Abuja, 12 August, 2021 / 8:01 pm (ACI Africa).
Many doctors and other health professionals in Nigeria are leaving the country in search of better working conditions elsewhere, the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja has observed and blamed the situation on poor governance of the west African country.
In his Sunday, August 8 homily, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama notes that levels of poverty have increased in Nigeria and that people can no longer endure the suffering. He says that the situation has been aggravated by the strike of medics who have cited poor working conditions.
“It is disheartening that we repeatedly hear stories of killings, acts of inhumanity and barbarism such as cutting down food crops in farmlands, burning and looting houses and property. Many of our people are being ravaged by poverty. As if that is not enough, we now have the strike of the National Association of Resident Doctors compounding an already worrisome situation of hunger due to the escalating prices of food stuff,” Archbishop Kaigama says.
He adds, “The doctors are striking over their pay, insurance benefits and the need to improve medical facilities.”
According to the Archbishop of Abuja, it has become normal for the Nigerian government to dilly dally in finding the best solutions until people have died or suffered irreversible damages.