With the 2015 elections drawing nigh and Nigerian travelers facing recurrent stigmatization at the embassies, airports of other countries owing to the fear of contaminating the Ebola virus- even after reports by the World Health Organisation has given the country a clean bill of health, medical practitioners are beginning to take up arms against the government in a fight for renumerations.
At the start of the weekend, four different health organizations threatened to join the Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals, NUAHP on an indefinite strike action on the condition that the federal government rescinds on the agreements it reached with the union.
NUAP, which began its industrial action on the 16th of October 2014 has been locked in a battle with the government over the non-payments of its emoluments.
Speaking to newsmen early in the week, Felix Faniran, the National President of the association who doubles as the vice president at the Joint Health Sector Union – its parent body, revealed the organization’s joy at the erstwhile minister of health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu’s decision to resign from office in a bid to pursue a governorship position.
He said, ““ It is an exciting news for us to hear that the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, resigned yesterday (Wednesday) and we are using this forum to call on Mr. President to ensure that a non-medical doctor is appointed to replace him to ensure peace in the health sector.
“The President should consider a person from the Allied Health Professionals as his replacement to ensure balance and harmony in the health sector.
“Since the appointment of Chukwu as the Health Minister, our health sector has not known peace. He has demonstrated that he is a nominee of the NMA and not a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, having been partisan and discriminatory against other health professionals in favour of members of his professional constituency from the beginning till date.”
While the federal charter continues to engage in stiff combat with the administrative bodies, the Nigerian populace has borne the brunt of the injuries in the war between both parties as with the closure of hospital facilities during which patients are abandoned to their fate.
According to the statistics revealed by the World Health Organisation, the Nigeria health sector ranks a low 197 out of 200 countries on the international health scale with a life expectancy pegged at 46 years and a Human Immunodeficiency Virus prevalence ratio of 20 percent.
Rita Ohai
