Opinion
Primary Health Workers’ Strike: People React
Prince Ibinabo Lazarus – Primary Health Worker
We initially demanded the formation of Primary Health Care Management Board because of unfair treatment meted on Primary Health workers by local government councils in terms of salaries and other entitlements due us.
Now that the National Assembly is trying to make local governments autonomous, let’s hope the councils can manage the health workers and health facilities since all money payable to the board must come to an end.
So, our demands have been made known to the state government which includes the implementation of the consolidated salary structure; promotion of senior staff, implementation of last promotion exercise, among others.
And the workers have resolved that we are not going back to work until all our demands are met. Health workers in local governments should be treated like their counterparts in the state. A situation where there is disparities in the salaries of health workers of the same level who are working in the same facility, simply because one is employed by the state government and the other by the local government is unacceptable.
It is my sincere wish that the state government meets our demands so that we can go back to work so as to avoid the devastating effects the strike might have on the state. Already, there is collapse of the free medical system and increased morbidity rate. I want to advice mothers not to go for vaccination at the Primary Healthcare centres because the vaccines are no longer potent.
We are appealing to well meaning citizens of the state to persuade government to grant us our demands. We are merely asking for our rights. And as far as I am concerned, Primary Health Care Service deliveries have collapsed in the state. Clients and beneficiaries should seek for service deliveries in the secondary and tertiary sectors.
Mr Robert Ibiso – Health worker.
Government knows the conditions we gave. If the conditions are met, we have no excuse whatsoever not to go back to work. We are willing to serve the populace at any time but government should give us our due right and treat us the way we deserve. I know too well that the incumbent governor of Rivers State may not do much about the on-going strike.
For now people are still benefiting from some of our health care service deliveries despite the industrial action. But you cannot compare what is going on there with the services we provide. We were trained for this job. We were trained to carry out some services in our health facilities in order to contain the spread of contagious diseases like cholera, measles and others. Today, go to Pott Johnson, Church Hill and other health centres and you will discover that immunisation and other health service deliveries are bequeathed to our clients even though we are on strike. You can imagine the caliber of quacks used for this.
Perhaps, this is the reason government is dilly-dallying over the implementation of our rightful requests. But this might lead to a big health problem in the state if not handled urgently.
Mrs Veronica – Nurse
The health workers are demanding their right on the grounds that they have not been promoted for the past eight years without a cogent reason. There has been no employment of new technical staff to replace those who have left the service by retirement, resignation or death. Workers are not being paid their due salaries.
Nevertheless, there seems to be confusion among the health workers currently. There are those who feel oppressed by the local government council, for not effecting their demands but at the same time prefer to remain with the local government areas after the Primary Health Care Management Board was mandated to deduct the money from source and take over the payment of their salaries and other demands.
Another set of the health workers is comfortable with the arrangement by which the Primary Health Care Board, takes over the payment of their wages and allowances, though they have other demands.
The beneficiaries of the primary health care service deliveries should braze up for harder days ahead because I don’t see this tussle ending soon. The poor masses are beginning to feel the impact of the strike because immunisation rate had dropped in the state. More people are dying.
I advise that the public should appeal to the government to implement the demands of the striking workers so that they can go back to work. Their services are very essential especially to those in the rural areas who cannot assess secondary and tertiary health institutions and those who cannot afford private hospitals.
However, I will also tell the public to seek for healthcare services from the private hospitals or abroad (for those that can afford it) because the level of our health care systems is now zero.
Grace Moses – Applicant
The industrial Action embarked upon by Primary Health Workers is unfortunate and detrimental. They are punishing the poor masses. The situation could be likened to where two elephants are fighting and the grasses are suffering.
Go to some health centers in the state and see how people are suffering. Antenatal and other bills have been increased unprecedentedly. Mothers are made to pay for things and services they ought not to pay for. Indeed the strike is causing a great hardship for everyone in our state especially pregnant women, mothers and their babies.
My sister-in-law is pregnant. She has not been going for antenatal care because the workers are not there to attend to them. For some times now, she has been having some pains, but she keeps enduring the pain at home since she can’t not afford health care services in the private sector and that can force her to seek for health care services from traditional birth attendances though she detests it.
