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.
“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.
-Thenation
