– FG signs manpower deal with St. Lucia to send Nigerian professionals abroad
– NMA reacts bitterly, says local doctors are underpaid while exported ones earn over N110M annually
– WHO data reveals Nigeria has just 3.8 doctors per 10,000 people, far below the global average
Naija Blog reports that the Federal Government of Nigeria has signed a new Technical Manpower Assistance Agreement with St. Lucia, allowing Nigeria to send professionals—including doctors, teachers, agriculturists, and nurses—to the Caribbean island for a two-year voluntary service programme.
The announcement was made on Wednesday, July 3, by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy.
Nigeria Sends Nurses to Jamaica, Doctors to Grenada
Yusuf Buba Yakub, the Director General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (TAC), signed the agreement on behalf of the president.
“Since my appointment in August, we’ve deployed volunteers to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, and others. Four nurses are leaving for Jamaica, and six doctors are flying to Grenada by July 9,” Yakub disclosed.
He praised President Tinubu for reviving the programme which he said was previously dormant, saying it would strengthen South-South cooperation and reconnect Nigeria with African-Caribbean nations.
NMA Blasts FG: “Doctors Are Starving, Yet You Export Us?”
In a fiery reaction on Thursday, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) condemned the move as tone-deaf and dangerous, accusing the government of systemic neglect of healthcare workers at home.
“This announcement comes at a time when Nigerian doctors are grappling with poor salaries, withheld allowances, and a salary circular that undermines their welfare,” the NMA said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Nigerian Doctors Paid N12M, Exported Ones Earn Over N110M
A salary comparison by the NMA and findings by FIJ Nigeria show a shocking disparity.
Doctors in Nigeria (under 2024 CONMESS):
Level 7, Step 11 = ₦11.9 million/yearSt. Lucia Quality Assurance Manager (2021 job listing):
$73,901/year = ₦110 million/year (at ₦1,500/$ exchange rate)
This means doctors deployed abroad under FG’s technical exchange are earning over 9 times more than those working in Nigerian hospitals.
WHO Data: Nigeria Has Too Few Doctors to Spare
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a healthy country should have 2.5 medical workers per 1,000 people.
Nigeria currently has just 3.8 per 10,000, while St. Lucia had 42.3 per 10,000 in 2020.
Despite this alarming shortfall, Nigeria is sending doctors abroad — a move critics say may further worsen the ongoing brain drain in the medical sector.
Nigerians React
Here’s how some Nigerians reacted online:
@NaijaPulseDoctor: “Imagine starving your own doctors and exporting them like commodities. Tinubu’s govt doesn’t care.”
@AdaOnyeoma: “This is wickedness. My uncle has been on strike with no pay, and they are sending others to go enjoy life in the Caribbean.”
@IamDrLeke: “This isn’t a volunteer mission. It’s an elite escape plan disguised as diplomacy. Our hospitals are empty!”
