The newly elected president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Afekhide Omoti, has warned that Nigeria risks a deepening healthcare crisis unless urgent steps are taken to improve doctors’ welfare, working conditions, and security.
Speaking on Thursday after arriving at the airport in Benin City, where he was received by members of the NMA Edo State branch and affiliated medical associations, Omoti said stemming the exodus of healthcare workers would be one of his major priorities in office.
Addressing journalists, the new NMA president said the association would push for reforms aimed at restoring the dignity of medical professionals and creating a more supportive environment for healthcare workers across the country.
“We will do everything in our power to restore the dignity of medical doctors and to improve their welfare,” he said.
Omoti also cited insecurity and poor workplace conditions as major factors driving the growing migration of Nigerian doctors overseas, warning that the country could soon face severe shortages of trained medical personnel if the trend continues unchecked.
“Our young ones cannot finish school and go abroad because, at the moment, that’s all they do,” he said. “They also write foreign exams and take off. We want to make sure that that kind of thing stops.”
“We cannot train doctors for the rest of the world; we have to train doctors for Nigeria, or else very soon, we will have nobody to look after us.”
Describing the situation as “very bad”, he said the challenges facing Nigeria’s healthcare sector required urgent intervention.
“The situation is very bad at the moment, and it needs urgent attention. We must act now,” he added.
Omoti pledged to advocate for improved welfare and professional protections for healthcare workers regardless of rank, location or specialty, while also pushing for broader reforms within Nigeria’s struggling health system.
“We will advocate for their rights and privileges irrespective of their levels, cadre and location,” he said. “We will try to improve the healthcare system of Nigeria for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
The chairman of the NMA in Edo State, Eustace Oseghale, described Omoti’s emergence as national president as a significant moment for the state chapter of the association.
