There is no seriousness in our political system; it's all in the infrastructure of the stomach —Majekodunmi

Chief (Dr) Femi Majekodunmi, the Bada of Egbaland, is a man of many facets: Member, Board of Governors, National Institute for Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos; Chairman, Federal Medical Centers Committee of Nigeria, Chairman, Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Badagry, Lagos. In this interview with KUNLE ODEREMI, the famous doctor talks about the presidential race of 2023, calls for restructuring, among others. Excerpts:

Nigerians fear that medical professionals trained with limited public resources are literally leaving the country in droves. How disturbed are you?

Yes, I am deranged and all Nigerians should be deranged. We have come a long way to get to the situation we find ourselves in right now. The days of doctors graduating and jobs waiting for them are over; nowadays ready made jobs are there for them abroad and many places abroad seem to need it more than Nigeria. There are so many problems that explain why professionals no longer want to stay in Nigeria. There is the issue of salary, coupled with the need for a conducive environment for them to work. In addition, the level of the Nigerian medical system is very low compared to what is in force in developed countries. These developed countries have come so far when it comes to technological advancements in medical practice. The salary is good; the environment they work in is fantastic and vacancies are available to train, employ. Nigerians want to improve their lives, achieve their ambitions in order to have access to better options.

We also had this problem when the army was in power. 24 years after the military left power, why are we still struggling to solve this problem?

It has to do with many other aspects of life. Part of the problem is that our development doesn't keep up with the times. We can also talk about other contributing factors such as leadership. Each government blames the previous government. We still have a lot to do. The followership must also change its attitude. Moreover, corruption has deeply eaten away at our fabric, so there must be concerted efforts by all.

How to stop medical tourism by political leaders?

We need to invest more money in medical education. We must develop hospitals by providing them with modern equipment. We need to make the profession conducive to professionals, in terms of higher pay and working conditions. Hospitals must be well equipped. The firm will of the government must be there. Looking at the budget, you see that there is not enough money invested in medicine. The Nigerian situation will continue until we are able to restructure our minds and work to make this country a better place. As the saying goes, people get the kind of leadership they deserve. Follow-up must lead by example for good leadership to emerge.

The campaigns peaked before the general election. Do the candidates address critical issues that affect the lives of Nigerians?

The election and the campaign are another thing. They all make promises; there is not a lot of honesty during the election campaign. Even the party or candidate that doesn't get five percent of the vote will tell you that he or she will win. In reality, there are only two political parties: the APC and the PDP; the others know they are not strong. One of the APCs or PDPs will win, and APC will seem stronger.

Don't you think the country needs a change after trying both political parties?

We are used to the party system and no matter how popular you are, you should subscribe to our party system. For example, the chances of our dear Peter Obi are very slim. Our dear former president once tried that, he told us once that APC, PDP were no good and we needed something new. A lot of us had that feeling at the time, but people weren't lining up. So either you are on the left or on the right. The parties are no longer based on ideologies like in the good old days of Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikwe, when you know the conservatives, you know the liberals. Now people change easily. Today, a person is in APC, the next day, the person is in PDP. Once again, there is no seriousness in our political system. This is the infrastructure of the stomach. Things just don't work the way they should considering our years of independence. We have the resources, but the problem is how we manage those resources and we haven't done very well. Everyone thinks so himself. You can't keep thinking about yourself and not the country. For example, Americans think first of the United States. They obey the law and they are very proud to be Africans. Until Nigerians start thinking about Nigeria, we will stay where we are.

Is that why there are calls for restructuring...