Nigerian Doctors Earn ₦11.9m as FG Pays Counterparts ₦40.8m in Saint Lucia, Triggering NMA Strike Threat

Let’s cut through the noise: While Nigerian doctors break their backs in collapsing hospitals for ₦11.9 million a year, the Federal Government just signed a deal to pay their colleagues ₦40.8 million annually for the same work – in Saint Lucia. This isn’t just hypocrisy; it’s a slap in the face to every medic battling Nigeria’s health crisis. The agreement, inked by President Tinubu on July 3, 2025, landed just 24 hours after the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) issued a 21-day strike ultimatum over years of neglect. Doctors describe burnout, stress, chronic diseases, and even death as routine hazards – while our own government bankrolls a Caribbean rescue mission.

The Staggering Pay Gap

Let’s lay bare the numbers that broke Nigeria’s medical community: Nigerian doctors serving at home earn ₦11.9 million annually. Their colleagues deployed to Saint Lucia under the Federal Government’s new agreement will receive ₦40.8 million yearly. This shocking disparity becomes even starker when comparing Nigeria’s payments to what Saint Lucia pays its own doctors – a staggering ₦131.7 million per year. Nigeria pays exported doctors 242% more than those saving lives at home. Yet even that ₦40.8 million is less than one-third of what Saint Lucia pays its own doctors. This isn’t aid; it’s subsidizing another nation’s healthcare while ours implodes.

Systemic Neglect of Local Doctors

Behind these numbers lies a decade of betrayal: The Medical Residency Training Fund – critical for specialist training – goes unpaid for years, strangling career growth. The CONMESS salary structure, negotiated to standardize pay, remains unimplemented nationwide with state hospitals often ignoring it entirely. Hazard allowances stagnate at ₦5,000 monthly – less than $3.50. Compare that to Liberia’s $825 during Ebola or Ghana’s $25/day COVID incentives. Doctors risk infection daily without commensurate risk allowances.

Deal Mechanics Exposed

Peel back the PR spin, and here’s the reality: Signed July 3 in Castries, this Technical Manpower Assistance pact sends Nigerian teachers, medical professionals, and agriculturists to Saint Lucia for two-year terms. Nigeria covers all salaries and logistics – a projected ₦1.2 billion annually for just 30 doctors. Saint Lucia provides only accommodation. The NMA’s verdict: Morally unjustifiable to pay exported doctors five times local salaries while mothers die in understaffed maternity wards.

International Image vs Domestic Reality

This isn’t diplomacy – it’s delusion: The deal advances Tinubu’s 4D Foreign Policy, touted as reconnecting with African descendants. Yet Nigeria hemorrhages 2,000+ doctors yearly due to neglect. We’re deploying doctors to show leadership while our doctor-to-patient ratio hits 1:5,000 – over eight times worse than WHO’s 1:600 standard. As NMA Secretary Dr. Benjamin Egbo stated: Exporting doctors while undermining welfare at home is inexcusable.

Core Demands – Beyond Money

The NMA’s July 2 ultimatum isn’t just about naira notes. It’s about survival: Immediately withdraw the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission circular that violates existing agreements. Implement all signed collective bargains – including universal CONMESS and hazard allowances reflecting actual risk. End the blurring of roles where academic doctorates demand parity with clinical specialists. As Lagos NMA Chair Dr. Babajide Saheed warned: Destroy the clinical hierarchy, and you destroy accountability.

Looming Strike Impact

History shows this isn’t a bluff: The 2023 strike paralyzed public health facilities for 5 days, leaving millions without care. Resident doctors – those threatening to walk out – form 80% of staff in teaching hospitals. Their exit shuts down ERs, surgeries, and ICU units overnight.

Exodus of Medical Talent

The Japa syndrome isn’t greed – it’s desperation: Salaries as low as ₦150,000 monthly in state hospitals. Nigeria ranks 109th globally in health GDP investment – behind Rwanda and Senegal. Of 72,000 registered Nigerian doctors, only 35,000 practice locally. We need 303,333 to meet WHO standards – an 88% shortfall.

Government’s Cycle of Neglect

Patterns don’t lie: In 2023, then-Labor Minister Chris Ngige dismissed doctors as entitled while owing hazard allowances. Identical strikes erupted in 2020 over unpaid COVID allowances and 2022 over MRTF delays. Each resolved with empty promises.

Doctor Casualties

Overworked medics face soaring rates of hypertension and depression. The NMA cites stress-induced deaths but avoids names to protect families.

Patient Nightmares

Maternal mortality hits 576 deaths per 100,000 births. Each strike worsens this; each doctor’s exit closes 5,000 patient files.

Short-Term Fixes – Act NOW

Redirect the ₦1.2 billion allocated for Saint Lucia salaries to clear MRTF arrears and boost hazard pay immediately. Enforce standardized salaries across all 36 states – no exceptions.

Long-Term Healing

Raise health spending to 15% of GDP – triple today’s less than 5%. Lure emigrant doctors back with tax-free sabbaticals and telemedicine roles linking global expertise with local needs.

The ₦11.9m versus ₦40.8m disparity isn’t an accounting error – it’s Nigeria’s moral bankruptcy in one spreadsheet cell. As the NMA’s 21-day clock ticks toward July 23, Tinubu faces a choice: Fund healthcare heroes or fund their funerals. The Saint Lucia deal reveals a bitter truth – our leaders know how to value doctors. They simply choose not to.