Health they say is wealth. This saying is true! But how seriously have we taken this health issue? It has also been said, how you make your bed is how you lie in it.
How we value a problem determines how we handle it. Our health sector is about to be destroyed and until the government takes decisive action, it will be disastrous. No unhealthy nation can ever produce healthy citizens.
There was a time when our health sector was doing well. You just walk into a hospital and you’ll see how coordinated they were and how they’re going to treat you. Private hospitals were not a problem at all, and they were few. Medications were available, services were freely provided, and professionalism was valued. Everyone does their job well. Patriotism was at the forefront, but at some point we lost it.
Apart from the indifferent attitude of the government in the health sector, the doctors played a vital role in the destruction of our health sector. Now I know you may think this may be a spurious accusation, but before you pounce on me, please follow me gently. Now, if you’ve been going to the hospital, you’ll agree with what I’m going to tell you.
First, monetary gain got most of them instead of trying to save humanity. This worm has infiltrated their fabric to the point that they forgot about humanity and are hunting sucker! Second, they started diverting patients to their private clinics that they opened or to their colleagues’ clinics and hospitals, as a result they pay little or no attention to public hospitals that the majority of the population can enjoy: also anything good that the government provides. public hospitals, whenever convenient, serve their private clinics or hospitals. This has negatively affected public hospitals and since then we have not recovered.
The government wasn’t helping things either. The culture of supervision and inspection died, where it exists, it was not done with sincerity but only with ceremony. The inspectors usually do it just for their pockets: the infrastructure was left in ruins without any attention; our hospitals now look like pigsties, smelling everywhere in a country so blessed by God and endowed with much but leadership.
leaders
The way and manner in which our leaders travel abroad for medical check-ups and treatments is a vote of no confidence in our health system; they’re supposed to fix that but shamefully they abandon all that and package up our common wealth, I mean at our expense we’re going to add to the wealth of other nations! What is wrong with? Why should our leaders always go abroad for medical treatment when we have qualified doctors? Assuming those nations did not work hard to develop their health sectors to that level, what would they have done? All they need to do their job effectively is to provide the necessary equipment for the job. Objective No! They prefer to travel abroad for treatment. Imagine US President Donald Trump going to India for medical treatment! We need to change our attitude towards nation building. No one else will build our nation for us, it is only in Nigeria. I know that you only renovate and clean your house when you are about to receive an important guest. This need to change: Leaders expect those they lead to change when they themselves are unwilling to change. A good leader sets an example and the followers follow.
In the 2016 budget, N3.87 billion was allocated as capital allocation in the budget for the State Clinic, which is more than all federal teaching hospitals in the country so far; drug shortages hit the clinic last year. The President traveled to the UK for treatment and at the time of writing, President Muhammadu Buhari is already in the UK for another treatment. The question is how many people have access to the state house clinic? And compare it to the larger population who can’t even afford ordinary Panadol. According to Vanguard, the president’s senior special adviser on (media and publicity), Garba Shehu explained in a statement that the State House Clinic is not the president’s or anyone else’s personal clinic, but rather one that caters to government officials and others. According to him, the increased spending on government health institutions in the current budget should be seen in the light of President Buhari’s administration’s plan to improve medical facilities in the country, as well as to discourage medical tourism by citizens, which which has a negative impact on the country’s foreign exchange reserves. These were the words of Garba Shehu ad verbatim! But what do we see? Well, I leave it there for you to judge.
My opinion on this is that if they sincerely want to improve the government health institution to discourage medical tourism from citizens, which has a negative impact on the country’s foreign exchange reserve, a concerted effort should have been made to do precisely that. If that money is used, it can be done, but until then, Mr. President has been dedicated to medical tourism.
Now you can see why I said our leaders helped destroy our healthcare system! When will we get it right? Why should we be budgeting such large sums of money and still go abroad for the same purpose? The answer is that, our leaders have passed a vote of no confidence in our healthcare system and secondly because they can afford medical tourism according to Mr. Garba Shehu, not caring if less privileged Nigerians cannot afford it. As such, we have been left to our own devices! Now it’s “To your tents, O Israel!” It is a shame! Shame on any leader who allows that to happen during his rule. Leaders must know that God is bringing them there for a purpose and that it is an opportunity to serve God’s people. Therefore, when serving, serve well.
In conclusion, it is the obligation of every responsible government to provide social services such as roads, schools, hospitals, medicines, etc. Any government that does not comply with this is simply irresponsible. This is not intended to punish the government, but rather a wake-up call for it to be aware of its responsibilities.