicing at the Federal level, I was okay, but what motivated me to relocate despite me doing well was thirst for proper security. In Nigeria, my life, job and family were not secured. I can give you examples. With respect to the family, I remember one day I was in the hospital and maybe because of the car I was using, some people actually went to harass my family probably they thought I was a yahoo boy so if it were kidnappers, that’s how they would have kidnap them and start making ransom.
Family insecurity is at its peak in Nigeria. That insecurity alone is enough for anyone to leave the country. Aside from that, Job security. The kind of experience one is exposed to abroad and all manner of opportunities there is beyond any reasonable doubt. Although the work may be much, they have better remuneration and they pay well. In Nigeria, the work is also much but it with poor remuneration. When doctors retire, they can only hope that the retirement plan comes early or not. If it comes on time, they are thankful to God and if it doesn’t, only God knows what they would feed on. Abroad, the after-retirement plan is well laid out and there is no reason to worry.
The top on the list is the better practice. Nothing worries a doctor more than knowing the diagnosis, knowing the drug to give, knowing the investigation to do to establish the diagnosis, if at all the diagnosis has not been made, but not finding the avenue to get any of them done. If you want to do CT scan to establish the diagnosis, you can not get CT done. You need a particular drug that just a dose of it will save the patient but they say the drug is not available and the patient is deteriorating or dying right before you. That is what worries a doctor because at that moment the knowledge, the skills, the understanding of that doctor at that point is useless. Why is useless? If the Doctor is there but he cannot do anything, despite knowing what to do. So, better practice is abroad and all the clinical investigations are done within minutes, everything is done already and patients do not need to pay out of their pockets to get it done before they get better care. So, everything is well laid out.
So, all these stuff motivate young doctors to move to a sane society where they can put their medical knowledge into practice and where they can help to move the society they belong to forward.
Did you face any challenges while relocating with your family and transitioning to a new healthcare system? If so, how did you overcome them?
While relocating, I did not face any challenges, it was a very smooth transition.
Nigeria is currently experiencing the “japa” syndrome, and Nigeria’s health sector is not left behind as they are complaining about the massive relocation of medical doctors daily, what do you consider as push and pull factors for doctors from Nigeria to the UK?
Concerning the “Japa” ( laughs) syndrome that we have. Uhmm…Well, some people are just moving blindly because others are moving. But what are the pull and push factors, they are just the same thing I highlighted before but in addition to all I have said like good security, better welfare, and better practice. Push factors- insecurity, apart from that, unemployment. There is no job opportunity in Nigeria. People are hardworking but there is nothing to work on.
And that is very discouraging because, you know, imagine this scenario, a young Nigerian youth wakes up early in the morning and starts producing comedy because there is nothing to do, no place to go. They start producing comedy, creating comedy out of our situation. Can you imagine someone who is trained as an engineer or a lawyer doing that making people laugh, do you get it? So, that’s it. It is just as bad as that and instead of people building companies, what we observe in the country is that people who can build companies, build religious centers, Mosques, Churches, these are the things we are building, if ten people build ten companies, you imagine how many people within the community that will get employed. They don’t need to use their money to build the ten companies, they just need to have a solid idea. That is what is going on abroad. We should ask ourselves a question, when these people come, where are they working? Most of the places where these immigrants work are not even owned by the government. They are owned by uneducated individuals. So, unemployment is one of the major factors that is just pushing people away, apart from unemployment, and insecurity, because even those that are employed are not even secured so all this stuff just makes people be like, let me just leave the country. But, if the government can solve these two basic problems, unemployment and insecurity; a lot of people will come back to Nigeria, a lot and they don’t even need to pay like they’re paying them in the UK because our economy is different. So, these are just a few of the following factors pushing people out of Nigeria and pulling them to the United Kingdom.
Weeks ago, the National Vice President of Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and the Assembly of Health Care Professional Association, Dr. Obinna Ogbonna ordered health workers to embark on an indefinite strike due to the inconsistency of the government to attend to the Consolidated Health Salary Structure for health workers, what’s your take on this and how does the recurrent strike action affect the government, the doctors and patients?
With respect to the recurrent strike action by the doctors, and how this strike affect the government, the doctors and the patients.
Well, the patients don’t even know that they are the ones losing. Doctors are dying, suffering in silence and the government will make these fake empty promises and they will not fulfill them, no one in the government will commend the doctors and appreciate them for the value they add to the country.