So, government should please do something about this strike before people begin to die unnecessarily.
Annonymous – Medical Doctor
The issue is that politicians do not value the services of health workers. Every administration that comes on board treats health workers in the local government as if they are no human beings. Look at my office, I am a medical doctor and a director in the civil service, can you compare this office with that of another director in another department in this local government or even in the state? The neglect and marginalisation is too much and I don’t know why. Health workers are the last to receive their salaries and allowances. Meanwhile the council chairmen are busy embezzling this money. For more than eight years, there has not been employment in the primary health sector yet people have retired, some have died, many have resigned. We are grossly understaff. Yet wehen the workers labour to serve the public, they will not be paid, nor will they be promoted along with other workers in the local government.
As a director you cannot sanction an erring staff under you because you have no control over her salaries and allowances. The number of health workers is over bloated by the councils who make money from the large number of ghost workers.
That is why NULGE and a few health workers who are benefitting from the corrupt system are fighting against the establishment of the Primary Health Management Board. They are jittery that with the board paying workers’ salaries and allowances they will no longer make their millions. The board is there to strengthen the Primary Health Sector in State, cater for the welfare of the health workers and at the same time make sure that the workers sit up and carry out their duties as they should and some enemies of progress are kicking against it. The State government has built over a hundred health centres in different parts of the state. Tell me how can the local governments manage these health institutions? The state government in its wisdom, set up the Primary Health Management Board to take charge of these health centres to make sure that the health centres are alive and active even when Amaechi’s tenure elapses.
So, for me, government should not go back on the promise of transferring health workers salaries from the local government councils to the Primary Healthcare Management Board. It is in the best interest of the generality of the workers and the public.
I will also urge government to attend to other demands of the genuine striking workers vis-à-vis the payment of CONHESS arrears from March 2011 to June 2014; payment of HAPPS arrears; payment of 38 months unified salary structure arrears for health workers in the 23 local government areas; implementation of the last senior staff promotion among others.
When this is done, the real health workers will go back to work and things will normalise.
Mr Micheal Nnadi- Student
For me I am not feeling the impact of the strike, maybe because I don’t patronize the primary health care services or any government hospital at all. I prefer private clinics, though they are expensive, they give you quality service.
However, I don’t buy this idea of workers down tooling every now and then. Our country is becoming a country of daily strike actions and I don’t think it is good for the image of the country. The health workers should think of other ways of ironing out their differences with the government instead of punishing the poor patients. They should stop being selfish and think of the interest of those who depend on their services.
On the other hand, those in authority should try and be more responsible and reasonable. They should take workers welfare as their priority. How much are these workers even asking for? Is it half of the amount our leaders spend on politics and other frivolous ventures. I am quite sure that if our leaders do not steal public fund, there will be enough money for all sectors of the economy.
So government and the striking workers should settle their differences and stop making life more miserable for the poor.
Nigeria, often referred to as the “Giant of Africa”, is endowed with vast natural resources,
a large population and a youthful workforce.
Despite these advantages, the country faces persistent economic challenges, most notably high unemployment rates over the years. Successive governments remain a central issue contributing to poverty, social unrest, and underdevelopment. The economic wellbeing of a nation is significantly tied to her employment levels.
In Nigeria’s case, high unemployment has become a key driver of its poor economic performance affecting everything from productivity and income levels to crime and political instability.
Unemployment in Nigeria has assumed a multidimensional nature, characterised not just by joblessness but also underemployment, informal employment and precarious working conditions.
The Nigeria National Bureau of Statistic (NBS) said the youth with over 60 percent of Nigeria’s population under the age of 30 percent youth unemployment is a time bomb threatening the nation’s future.
Many graduates leave universities and polytechnics annually with little or no hope of securing decent jobs.
This structural unemployment is the result of a mismatch between skills and labour market needs, inadequate industrialisation, and a weak private sector.
Unemployment affects an economy in numerous direct and indirect ways.
