The Chief Medical Director of Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Prof Isah Yahaya Adagiri has lamented the dearth of medical doctors in the state and attributed it to ‘Japa syndrome’.
Adagiri, who commended Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State for giving a standing approval to the management of the Specialist Hospital to replace any medical doctor that leaves the service, said despite the willingness to replace or employ new ones, they were nowhere to be found.
The CMD made this known during 2024 budget defence on the floor of the Kogi State House of Assembly in Lokoja.
While stating that a lot of doctors were moving out of the country in droves for greener pastures, he explained that there were lots of disadvantages as such workers worked their energy to earn every Kobo paid to them.
Adagiri said he could not imagine himself leaving the country to work abroad as his corpse would be brought home.
He lamented that Kogi State Specialist Hospital recently lost a doctor who left for Dubai to work, adding that his death could be attributed to the hazards of working in a foreign country.
Disclosing that the hospital always liaised with the House Committee on Health and Social Services to get better welfare packages for doctors, he advocated for better pay to stop the Japa syndrome.
CMD attributes dearth of medical doctors in Kogi to Japa syndrome