One Doctor Dey Attend To 9,083 Nigerians, NARD Dey Cry.

Di Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors on Wednesday cry say di country doctor-to-patient ratio wey be 1:9,083 bad wella, say e far from wetin dey happen for better countries. For press statement wey dem drop for Nigeria 65th Independence anniversary, di association announce say from today, October 1, 2025, resident doctors across di country no go dey do continuous call pass 24 hours again. Di statement na NARD President, Dr. Mohammad Suleiman; Secretary-General, Dr. Shuaibu Ibrahim; and Publicity and Social Secretary, Dr. Abdulmajid Ibrahim sign am. Nigeria don dey battle with doctor shortage tey-tey, and di matter don worse as health workers dey japa steady go abroad go find better pay and work condition. According to di Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, over 16,000 Nigerian doctors don waka comot from di country in di last five to seven years go find greener pastures for other countries.Di wahala wey follow na heavy workload for di doctors wey still remain, especially resident doctors wey be di backbone of Nigeria tertiary healthcare system. Medical associations don dey shout steady say if things no better, more doctors go still japa, and di crisis go just dey worse. Di association talk say, “With population wey don pass 240 million and only about 11,000 resident doctors, Nigeria dey run doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:9,083. Dis one far from wetin dey happen for countries wey get sense. On top that one, Nigerian resident doctors dey work average of 106.5 hours every week, while surgical residents dey suffer reach over 122.7 hours weekly. Dis one mean say dem dey do 24-hour call duty like four to five times every week. NARD talk say dis kain workload bad no be small, e dey affect both di patients wey need better care and di doctors wey dey try survive inside di system. E talk say, Dis kind situation dey really worry.

E dey cause plenty medical mistakes because doctors dey burn out, put patients life for risk, and e dey affect doctors body, mind, and mental health seriously. Many times, resident doctors dey sacrifice dia own health, even sometimes dia life, to serve dia patients. Di wahala dey clear as young doctors dey lose dia life early. But di painful question still dey: Who go take care of dia family and people wey depend on dem after dem die? Di bigger question be: How many more lives we go still lose before we take serious action? For di new directive wey dem announce, NARD talk say, “From October 1, 2025, all resident doctors for di country no go dey do continuous call wey pass 24 hours again. After every call, dem go get time wey no go dey call dem. Dis decision no be just necessary, e serious wella, because e follow di Hippocratic Oath wey talk say doctors must take care of themselves. Di association beg Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare make dem put one-to-one replacement policy wey go reduce di heavy workload on doctors, and make dem create rules wey go stop too much call hours, so that both doctors and patients go dey safe. NARD still talk say di small number of doctors wey still dey Nigeria despite many wey don japa na real patriots and heroes. Dem talk say, Dem deserve protection plus fair pay wey match wetin dem dey do. If we no protect ourselves, who go do am? As Nigeria dey celebrate independence and progress today, make we also remember di sacrifices wey resident doctors dey make and di serious challenges wey dey face. Di main wahala na di heavy workload of more than 24-hour non-stop calls, plus bad pay wey need urgent change. We no fit still dey lose our members to death wey fit prevent and avoid, no be now, no be for future. Lastly, NARD send warm wishes to all Nigerians as we celebrate 65 years of Independence. Make Nigeria dey successful