In Nigeria, it leads to a reduced consumer base, when large sections of the population are not earning steady incomes, they have limited purchasing power which in turn affects the production and growth of businesses. Companies produce less, invest less and hire fewer people, leading to a vicious cycle of low economic growth.
Moreover, high unemployment translates to lower tax revenue for the government with fewer people paying taxes. The government has fewer resources to fund infrastructure, education, healthcare, and other public services that stimulate economic development.
This fiscal weakness forces Nigeria to rely heavily on foreign loans, which leads to rising debt levels and economic vulnerability.
Furthermore, infrastructure deficits including inadequate power supply, poor road networks and limited access to credit make it difficult for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to thrive, yet SMEs are the bedrock of employment in many developed nations. Nigeria’s weak support for SMEs stifles innovation and job creation.
Another tragic consequence of high unemployment is the mass exodus of Nigerian talent to foreign countries in search of better opportunities. The brain drain weakens the country’s human capital base and deprives it of professionals who could contribute meaningfully to national development.
The “Japa” phenomenon-a slang used to describe young Nigerians fleeing the country reflects deep disillusionment with the system. Doctors, nurses, software engineers and other professionals are leaving in droves. The cost of training these individuals is absorbed by Nigeria, but their expertise benefits foreign economics. This dynamic further deepens the economic challenges as the country loses its best and brightest minds.
Addressing unemployment in Nigeria requires a multifaceted approach, first.
Secondly, industrialisation must be prioritised. The government should create an enabling environment for local manufacturing by improving infrastructure, reducing Bureaucratic bottlenecks and offering tax incentives reviving the agricultural sector with modern techniques and supply chains can also absorb a significant portion of the unemployed.
Thirdly, Governments at all levels must be held accountable for implementing job creation programmes transparently and effectively. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) should be encouraged to drive innovations and employment in ICT, renewable energy and logistics.
Finally, Nigeria must diversify its economy away from crude oil and invest in sectors that generate mass employment. Tourism, education, healthcare and creative industries such as film and music hold immense unlapped potential.
With genuine commitment from leaders, strong institutions and the active participation of the private sector and civil society, Nigeria can turn the tide on unemployment and chart a path toward sustainable economic prosperity.
Idorenyi, an intern with The Tide, is a student of Temple Gate Polytechnic
Abia State.
Biana Idorenyin
April 25 every year is World Malaria Day. It was instituted by the World Health Assembly in 2007, “to highlight the progress made in Malaria control, the ongoing challenges that persist and the urgent need for sustained investment and innovation”. This year’s theme, “Malaria Ends with Us: Reinvest, Reimagine and Reignite”, is apt considering the loss of lives incurred and money spent to treat and prevent Malaria. The theme is a clarion-call to intentionally end the malaria scourge through robust commitment of human and financial resources.
That is why one of the best policies, of the suspended Sir Siminalayi Fubara’s administration in Rivers State, was the avowed commitment to check the malaria menace and its multiplier consequences on the residents of the State, through its “Free Malaria Testing and Treatment” innovation.
Rivers State is a microcosm of Nigeria in terms of residents; thus the secularity of the State makes the programme’s beneficiary all-inclusive.
No doubt, the Rivers State Government has by this initiative reinforced value placement on the lives of the people, especially the less-privileged in the State. Residents in Rivers State can now be tested and treated free for Malaria in any Rivers State Government- owned hospitals and healthcare centres across the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State. This is a lofty and laudable programme because of the prohibitive cost of malaria drugs and conducting tests at a time majority of Nigerians hardly have a meal to eat, because of the prevailing economic hardship in the country.
Malaria and Typhoid, according to medical and health statisticians are the commonest ailments people suffer as a result of dirty environment, absence of good drainage, lack of potable water. The State Government’s Malaria programme is, therefore, not just a big financial relief but also a life-saver for the teeming poverty-ridden population of Nigeria resident in Rivers State.
