The last five years have been quite horrific for foreign trained medical students who completed their studies and return to Nigeria to practice. In particular, some sections of the country that are making efforts to bridge the wide gap between their health needs and human resource availability have been hard hit by the “massive failure” in the so called “assessment examination” being conducted by Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
It is an umbrage generating issue that an examination slated to confirm that a candidate has undergone a training of many years to graduate as a doctor has been turned into sessions of traumatic affliction by the MDCN saddled with the responsibility typical of most things in Nigeria. It is disheartening to learn that the fees for sitting the examination have been hiked by over 80 per cent in the last couple of years and the centralisation of conducting the examination has no regard for logistics and security risk on the participants. It is axiomatic to state that the recent untoward developments in the conduct of that assessment examination are undoubtedly hampering the availability of medical doctors in states using their meagre resources to send their young people outside our shores for medical training and qualification.
Unfortunately, and typical of our political leadership in the north nobody seems to be paying attention to the deliberate efforts to frustrate that noble gesture of some states and parents sacrificing fortune to train their wards.
In this vein, therefore and in the interest of fairness, promoting transparency, erasing intervention of sentiment and other considerations that are inimical to the unique steps being taken by some states to produce enough manpower in the medical fields and in order to create a balanced platform devoid of inveterate prejudice, the Act establishing MDCN should be repealed with immediate effect. Members of the National Assembly from the affected states should remember they were elected to serve, protect and advance the interests of their constituents and they should take a leading role in this matter. Repealing of MDCN Act should be the first assignment of the 10th Assembly and in its place, the following recommendations are proffered:
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1) Zonal ‘Medical and Dental agencies” be created in each of the 6 geopolitical zones of the federation to among other things conduct assessment examination of foreign trained doctors from each particular zone. It should have representation from:
- a) All Hospital Services Management Boards of the states in the zone and the officer to serve should not be below the rank of assistant director;
- b) Representatives from two (2) oldest teaching hospitals situated in the zone;
- c) A representative of NMA in the zone;
- d) Representative from Federal Ministry of Health on observer status;
- e) Any other relevant individual/group or corporate body from the zone.
2) For administrative purposes, the secretariat of the proposed agency is to rotate within the affected states after every two (2) years.
3) In terms of funding, the agency should be funded from the proceeds of fees paid by the participants since sitting is on need basis.
4) It is also recommended that the current Council be compelled to produce detailed results of the last examination conducted at Ibadan on 12th and 13th of July, 2023 and the results be made public with participants’ performance in all the subjects they sat. A court case is being instituted in this regard.
5) This issue should be pursued by our representatives in the National Assembly with the urgency needed and the Council be placed on suspension until satisfactory outcome is received on the outcome of last assessment examination.
Our states are being deliberately denied progress in producing medical doctors arising from plans by some office holders who are bent on converting every opportunity to serve into an opportunity to wreck. Therefore, it is poignant at this time on this matter to say “to thy tent oh Israel!”
Bashir Adamu Daura wrote from Abuja
