The Vice Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, has advised the Nigerian government to make medical students in government-owned institutions sign a bond to serve the country for five years before they can go abroad after graduation.
Fatusi said that the Nigerian government should benefit from the medical personnel trained with government resources.
He also suggested that the government could give health workers necessary welfare packages to reduce stress and make their work more convenient.
“I believe firmly that anyone who has gone to government school under government sponsorship must be bonded to serve the country for five years before he/she goes and I have absolutely no apology for that.
“As a university administrator, we have staff that go abroad from time to time to study. All of them sign bonds that when they come back, they will serve for a number of years.
“But instead of serving for a number of years, they could buy back the years by refunding the money used in training them.
“So, it’s a law of supply and demand. And the World Health Organisation (WHO) has told us that there are about 15 million deficit of health workers in the world.
“So, what the developed world continues to do is to steal from us. We need to be wise and open more opportunities to train more students. If you do that and some go away, the percentage that will remain is likely to be higher,” he said.