According to statistics reeled out by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, “Globally, there are an estimated 249million malaria cases and 608,000 malaria deaths among 85 countries”. Such reports leave much to be desired in a nation so blessed with natural resources and manpower. This is why the Rivers State Government should be commended for defying the huge financial implications to drive the lofty programme for Nigerians and foreigners in Rivers State who are availed the privilege of accessing the largesse in all State Government health and medical facilities.
As the Rivers State Government deemed it necessary to initiate the Free Malaria Testing and Treatment programme, nothing stops the Federal Government from doing the same. But even with abounding natural and human resources in unimaginable quantity in Nigeria, Malaria programmes are either grossly underfunded, or funds for the programmes are misappropriated or embezzled with impunity.
In Nigeria, malaria is one of the leading causes of death of children under the age of six and pregnant women. Malaria is a nightmare in Nigeria so much so that price of its drugs and treatment have skyrocketed like a phoenix and outrageously outside the reach of the teeming less privileged citizens of Nigeria. The situation was so alarming that the National Assembly, in 2023 urged the Federal Government to declare Malaria an emergency in Nigeria as a matter of urgent national interest. I am not sure that has been done by the Federal Government because it seems to be in the interest of the common citizens.
Experts have recommended new approaches to fighting the malaria epidemic in Nigeria which seems to have defied continuous attempts to reduce the Malaria burden in Nigeria to zero.
According to a Senior Associate at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public.Health, Soji Adeyi, Nigeria should begin to increase internal funding.for malaria elimination.
According to him,, “Each year reliance on external funding needs to be reduced. I looked at the summary of Malaria reports from 2008 till now and what has been common is the complaint about the lack of funding. If this is a recurring problem, what should be done is to find a new approach “.
In his view, Abdu Muktar, National Coordinator of the Presidential Healthcare Initiative, called for the local production and manufacturing of medical supplies as well as reducing Nigeria’s dependence on drugs imports.
According to him, the local production of anti-malaria and.related.medication will consider.the peculiarity of the country’s terrain, population and burden and.would improve access to effective treatment.
For his part, the regional. Director of World Health Organisation (WHO), African Region, Matshiddiso Moretti, advised Nigeria to accelerate its efforts to end Malaria by relying on adequate data for the implementation of health policies.
Malaria is an epidemic more devastating than the dreaded HIV/AIDS. Malaria triggers high blood pressure and places HIV/AIDS patients on a critical condition. The Federal and sub-national governments should therefore declare Malaria an emergency and prioritise attention to its treatment, production and importation of drugs and vaccines to stem the malaria menace.
The Federal Government should also improve incentives and remuneration of medical and health workers to end their exodus abroad in droves, for greener pastures.
Igbiki Benibo
The traditional institution is as old as human society. It predates the advent of modern organised society. Before the emergence of modern justice system of dispute resolution and political system of administration, the traditional institution has existed long ago. In fact, it was so revered and regarded as sacred because of the mythological conviction that it was the “stool of the ancestors”. Consequently, judgment given was deified as many people especially the traditionalists believe it was the mind of the gods revealed. Perversion of justice , in the pre-modern justice system was alien and considered uncommon. Chiefs and traditional rulers though may not have generated knowledge formally (through the four walls of a classroom), yet they embody and exemplify knowledge. They hold fast the virtue of integrity and honour, fairness and relative impartiality, partly because they believed that the stool they occupy was ancestral and traditional as act of indiscretion can court the wrath of the gods at whose behest they are on the traditional saddle of authority.
The Compass of Life stated unequivocally that “the throne is preserved by righteousness”. Where righteousness, integrity and honesty are savoured,and valued, perversion and miscarriage of justice is an anomaly. The judgments of traditional rulers and chiefs were hardly appealed against because they were founded on objectivity, fairness, truth and facts beyond primordial sentiment and inordinate interests or pecuniary benefits. Judgments were precedent. Traditional rulers and chiefs, therefore carved a niche for themselves, earning the respect of, and endearing themselves to the heart of their subjects. Is it the same today? Some traditional rulers and chiefs are administering their communities in exile; they are diasporic leaders because they have lost the confidence of the people through self-serving, raising of cult group for self-preservation, land grabbing and other flagrant corrupt practices.
