It is crystal clear that Nigeria
has somehow managed to stifle
the rapid
spread of the Ebola virus
infection within its shores. Even
as many
institutions and indeed
individuals are already beginning
to claim
responsibility for this
tremendous achievement, there
is the tendency to
easily forget or relegate the
grave injustice currently being
done to those
in the frontline fight against the
spread of this deadly virus. I am
referring to what is happening
to the lowly placed Doctors
(HOUSE
OFFICERS)
working with the Ministry of
Defense (MOD) at the following
hospitals:
Armed forces Hospital Kaduna,
68th Armed forces Hospital
Lagos,
48th Armed
forces Hospital Lagos, Nigerian
Navy Reference Hospital Ojo
Lagos,
442
Nigerian Air force Hospital ikeja.
In February, when most of them
were offered employment by
the
Ministry of
Defence, they felt extremely
lucky. Having endured the
gruesome
conditions
during the employment
examination and interviews,
they were all in
awe when
they received text messages
beckoning them to come for
their
appointment
letters.
It is no surprise then to see that
they have been working dutifully
in
their respective hospitals for
over seven months. However it
is a thing of
deep sadness to discover that
they have not yet received a
dime for their
hard work. Nothing from their
place of primary assignment
and
nothing from
the ministry of defence that
hurriedly issued these young
doctors letters
of appointment at the request
of the respective commanding
officers
at the
helm of affairs in the hospitals
under the auspices ministry of
defence.
After repeated efforts to see
how they can get paid for the
hard work
they
have done and are still doing, it
is disheartening to realize that
some
individual still remain stoically
nefarious to them. These
Doctors claim
that they have continuously
pleaded with the relevant
authorities, they
have cried, dialogued and for
the past seven months all they
seem to get
are just empty promises.
As the 26th of August 2014,
after meeting with the
permanent
secretary of the ministry of
defence, they learnt that their
salaries were
not included in the yearly
budget of the MOD.
Preposterous one may
think,
but it begs the questions:
1. Why on earth would the MOD
go ahead to issue out
appointment
letters
to workers they had no
intentions of paying?
2. If they had indeed wanted to
pay them, why had alternative
sources to
generate funds not sort for
before the seventh month?
Recently, some individuals
labeled Doctors inconsiderate
for not helping
out the country in the face of
the Ebola crises, but these
individuals are
somewhat wrong, because
indeed clandestinely there were
a group of
doctors
at work in the midst of the
Ebola crises. These Doctors,
although lowly
placed were first on call in the
peak of the Ebola frenzy that
gripped the
nation. Without pay, they risked
their lives to continually care
for the
sick. These unsung heroes
instead of being celebrated are
constantly
being
ridiculed. Even when other
Doctors were on strike these
individuals as
civilian doctors were still
working in the frontline against
the spread of
the Ebola virus in their various
MOD establishments. They
labored
painstakingly each day without
pay or food in their bellies to
see that
their tasks are done efficiently.
The truth of the matter is that
they have not asked for
remunerations for
working during this time of
national disaster, they have not
asked for
national medals of Honor, even
though they deserve it. Rather
what they
ask
is their salaries, to be paid what
is due to them, what they have
earned.
It is however intriguing to
discover that even though they
have begged,
and
asked well meaning Nigerians to
come to their aid, many are too
quick to
brush their story aside. It is
arguable that they have not
gone on strike
even after working for seven
months, why should they? Also,
they
have not
protested, how I can blame
them, when recent events in
Nigeria show
how
frugal a strategy is protesting?
In addition they are not asking
for an
increment in their wages, on the
contrary, they have patiently
waited for
seven months before asking for
their pay. This should not be
happening.
I
weep for this country, if this can
happen to a Doctor in Nigeria; I
wonder
what will begin to happen to
other professionals?
I want to use this medium to
ask all other well meaning
Nigerians to
rightly come to the aid of this
bright Young Doctors and to
implore the
relevant authorities (ministry of
Defence, Ministry of finance) to
look
onto these doctors with mercy
and end the savage acts against
them,
besides
what crimes have they
committed, except they have
served and are
still
serving the country Nigeria.

Ok ohhh