HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MY NATION – a submission by Oluwatomisin Adebayo

Sochi was my next-door neighbor; we were neighbors for almost two years, and we grew to
be good friends. One of the things that drew us together is the love we both have for our
country, Nigeria. I have never seen anybody so passionate about the country as he is always
looking for ways he can contribute to the development of the country no matter how minute,
but he left for Canada a few weeks ago. He didn’t even tell me he was leaving the country
and I got to know he left a week after he got to his new abode — he probably felt I would be
so disappointed; he was right.
Sochi is one of the hundreds of thousands of young patriots that have given up on Nigeria
and jumped ship in search of greener pastures, and it is not hard to see why they are all
dissenting the country like a sinking ship.
Nigeria is the most populated African nation, the seventh most populated country on earth —
based on Worldometer, the present population of Nigeria is 220,075,973. The country is full
of bright minds and is filled to the brim with potentials other countries in the world look at with
admiring glances but all these potentials are left to rot or under-explored. The major
problems that have plagued the country and limited its ability to attain its true potential are
primarily corruption and this has had a devastating effect on all the key sectors in the country
including; education, health, security, politics and government, and more.
Hence, in contributing to her development, I will address the healthcare sector. Going to the
hospital as a little girl was never a thing of joy for me. Even if I was badly sick, I prefer to be
treated at home than to be left in the care of angry nurses. Yes! hostile health staff was the
first thing I noticed about my nation’s health system, and I felt something was wrong. It
seems to me that some of the staff are not happy with their job, so why force themselves into
the system and pass the aggression on to the patient? Fixing and making a positive impact
on my nation’s health system has been a childhood dream that I will see come true. The
health system in Nigeria is poor and needs immediate fixing.
The healthcare system in Nigeria is ranked the fourth worst in the world according to the
World Health Organisation survey. Due to a lack of investment, the system has collapsed. I
will say, some people should still be alive if our health system has not gone south. What do I
mean? In the case of a sudden road accident or heart attack, and the victims are urgently in
need of an ambulance, we don’t have any ambulance service or emergency services in this
nation.
More also, a lack of vital infrastructure, and medical equipment. With your money in Nigeria,
you may not be able to get adequate health care. Even some private hospitals are forced to
close up due to a lack of medical equipment, funding, a low-skilled workforce, and more.
How do I intend to address this issue?
First, I will take trips to countries, where their health system seems to be working. My major
focus will be on health information, service delivery, financing, medical products, health
workforce, and leadership and governance.
As much as I may not have full control over some aspects like leadership and governance. I
will make sure Nigerians are fully informed about health via social media. I will build a
hospital that has a quality framework.