Muhammadu Sanusi II, a former Emir of Kano, has said Nigerian teachers and doctors are moving to foreign countries because they are being badly treated in Nigeria.
Sanusi stated this on Wednesday, at ‘The August Event 2022’, organised by the Moses Adekoyejo Majekodunmi Foundation (MAMF) in collaboration with St Nicholas Hospital in Lagos state, noting that Nigeria has to prioritise its health and education sectors to change this narrative.
On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration begged doctors and nurses to remain in the country, assuring that measures were being deployed to address the brain drain in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, university lecturers, under the aegis of ASUU have been on strike since February 14 over the government’s alleged failure to meet its demands while the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is threatening to embark on strike.
Sanusi described the education and health sectors as the foundation of Nigeria’s economy, adding that the demands of workers must be respected.
He said doctors and teachers have not been treated well, hence, the brain drain experienced in the sectors.
He, therefore, urged Nigerians to ask candidates of political parties in the 2023 elections to outline their plans for citizens and come up with developmental policies for the sectors.
“Education and health are the foundation of the economy, if we don’t prioritize these sectors, then we are finished,” he said
He said, “You can’t treat your teachers and doctors as if they are nothing. That is the reason they are leaving the country in droves. We must reverse brain drain by respecting the demands of teachers and health practitioners.
“As a people and most especially as governments, we have lost our respect for the professions that should be respected.”
He said teachers and doctors are not looking for money, adding the amount of money invested in training children to become doctors and teachers can never be earned in salaries.”
“With the incoming elections, we need to ask these candidates what their plan is for the sectors because they have to make this issue top priority when addressing or making strategic infrastructural and development policies in the country which will help in decreasing the brain drain in the country,”