DOCTORS OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT : WHO IS TO BLAME?

Its no longer news that the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) are on strike.The 20-day-old strike is due to the inability of the Federal Government to meet the demands of the association.


FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Top government officials has met with the representative of the Nigeria Medical Association to call off the strike in the various closed-door meeting they had. The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, insists that the Federal Government has met all the doctors' demands, which according to him led to the signing of two memoranda of understanding (MoU) at two separate meetings chaired by the Secretary to the Government, Anyim Pius Anyim.
  Chukwu challenged the association to a five-hour public debate with the Federal Government, for both side to clearly state the issues in contention. The Government was convinced that it has done is part.
  Contradicting what he said, in subsequent meetings it was reported that a key issue of discord was the N6.7bn arrears of benefit owed the doctors. The arrears sum up to N13bn when using their demand rate. With this development, the committee only agree to pay two month of the arrears out of the entire year. They promised that the other balance would be provided in the 2015 budget for appropriation by the National Assembly.

NIGERIA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
Improving the health sector is believed to be the goal of the doctors' association. Reducing the rate at which people travel oversea for medical attention. According to them, this can only be done when hospitals are provided with equipments and the medical personnel are well-paid (they will be happy to work). In their latest meeting, the representatives of the doctors refuse to shift ground after the Federal Government propose the payment of only two month arrears with the balance being added to next year's budget.

MY OPINION
Many people are dying because of this tug of war between the Federal Government and the Doctors. I think the Federal Government should fully meet the demands of the association. After many years they spent in school yet their wages cannot be compare with those in politics, which to my opinion is unfair. This signals the wrong thing to the youths, most of them aspiring to be a medical doctor may be forced to rethink and pursue a career with better pay which is solely politics in Nigeria.This is just my opinion, who do you think is to be blamed?