Speaking on Monday at the opening of a five day training on effective policy-making and strategic leadership for NARD leaders at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Suleiman said the trend, if unchecked, could see Nigeria lose another 15,000 doctors within the next decade.
“Facts don’t lie. Figures don’t lie. In 2024, 4,700 doctors left the shores of Nigeria. Every year we produce 2,000 to 3,000 doctors, yet we lost far more than we produced. If this continues, Nigeria cannot survive it,” he argued.
Suleiman painted a stark picture of the country’s doctor to patient ratio, noting that Nigeria currently has fewer than 30,000 doctors serving an estimated 240 million people, a ratio of roughly one doctor to over 10,000 citizens.
“This is not sustainable,” he warned. “In 10 to 15 years, Nigerians will walk into hospitals and find no doctors to attend to them,” he said.
He added that the association’s recent engagements with the federal government were driven by the urgency of preventing a total collapse of the health system. “These decisions are not easy. They are tough. But we take them because we know what lies ahead if nothing changes,” he stressed.
Suleiman emphasised that NARD is not presenting new demands to the government, but simply asking for the implementation of previously agreed policies that require no additional financial burden.
“These are agreements that won’t cost the government a penny,” he said. “Issues like membership certificates, employment processes, workload management, and local training policies — these are measures that strengthen the system, not just resident doctors,” he explained.
He expressed optimism that the renewed commitment between NARD and the government could avert future strikes. “If the understanding we have now is sustained, I don’t foresee any strike in the near future.”
Earlier, the Director General of NIPSS, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, commended NARD for prioritising leadership development and policy literacy, describing their presence at the institute as a sign of foresight.
He said the training would equip young medical leaders with the tools needed to engage constructively with policymakers and address the complex challenges facing Nigeria’s health sector.
By Yemi Kosoko, Arise
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