DOCTORS’ STRIKE: Why we are not ready to call off strike – Nigerian doctors

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Contrary to an earlier report that the ongoing strike by the Nigerian Medical Association would be called off on Monday, the group has debunked the story, saying it is not ready to return to work until the federal government meets its demand. Recall that the Minister for Health, Professor Chukwu Onyebuchi, had earlier on Friday expressed hope that the strike would be called off after the NMA’s Emergency Delegates Meeting slated for Monday.

The Health Minister said, “As I speak to you, the government has met its own side of the MoU and it is expected that the members of the NMA would from today (Friday) begin to respond and attend to all emergency cases in public hospitals in the spirit of this understanding.
“It is also expected that the NMA will call off the strike after its Emergency Delegates Meeting scheduled for next Monday, July 7, 2014.”
Reacting to Chukwu’s claim, the NMA president, Dr. Kayode Obembe, said there was no iota of truth in the story, saying the action would continue until a decision was reached to change the current stance.
He said, “The Emergency Delegates Meeting of the NMA will decide on Monday. Others are speculating.”
“In view of all this, I can say that if government keeps its own side of the bargain, there will be no strike in the foreseeable future. But here is the proviso: they must keep their own side of the bargain.”
The NMA president added that, contrary to the notion by some Nigerians that doctors are callous, the Association is a group of people who feel the pain of the ongoing strike.
Dr. Obembe said, “Medical doctors in Nigeria are also human beings. We actually feel bad that the association should degenerate to such a condition. We don’t want to take the lives of the Nigerian citizens for a ride.
“But one thing I want to make clear is that we were also pushed to the wall before we had to go to this length. Some of the things we are talking about now, we have been discussing it for years.”