The Kwara State Government has raised concern over the shortage of medical doctors in the state’s health sector due to the ongoing brain drain, popularly referred to as the ‘Japa’ syndrome.
This concern was made public during the 2025 first quarter inter-ministerial press briefing organized by the Ministry of Communication in Ilorin.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the State Hospital Management Board, Dr. Abdulraheem Abdulmalik, said that despite Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s directive to recruit more doctors, the board has been unable to find qualified personnel to hire.
“We have the governor’s approval to recruit doctors, but we can’t find them. Doctors are in high demand now. If a doctor resigns in the morning, they’ll get another job that same afternoon,” he said.
Dr. Abdulmalik revealed that the state currently has only 99 doctors on its payroll, well below the required number of 180 to 200. He noted that three doctors who had earlier left returned following a recent salary increase approved by the governor.
To address the situation, the board is developing a software application that will inform patients visiting its 45 health facilities of the number of available doctors at any given time, aiming to reduce delays in receiving medical attention and prevent incidents where patients collapse while waiting.
“On recruitment, we have presented a prerequisite to the Governor on actually harvesting doctors from medical schools. So, the state government sponsors you as a student for maybe a year or two and you pay back by working for the state for those two years in which the state has invested in you.
“That means we will continue to have a cycle of students. So, the state government sponsors you for two or three years and you work for the state government for those number of years before you ‘Japa’. That would mean there is a closing of the gap for medical doctors. This would kick off in about three to four years because we are starting from their Clinical Level, which is 400 Level,” he added.
He disclosed that the doctor shortage is more severe in rural areas, and that the government is exploring ways to improve remuneration and provide incentives with available resources. According to him, the aim is to match compensation levels in Western countries, which continue to attract Nigerian doctors.
As part of a long-term retention plan, the state government intends to begin sponsoring medical students in their clinical years with the understanding that beneficiaries will work for the state for an equivalent number of years after graduation. This initiative is expected to commence in about three to four years.
On the training and potential migration of nurses, Dr. Abdulmalik acknowledged that some nurses may also leave the country, but emphasized that the situation is not as dire as it is with doctors.
He noted that many nurses are women whose decisions to migrate are often influenced by family considerations.
