A health practitioner, Dr. Olufunmilayo, popularly known on X as ‘ourfavonline doctor’, has lamented the refusal of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) to verify licences for nurses who plan to travel abroad, News About Nigeria reports.
Dr. Funmi, in a statement on his verified handle on X on Sunday, criticised this decision, describing it as an injustice to nurses in the country and adding that it will subject them to professional imprisonment.
He lamented that nurses in the country are overworked, underpaid, overused, and underappreciated, hence the decision to leave the country by some of them.
He maintained that holding them hostage will not solve the problem; rather, the government and relevant associations should work towards addressing the issues, paying them better, making work more fulfilling, and building a country that professionals are happy to live in.
He wrote, “I want to raise an alarm about a horrible injustice being carried out against Nigerian nurses.
“Many of them don’t have the voice, the reach, or the platform for their pain to be heard or seen so I will gladly do it for them.
“The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMcN) is refusing indefinitely to verify license for any nurse who plans and wants to travel abroad.
“The license verification is a mandatory requirement for any nurse who trained in Nigeria to relocate abroad for work as a nurse.
“The decision by the NMCN means: 1. Any licensed nurse who is in Nigeria now cannot relocate abroad for work. So they can’t move from Nigeria to uk, usa, Saudi or anywhere else.
“2. Any licensed nurse who trained in Nigeria but already abroad cannot leave where they are for anywhere else. So they can’t move from uk to usa, Canada or anywhere. They are stuck where they are.
“This is a form of professional imprisonment and hostage. And it makes zero sense however you look at it.
“Nigerian nurses are overworked, underpaid, overused, under-appreciated and unfulfilled with their work in Nigeria. This is why they want to leave Nigeria.
“The answer to underpaid, overworked and unfulfilled health workers is NOT to hold them hostage in a system and a country they no longer want to be in. We need to address the issues, pay them better, make work more fulfilling and build a country that professionals are happy to live in.
“The government is full of lunatic retards. There is no other explanation beyond this. Otherwise, they should know that the only people who suffer this draconian decision by the NMCN is the patients and populace at hand.
“When you force nurses, or any other professionals, to work against their wishes, what kind of care do you think the patients will get? Do you want patients to be treated by nurses who have mentally logged out of the system, who no longer wish to be in the country and who are being professionally held hostage against their will?
“It’s an absolute disgrace and distasteful shame that rather than engage the nurses in a productive process that addresses their concerns and offers them juicy packages that discourages them from leaving, the NMCN is choosing the shameful path of professional hostage taking.
“Tomorrow, when someone goes to a general hospital, and they see a nurse who is morose, irritable, upset and uncaring; you will wonder why. But you will never know that is a healthcare professional who is forced against her wishes to work in a system she no longer wants to be part of.
“And don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying I want all nurses to leave the country. I’m only saying the solution to the problem of nurses leaving is to specifically address the reasons why.
“What I’m saying very emphatically is that the answer is NOT to simply place a technical ban on their escape and forcefully make them attend to patients who will only most likely be the ones to suffer potential half-hearted treatment from a nurse who is completely fed up of the entire system but has been tied down and forced to work.
“What I’m saying is not a joke. Canada has confirmed it. Saudi has confirmed it. Texas/USA has also confirmed it.”