When truth is not found in the traditional institution that, in my considered view, constitutes the grassroots government, then crisis is inevitable.In most African societies before advent of the Christian Faith, and consequent Christening of the traditional stools in many communities in recent times, ascent to the traditional institution was a function of a traditional method of selection. It was believed that the gods make the selection. And whoever emerges from the divination processes eventually is crowned as the king of the people after performing the associated rituals.Whoever lacked the legitimacy to sit on the throne but wanted to take it forcefully, traditionalists believed died mysteriously or untimely. Traditional rulers wielded much influence and power because of the authority inherent in the stool, the age of the person designated for the stool notwithstanding. The word of the king was a law, embodied power. Kings so selected are forthright, accountable, transparent, men of integrity, did not speak from both sides of the mouth, could not be induced with pecuniary benefits to pervert justice, they feared the gods of their ancestors and were consecrated holistically for the purpose dictated by the pre and post coronation rituals.
Some of those crowned king were very young in those days, but they ruled the people well with the fear of the gods. There was no contention over who is qualified to sit or who is not qualified to. It was the prerogative of the gods. And it was so believed and upheld with fear.Kings were natural rulers, so they remained untouchable and could not be removed by a political government. If a king committed an offence he was arrested and prosecuted according to the provision of the law. But they have immunity from sack or being dethroned because they are not political appointees. However, the people at whose behest he became king reserved the power to remove him if found guilty of violating oath of stool. The traditional institution is actually the system of governance nearest to the people. And kings were the chief security officers of their communities. So indispensable are the roles of kings and traditional rulers to the peaceful co-existence of their people, ensuring that government policies and Programmes were seamlessly spread to the people that many people are clamouring for the inclusion of definite and specific roles in the Constitution for the traditional institution.
Traditional rulers are fathers to every member of their domain. So they are not expected to discriminate, show favouritism. By their fatherly position traditional rulers, though can not be apolitical, are also expected to be immune from partisan politics. This is because as one who presides over a great house where people of different political divide or interest belong, an open interest for a political party means ostracisation of other members of the family which could lead to disrespect, conflict of interest, wrangling and anarchy. Traditional rulers are supposed to be selfless, preferring the interest of their people above their personal interests following the consciousness that they are stewards whose emergence remains the prerogative of the people. The position is essentially for service and not for personal aggrandisement and ego massaging. So they should hold the resources of the people in trust. However, in recent past the traditional institution has suffered denigration because of unnecessary emotional attachment to political parties and political leaders. Some traditional rulers and kings have shown complete disregard to the principle of neutrality because of filthy lucre and pecuniary gains, at the expense of the stool and people they lead. Sadly some traditional rulers have been influenced to pervert justice: giving justice to the offender who is rich against the poor.
Traditional leaders should be reminded that the “throne is preserved by righteousness”, not by political chauvinism, favouritism, or materialism.Traditional rulers should earn their deserved respect from political leaders by refusing the pressure to be subservient, beggarly, sycophantic and docile. Traditional leaders have natural and permanent leadership system, unlike the political leadership that is transient and tenured.They should be partners with every administration in power and should not be tied to the apron string of past leaders whose activities are aversive to the incumbent administration and thereby constituting a clog in the development of the State and the community they are to woo infrastructure development to. It is unpardonable error for a traditional ruler to have his conscience mortgaged for benefits he gets inordinately from any government.It is necessary to encourage kings and traditional rulers to not play the roles of stooges and clowns for the privileged few, political leaders. Political leaders are products of the people, even as every government derives its legitimacy from the people.
No doubt, the roles of traditional rulers are so necessary that no political or military government can operate to their exclusion. This is why the 10th National Assembly mulled the inclusion of Traditional institution in the proposed amendment of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.Traditional rulers and chiefs should, therefore, be and seen to be truthful, forthright, bold, courageous, honest and people of integrity, not evasive, cunning, unnecessarily diplomatic and economical with truth.The time to restore the dignity of the traditional institution is now but it must be earned by the virtuous disposition of traditional rulers and chiefs.
Igbiki Benibo