BY John Odhe, YENAGOA
Nigeria’s medical sector is currently battling a severe surge in quackery as the mass exodus of qualified professionals widely termed the “japa syndrome” creates massive personnel shortages across the country.
Desperate patients, facing understaffed hospitals and overwhelming workloads, are increasingly falling victim to unqualified individuals operating illicit clinics and presenting as licensed medical practitioners.
The vacuum left by migrating doctors has emboldened fraudulent practitioners who exploit vulnerable citizens seeking affordable or immediate healthcare.
This trend is exacerbated by poor remuneration and inadequate infrastructure, which drive licensed experts abroad and leave the local population susceptible to misdiagnoses, severe medical complications, and in extreme cases, preventable deaths linked to the operations of these impostors.
In Yenagoa, a man simply identified as Peter says he lost his elder brother recently to a quack medical personnel. “I just lost my brother who donated blood to a patient.
“The doctor did not even bother to check my brother’s health status before taking his blood. Immediately after the blood transfusion exercise, my brother began to develop health complications and died the following day. This is a clear case of quackery because most of the real professionals have left this country for greener pastures.
At a federal government health institution in the capital city of Yenagoa, a patient, who prefers anonymity laments acute shortage of medical doctors. “I have been here as early as 7 AM and this is almost 12 noon. Yet I have not been attended to.”
“The complaint from one of the nurses out there is that they have only one doctor attending to this crowd numbering over 50 persons in this ward and more are still coming,” she says.
A resident doctor at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Yenagoa, Dr. Sylva Yeibake, describes effects of migration of medical experts from the shores of Nigeria as terrible.
He says: “japa syndrome is a reality and should be declared an emergency.
“Its effects on resident doctors involve more nerves, more health complications, more divorce and early deaths.”
According to him, a doctor is supposed to work for 48 hours a week but reverse has been the case in Nigeria due to lack of personnel in the health sector.
He asserts that even his stay here in Nigeria has a limit if the government fails to do the needful pertaining improved remuneration and working condition.
To curb this deadly menace, some state governments and medical authorities have intensified regulatory crackdowns.
For example, recent enforcement operations in states like Rivers have led to the sealing of illicit health facilities and the arrest of suspects linked to quackery and illegal activities.
Authorities urge citizens to verify the credentials of medical personnel and report suspicious, unregistered clinics to the Nigerian Medical Association.
However, concerned citizens and experts stress that combating quackery requires addressing the root cause, which they identify as brain drain.
According to them , to solve this systemic failure, the federal government must invest heavily in modern healthcare infrastructure, improve the welfare and remuneration of medical personnel, and vigorously implement the National Policy on Health Workforce Migration to retain vital talents
