With due respect to my teachers, senior colleagues and colleagues, the call for downing of tool by the doctors is needless having read the ratio in which the strike was called upon.

Over the years, having worked within and outside Nigeria both in clinical and public health domains, I am strongly obliged to state that the nation’s health drawbacks are essentially caused by doctors who ordinary are meant to be the leaders of the health team. It suffices to state that, while it is true that the leadership of the health team is like a birth right, their roles and responsibility are equally a birth right, only when these are aligned that we can claim the leadership of the heath team. Come to think of the request placed before the federal government, It is sad to note that the issues are quite petty and trivial to culminate to such a decision that will result to irreversible consequences and loss of lives.

As a medical doctor with over fourteen years experience, I have never had a course to question if I am the head of any health team where I found myself as the most senior doctor or the only doctor in a collection of health practitioners in a health mission, for the simple reason that, I know my bound and appreciated that even the weakest link in my team count. I will also not pursue vanity to a disreputable feat. The posture and activities of my colleagues both at the public and private sectors is appalling, such that it has left some of us who have seen our shortfalls and have made or shown some resentment to it are seen as deviance. We must note that what we think and promote is what can endear us or otherwise to the good books of the government, other health workers and the general public.

For me, I am not surprised at the backlash we receive from other supposedly team mates in the hospital. Looking critically at their opposition to us, you will naturally find out that something is wrong with us as doctors, if not, how could we have lose the confidence of all our team mates including non medic such as the ward attendance, administration staff etc? The truth of the matter is that, if we change our corrupt and indiscipline posture, we will naturally occupy our rightful place. Take for instance, the Heads of Hospitals and many health agencies are being led by the doctors, most of which their hall mark is characterized by kickbacks, high contract inflation even to outright thieving of public funds. Our colleagues will promise heaven and earth to be appointed as heads of organizations, but as soon as they get there, their best friends and new found colleagues are the finance and admin managers and the procurement practitioners.

I have survived several heartbreaks from my colleagues (very senior) in the past and have vowed never to listen to their germane-less advocacy for headship of the health team. From national assignments to international and so many other clinical/public health engagement I have found myself, one of the most recent once was in a supposed tertiary institution headed by a doctor anyway, where doctors no matter your rank should go to the record office and queue up for prescription paper being issued by an officer below the rank of a record officer. I have also been to an organization where patients are dying in troops for simple reason of lack of machine to run tests for a certain class of patients visiting a specialty clinic. Another one was a jamboree organization where names are submitted arbitrarily for ad-hoc jobs that needs some level of expertise, yet competency was dropped into the bin and meritocracy upheld.

The peak of my heartbreak was when I worked in one of a supposed tertiary institution where in a bid to save patient life, a doctor rushed to the theatre to get an oxygen as a last point where such equipment are unarguably handy, could not find one, and we watch the man die. Here, I am not saying the man couldn’t have died, but could have died gracefully, and with some human effort. One can count on and on the rots in organizations headed by doctors.

Now my question is:
1. Of what value is the appointment of a DCMAC adds to the already CMD and CMAC that has been exclusively for doctors?
2. How does the work of a doctor be affected by the appointment of the most senior health practitioner to direct the activities of his other colleagues as a director or
3. How is your work being affected if a health practitioner has reached a level of expertise in his field and he is refered to as a consultant”.

It is quite worrisome to hear my colleagues have downed tools for the simple reason that the post of a Surgeon General is yet to be filled, even when the two ministerial slots are occupied by them. I believe that the hazards’ allowance be reviewed, but doctors especially our Consultants most justify the little that has been paid by actively and routinely availing themselves in the daily routines of the hospital instead of turning attainment of Consultant in the hospital as a gateway to truancy ; my colleagues certainly know what I mean.

We are already fast losing our respect from the government and the general public, and in recent time even from our colleagues whose disposition is for the good of man.

Let me also use this opportunity to congratulate our President who has just assumed office and to urge him to be steadfast in his decision where reasoning should take over precedent than mere emotions and sentiment. Accept my unalloyed loyalty.

This piece is a wakeup call to my colleagues to look up within us and appreciate the rots and imbroglio our actions and in-actions has brought to this noble profession and the health sector in general; as the only way to solve the problem of a leopard wanting to be called a lion can only be addressed by a change of behaviour of the supposed “LION”.

About the author:
Dr Abdul is former UN medical personnel in Trinidad and Tobago.

U r a reasonable human being.

Awesome piece..

Is this why you think a Pharmacist should head a HOSPITAL ? In all the countries you visited, what were the practices concerning headship of hospitals?

In case you have forgotten , a hospital is for the practice of Medicine ! There may be many medically related courses but they are still not medicine .

Just as there have been bad doctor-administrator there has also been EXCELLENT doctor-administrators . Please do not let us subvert or obscure the issues here .

Oduduwaboy: Is this why you think a Pharmacist should head a HOSPITAL ? In all the countries you visited, what were the practices concerning headship of hospitals?

In case you have forgotten , a hospital is for the practice of Medicine ! There may be many medically related courses but they are still not medicine .

Just as there have been bad doctor-administrator there has also been EXCELLENT doctor-administrators . Please do not let us subvert or obscure the issues here .

Don't be ignorant sir. Hospitals abroad are headed by people even out of the medical line. It is purely an administrative position.. It is your competency that matters even though studying medicine might give you an edge.

Nice and logical piece. Please doctors live and let others live. (Egbe bere ugo bere).

I can bet my balls, the REAL author of this write-up is not a medical doctor.

My point all the while. Am happy this is coming from a reasonable Dr.

Respect cannot be bought but earned.

My sincere advice to our Drs is to perform their primary functions diligently, devoid of pride and envy like a few of them are already doing, am sure the long lost glory will be retured to them.

drkay: I can bet my balls, the REAL author of this write-up is not a medical doctor.

cuz he isn't talking like an egocentric, all knowing prick? I think so too..

drered: cuz he isn't talking like an egocentric, all knowing prick? I think so too..

What's this 1 saying?

drkay:
What's this 1 saying?

u dnt knw?

drkay: I can bet my balls, the REAL author of this write-up is not a medical doctor.

Lyk u need explaination In layman terms?...did u even read the writeup?...#are pppl really ds dumb?

Rubbish

Mishydoo:

Lyk u need explaination In layman terms?...did u even read the writeup?...#are pppl really ds dumb?

As if u have anything meaningful in that ur empty skull, idiot.

The author of this post is not a doctor

drkay:
As if u have anything meaningful in that ur empty skull, idiot.

If wit an empty skull I cld smell raw stupidity of intense magnitude,imagine wt I cld do with a unicellular brain lyk urs...

I kw u,one of doz fuctards who bribed dia way thru college of medicine jst to add d title 'dr' to ur generation of nobodies.tell me,hw many of ur patients hv u killed!

With the current strike, Nigerian medical Drs have lost their respect. Their major reasons are not just clear as none of their demands is of benefit to the ordinary patients they swore an oath to save their lives. Corruption is just everywhere in this country.