It is true that on Saturday evening, many heaved a huge sigh of relief the moment reports flooded different news timelines confirming the suspension of the strike embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) for an initial period of four weeks.
This suspension of the indefinite strike which began from the first day of this month, according to the president of the association, Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, means isolation centres which have been without medical personnel were to resume yesterday , while others will return to their duty post this morning.
Although this development is still just a suspension, report says the sudden retreat by NARD followed a new agreement reached with the federal government on Saturday morning regarding concerns it had raised regarding owed salaries, general welfare and a commonsense adjustment to their hazard allowance which they feel is criminally low.
Many now wonder why the federal government stonewalled for so long in conversations with NARD when it could have engaged with the association in the first place and avoided the mess the strike created for the health sector holistically.
On the other hand, others feel the ovation should be loud for the Buhari-led administration for its habit of engaging with aggrieved members of the society from ASUU, to the country’s organized labour and now Resident Doctors.
With fingers crossed, majority of Nigerians who account for the lower segment of the economic stratosphere hope they never see another time when our doctors collectively drop their tools in protest to issues on welfare. However, since it would be extremely naive to only rely on hope for such not to reoccur, the common opinion out there is that the government sorts out everything with these doctors who have been at the vanguard in the war against various infectious diseases and have seen some of their colleagues pay the ultimate price as a result of the job.
If this be the case, then the adjustment of the hazard allowance for doctors should be a no brainer and have unanimous approval across the three arms of government. Why should we offer healthcare workers peanuts when they are actually faced with real life hazards but give our lawmakers ridiculous amounts as hazard allowance? How have past and present leaders gone to bed unbothered knowing that doctors are reportedly paid five thousand naira as hazard allowance?
How did we even let it get to this? We also think it is imperative to ask why it is just in 2021, that a nation which prides itself as the giant of Africa decides to just listen to grouses related to the of payment of death in service insurance for health workers who died as a result of COVID-19 infection or other infectious diseases in the country?
This only makes one wonder what has been obtainable before now as accusations continue to trail federal government’s attitude towards appreciating the sacrifices of healthcare workers. Some have even listed what they call a very passive form of appreciation granted to the late Stellah Adadevoh who basically saved Nigeria from the fangs of an ebola epidemic or pandemic.
Nigerians urge the federal government to seriously consider the demands of the doctors not just because it helps mitigate the brain drain in the health sector or because it reduces chances of losing our best hands to foreign nations, but more importantly because the ordinary Nigerian who cannot go to the United kingdom to check if he or she has a headache depends greatly on these doctors for medical care.
The government must realize that its attitude towards this issue, will easily dictate if it cares for the average Nigerians or not.