BRAIN DRAIN: Over 132 Nigerian medical doctors to leave for Saudi Arabia

No fewer than 132 Nigerian medical doctors are set to leave the country for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in search of greener pastures.

The doctors, who are either in government employ or working in private hospitals attended an on-the-spot interview session conducted by a government delegation from Saudi Arabia on Saturday and Sunday.

A Human Resource firm, Omyva Concept, was said to have facilitated the interview session which took place at Protea Hotel, GRA Ikeja, Lagos. The session will end on Monday (today).

It was learnt that 56 doctors from sundry areas of specialisation attended the session on Saturday to negotiate their conditions of service in Saudi Arabia.

But as of 10am on Sunday when our correspondent visited the venue of the interview, 76 more doctors were already on ground for the same purpose.

It was further gathered that the basic salary for junior doctors, who have yet to begin their residency, ranged between N228,000 and N300,000 monthly, excluding housing and other sundry allowances.

The interview panel members were said to be fixing wages based on years of experience and area of specialty.

One of the doctors with a little over three years experience in family medicine, who identified herself simply as Sadiat, said her basic salary was fixed at N228,000 excluding other allowances.

Many of the physicians who spoke with our correspondent said the poor salary package and worsening conditions of service necessitated their resolve to seek better opportunities abroad.

A medical doctor attached to a private hospital in Ikeja, Peter Oloyede, lamented that he was not only overworked, but underpaid in his present place of employment, adding that he saw no reason why he should not consider emigrating.

He said, “The health system in Nigeria is nothing to write home about and as a matter of fact, everyday as a medical doctor in Nigeria is a waste of time. You pass your primaries and to start residency becomes a problem as you hardly get a slot to further your knowledge. So where do we go to?

“A doctor working in a private hospital gets between N80,000 and 120,000 and yet he or she works round the clock and even some times for 24 hours without a break. If Saudi Arabia pays more and the conditions of service are better, why not go there, rather than just lament the situation in the country.”

Another physician, Fisayo Daniel, who plans to work as a gynecologist and obstetrician in Saudi Arabia, said the dearth of state-of-the-art facilities to sharpen his knowledge in the country was the motive behind his decision to emigrate.