Following Emmanuel Ajibulu’s widely circulated article “Inside Nigeria’s Hospitals: Pray Never to Fall Sick”, U.S.-based Nigerian physician, Dr. John Mabayoje, has issued a powerful response, calling for urgent and radical reforms to Nigeria’s failing healthcare system.
Dr. Mabayoje, in his detailed reaction, emphasized that Nigeria’s health crisis can be corrected if “the right moves are made.” He proposed the establishment of a National 911 Emergency Policy, modeled after the U.S. system, to provide predictable funding and ensure critical diagnostic equipment is installed in at least one facility per local government.
He further urged the restructuring of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) into six geopolitical zones, allowing each zone to develop tailored emergency programs and engage Nigerian medical professionals in the diaspora. “One national office for physician licensing is counterproductive and has outlived its usefulness,” Mabayoje declared, stressing that decentralization would improve efficiency and accountability.
Highlighting the need for a proper Faculty of Emergency Medicine within the Nigerian and West African Postgraduate Medical Colleges, Mabayoje insisted that ancillary professionals such as X-ray technicians, ultrasound technicians, respiratory technicians, and operating room technicians must be fast-tracked to strengthen emergency response capacity.
He also criticized the politicization of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), noting that some of Nigeria’s most effective Ministers of Health were non-physicians, while the best physician to hold the role remains Dr. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti. “What we have now is not working, and some radical changes are needed,” he warned.
Dr. Mabayoje concluded with a sobering reflection: “There is no safety net for the Nigerian people. With a 911 system in place, predictable funds for planning will come in every month. You are right, Emmanuel—pray not to get ill in Nigeria today.”
Ajibulu, an Ondo State-born infopreneur, writer, and Editor-in-Chief of Veracity Desk, had earlier lamented the dire state of Nigeria’s hospitals, citing chronic underfunding and preventable deaths. His article sparked widespread debate, now amplified by Mabayoje’s call for systemic change.
