Former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has urged the Federal Government to develop strategies to turn the migration of Nigerian medical professionals abroad into an opportunity for the country’s healthcare sector.
Fayemi made the call on Thursday while delivering the maiden convocation lecture at the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Osun State. The lecture, titled “Rethinking 21st Century Specialised Medical University in the Nigerian Context: Are the Challenges Surmountable?”, examined the challenges facing medical education and healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
He identified poor remuneration, inadequate medical facilities, limited career advancement opportunities and insufficient postgraduate training as some of the factors encouraging healthcare professionals to seek employment abroad.
According to Fayemi, Nigeria invests resources in training medical personnel but often loses their services to countries that offer better working conditions and career opportunities. He argued that the government should focus on addressing these challenges rather than relying on measures to prevent medical professionals from leaving the country.
The former governor recommended establishing structured programmes to engage Nigerian medical professionals in the diaspora, allowing them to contribute to medical education, research, mentorship and specialist healthcare services. Such contributions, he said, could be facilitated through physical visits, remote teaching and telemedicine.
He also called for agreements with countries recruiting Nigerian health workers, suggesting that destination countries could support the training of replacement personnel and contribute to strengthening the institutions responsible for producing the professionals they employ.
Fayemi further advocated improved salaries, functional medical equipment, reliable electricity in healthcare facilities and expanded postgraduate training opportunities. He also recommended incentives such as housing and advanced training for health workers serving in underserved communities.
To illustrate the extent of the challenge, he disclosed that more than half of the 50 pioneer medical graduates of Ekiti State University who were employed as house officers in 2019 had left Nigeria for opportunities abroad.
He warned that increasing admission quotas in medical schools without expanding housemanship placements, residency programmes and specialist training facilities could create additional difficulties for newly qualified doctors.
Fayemi urged the Federal and state governments, teaching hospitals, regulatory agencies and university governing councils to collaborate on improving medical education, research and healthcare delivery. He also stressed the importance of predictable funding, institutional autonomy and accountability in specialised medical universities.
Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Professor Akeem Olawale Lasisi, disclosed that the institution had grown to 3,332 students and completed more than 20 infrastructure projects within five years of its establishment.
Lasisi said the university, established in 2021, had recorded progress in infrastructure development, academic programmes, research and healthcare delivery despite funding and manpower constraints.
He disclosed that the institution had four faculties and that programmes that had reached the accreditation stage, including Medicine and Surgery, Nursing and Medical Laboratory Science, had obtained full accreditation from the National Universities Commission and relevant professional bodies.
The vice-chancellor also highlighted research grants and international fellowships secured by members of the academic staff, noting their contributions to the institution’s research and academic development.
Among the achievements mentioned were research grants secured by Dr Akeem Rabiu of the Department of Microbiology in the United Kingdom between 2025 and 2026, as well as early-career grants awarded to Dr Fatai Afolabi and Dr Tawakalt Abolayo by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2025.
Lasisi acknowledged the difficulties associated with developing a specialised health sciences university with limited financial and human resources but reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to training healthcare professionals and advancing medical research.
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