Most people feel that doctors are being paid a lot of money in Nigeria and there’s no need for any doctor to leave the country. Quite unfortunately, doctors are not well paid and the welfarism for doctors is very bad. No one cares about doctors, it’s only the Doctor’s immediate family that cares.
So, few bodies like NARD, and NEMA speak for doctors. But, you know, It is just a matter of time before Nigeria will start employing doctors from abroad, and the money they are not willing to pay the doctors, they are going to pay the money through their noses.
Because, professionals have left the country, and you see all these people in government access healthcare abroad with ease. We saw what happened to one of Nigeria’s prominent politicians, Ekeremadu about the Organ trafficking news and the like. If the Nigerian health sector is working, there is no need to go abroad for transplants.
But people in government should remember that there will always be patients at one point in time and there will be a time a medical attention will be needed to carry out prostate surgery and there won’t be any professional doctors around except for quacks. And a lot of mortality, and morbidity will be recorded because the professionals have already left the country.
For the doctors, the strike doesn’t affect them because the period of the strike is when the doctors write most of their professional international exams. It’s more like the government allowing them to escape the country. Because when you are practicing 24/7, you can’t prepare well for these international exams. So, the period of strike affords these doctors to prepare for their exams, pass them and create avenues for them to finally leave the country. Let me tell you one thing, most doctors feel useless outside the medical practice and once, there is a strike, it gives them the opportunity and it’s more like the government telling them to process what they need to process and leave the country.
Do you know that senior colleagues in the medical field consistently advise their younger colleagues to leave the country? Can you imagine Nigerian producing 1000 doctors every year and less than 50 choose to stay in the country to take care of the population the remaining around 950 or more are leaving the country?
The government and citizens will realise that Nigeria no longer has doctors if, God forbid, a disease enters the country.
What is your reaction on a bill the house of reps was seeking to curb brain drain by mandating Nigerian medical doctors to practice for, at least, five years in the country before going abroad?
Well, even if it’s going to work, it won’t have a lasting effect. We should ask ourselves, who are those that are going to be practicing within those five years, are they Doctors with experience or those without experience, nothing has changed. Presently, as I am talking to you now, the category of the Doctors in the country now are those without experience, those with experience have left the country in one way or the other, though, the government might be able to achieve a bit with it but the problem is still going to be there. Nothing much, nothing much, so my reaction to this is that instead of just trying to force the doctors to stay, why don’t you attend to all their needs, they are asking for better welfare, why don’t you give it to them, they are asking for job security, why don’t you give it to them, they are asking for better practice why don’t you give it to them, why are you trying to force them to work in prison.
Recently, the UK announced it is set to ban Nigerians and other immigrants from bringing their dependents to the country if granted study visas, how do you react to this and how has the testimony YouTuber Emdee Tiamiyu with the BBC interview helped the situation.
Concerning what just happened in the UK concerning the interview MD Tiamiyu granted BBC, the man made a statement that you cannot verify even though, there may be one or two elements of truth in it but it is not something that you can force on everyone.
The reason is that it is not everyone that brings their family members down to this place should be attached to the “Japa” syndrome. Some people come here to study genuinely and family members follow them down to this place because they need family support. The UK is a very boring country if one will be sincere; you can be inside your house and no one will know that you are there. Someone may be dying inside the house and no one will know that the person is dying so because the place is very boring, people need to find a way to derive happiness else they fall into depression. Work and school activities can depress someone, but if someone is actually with family members while they work or study, they will have to take care of one another.
On the other hand, if the UK government bans these people from coming in, it’s going to have a backlash on them economic wise,workforce-wise.
There are so many things that the United Kingdom boast of now they might not be able to take pride in later if this ban pushes through because they have a lot of professionals from other countries bringing in their expertise into the country and they’re willing to influence the economy or the progress of the country positively.
The dependents are the ones that can work for any hour they choose while those studying, can not really work. So, it’s going to affect Nigerian students and affect the UK too because if you look at the statistics, how much United Kingdom realise just from Nigeria students alone that enter into the United Kingdom to study, it is a huge amount of money so you now imagine stopping all those money from coming in, what’s going to happen? Then, do you know that because we have a lot of people coming to the United Kingdom, old houses are being renovated just to rent them out? So, Nigerians moving into the country is indirectly making the country more beautiful.
There are a lot of positive sides to Nigerian immigrants coming to the UK. They get more money as people troop in, and get accommodation and take, for instance, a student who comes in to study only needs a room apartment. There are a lot of ups and downs to this that both parties will get to experience in one way or the other.
