Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The former Chief Medical Director of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Dr Haroon Ajibode, has raised a disturbing alarm over the mass exodus of Nigerian medical professionals, revealing that about 90 per cent of medical graduates in the country are eager to leave for better opportunities abroad. Ajibode made the disclosure on Thursday, July 9, 2026, while delivering the 27th Annual Faculty Lecture of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, which was themed “Ophthalmology Residency Training in Nigeria: NPMCN and Residents’ Perspectives.”
Addressing the gathering, the former CMD attributed the alarming trend largely to poor remuneration, bad governance, insecurity, and unfavourable working conditions. He lamented that Nigeria continues to lose medical professionals after investing heavily in their undergraduate and postgraduate training. “A survey of Ophthalmology residents in Nigeria found out that fewer doctors opted to do residency training in Nigeria, as 90 per cent of medical graduates in the country are in a rush to move abroad,” Ajibode said.
He called on the government to take urgent steps to reverse the situation, stressing the need to develop strategies to improve surgical skill acquisition at training centres for postgraduate ophthalmologists across the country. Ajibode's comments come amid growing concerns over the "Japa syndrome," a term used to describe the mass migration of Nigerian professionals to other countries in search of better opportunities.
The Chairman of the Board of Management of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital and Chief Medical Director of Eye Foundation Hospital, Dr Adekunle Hassan, who also spoke at the event, called for the upgrade of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria to meet international standards. Hassan raised concerns over what he described as a “premeditated assault” on the medical profession by politicians, urging stakeholders to protect the integrity of the profession. He said the upgrade of the postgraduate college would enable it to attract international funding and partnerships and position it to assume a status similar to that of the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom.
Addressing young ophthalmologists, Hassan challenged them to change their mindset, urging them to stop blaming past leaders and to fight for change from their positions. “Stop blaming past leaders, challenge the status quo and save yourselves from the ‘Japa syndrome’. Face the challenges and fight from your place and right,” he said.
The President of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, Prof Anthony Ikefuna, represented by the Registrar of the College, Prof Temitope Esan, said the faculty had continued to improve the standard of ophthalmology training in the country. The Chairman of the Faculty of Ophthalmology, Dr Charles Bekibele, noted that the faculty had significant training needs and called for collective efforts to improve ophthalmology education.
The mass migration of Nigerian doctors has been a recurring concern for health sector stakeholders. Resident doctors at OOUTH had earlier in June 2026 demanded a minimum monthly salary of ₦1 million for doctors, citing poor remuneration and unfavourable working conditions as major drivers of brain drain. The President of the Association of Resident Doctors at OOUTH, Dr John Omotoso, had previously highlighted that entry-level public medical officers earn between ₦250,000 and ₦300,000 monthly, a figure he described as inadequate given the country's prevailing economic realities.
The Nigerian Medical Association has also warned that the country is losing its most valuable health assets to developed nations, with over 16,000 doctors having left Nigeria in the last five years. Stakeholders have repeatedly called on the government to declare a state of emergency in the health sector, improve doctors' welfare, and address the root causes of the exodus to prevent a total collapse of the healthcare system.
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