Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on governments across all levels in Nigeria to implement incentive-based strategies aimed at retaining medical professionals and curbing the growing trend of brain drain in the healthcare sector, popularly referred to as “Japa.”
Speaking on Monday during the commissioning of a new hospital in Zamfara State, Obasanjo expressed concern over the increasing number of Nigerian-trained doctors and healthcare workers leaving the country in search of better opportunities abroad.
“For hospitals, especially when many Nigerians who have been trained as medical personnel are ‘japa-ing’, which is going out of the country, looking for better conditions—how do you hold them here? You have to give them a bit of incentive,” he stated.
The former president highlighted that while infrastructure and medical equipment are critical, the quality of healthcare delivery hinges significantly on the availability of skilled personnel.
“We need all the personnel that we can have because our hospitals have to deliver. You need the right environment and that is the refurbishing, renovation. But you also need the right equipment, and then you need the personnel,” he added.
Obasanjo’s remarks come against the backdrop of mounting concern over the mass emigration of Nigerian health workers, a trend that continues to strain the country’s already challenged healthcare system.
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