How does the compensation and benefits package for doctors in your new country compare to what you were earning in Nigeria?
The compensation for doctors in this country is far beyond what one can be discussing. It is very, very awesome, I think that is just the summary of it. So, superb, so sweet, mouthwatering.
Has your experience practicing medicine in Nigeria contributed to your success in your current country of practice?
In Nigeria, you have no limit to the extent to which you can practice, you can practice on different patients, whites, and blacks, you can practice in the village, in the city, you can practice on any tribe with nothing holding you back, that’s Nigeria for you, you can practice on diverse individuals which will give you the diversity of knowledge you need as a doctor so you bring that wealth of knowledge when you come into the UK with that kind of knowledge, you stand out.
Do you think there are any policies or initiatives that could be put in place to discourage doctors from leaving Nigeria and encourage them to stay and practice medicine in their home country?
There is no policy or initiatives that can discourage doctors from leaving the country. The only thing that the government need to do is to treat doctors as doctors, we risk our lives to safe one and government should fix the insecurity issues, the welfarism, housing scheme, cars, things that will make life better for a doctor.
There should also be some benefits for the wives and children of doctors just like the military. I don’t see any difference between a military man and a doctor, a military man defends the country from the seen enemy at large, while we the doctors are saving individuals in the country from the unseen enemy.
So, we are doing the same thing.
If the military men are not in the country, the country is at risk, same with doctors too, the country is at risk which means, the benefits you give to those military men should also be given to Nigerian doctors too. So, if there is anything the government can give them, it is to allow them to approach, enjoy, or benefit from some opportunities, that are going to make life better for them. Let the government just try to put one or two things in place that would always encourage them to stay.
Pension, the government can increase their salary, and some doctors don’t even have any room to rest their heads in the hospital, in fact, inside those rooms, the available ones there are as old as anything so doctors are not well taken care of and everyone is expecting the doctor to take care of everyone but who is going to take care of a doctor that is dying. Doctors die like chickens and no one cares. And, if a patient should die everyone will start shouting. I recommend that if doctors can also be well taken care of, they will stay and practice in the country. If we will equate the amount of money a doctor in Nigeria is spending to the economy of the country, it is not too bad, but other benefits that come with practice are not just there. These are the things we are looking for; a better Theatre to operate, a better consulting room to consult, a better emergency room to attend to emergency cases, better- better wards, and all the gadgets we need to carry patients are they available or do I need to carry a patient with my hands and break my back? I remember when I was in the hospital I left at Federal Medical Center, Idi- Aba, Abeokuta. A patient was being moved to the theatre by a nurse at one point in time the patient almost fell off the couch they were using to move the patient, so in the process, the nurse quickly tried to catch the patient to prevent the patient from falling and from there, the nurse lost her back. Immediately, the Nurse lost all ability to feel any sensation or anything on the lower limbs to the extent that she started pooing on herself, started weeing on herself, to the point that her husband almost sued the hospital so these are the health hazards.
What did the hospital do? How much did the hospital give? How did the hospital attend to that nurse? Had it being we have better gadgets, and things to move around, no one is going to be suffering from all manner of hazards while attending to a patient; so now, you can imagine that nurse that left that couldn’t practice during the time she was actually in bedridden and the likes, who is going to cover up for her? Most of the young nurses are leaving the country so who is going to cover up for her with her experience?
These are the issues, so when the government put the needed things in place, the better gadgets, better equipment, better theatre, better Consulting room, better emergency room, better laboratories, all these will make a doctor want to practice in Nigeria.
Do you plan to return to Nigeria and practice medicine in the future, or do you plan to stay in your new country permanently also what advice would you give to other young doctors who are considering leaving Nigeria to practice medicine in another country?
Whether I will come back to practice in Nigeria, I do not know for now and the advice I have for those young doctors leaving the university is that they should just follow their minds. Abroad is not for everyone so if you feel you will be better fulfilled in Nigeria, just stay there but if you feel and know you have more expectations, you can try your luck abroad on time.
So, tell us where you currently work in the UK.
Presently in the United Kingdom, I train people for United States Medical Licensing Exam through a particular platform I established in the United Kingdom called The Concept @ theconceptng.co.uk
With The Concept, those that have left school for some time or are just leaving school, or are still in school, I train them, I and my other colleague we train them for United States medical licensing exam within the shortest possible time and they will go and write the exam for the United States and pass very well so that’s what I do.
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