Olusegun Mimiko, a former governor of Ondo, has said Nigerians will soon be left in the hands of “babalawo” or herbalists (native doctors) if an urgent step is not taken on the continued brain drain in the country.

“If we continue at this rate, in another five to 10 years, only the ‘babalawos’, ‘herbalists’ (native doctors) will be available to take care of us,” Mr Mimiko said.

Recall that the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) had raised the alarm at the rate at which medical practitioners, particularly doctors, are leaving the country for other countries with better remuneration.

The association said poor salaries and a lack of a conducive working environment forced many medical doctors and health workers to leave Nigeria.

Uche Ojinmah, the national president of NMA, specifically said that Nigeria is now battling with its worst situation of brain drain in history, noting that no fewer than 10,296 Nigerian-trained doctors are currently practising in the United Kingdom.

But speaking on Saturday, Mr Mimiko said the health sector is currently in a “state of emergency,” and the Nigerian government needed to urgently find a lasting solution to the mass exodus of medical personnel.

He observed a situation where doctors and other health workers trained at a subsidised rate in Nigeria would later abandon the same country for developed countries.

According to Mr Mimiko, Nigeria may only have native doctors to turn to for treatment if the medical doctors continue to leave the country in droves.

“It calls for huge concern because it is an emergency, and the government must see it as an emergency. The government must disincentivise the rate at which our medical doctors and personnel emigrate from this country.

“We cannot continue to hold this nation unaccountable. We can take advantage of the opportunity for our professionals to learn new skills. I don’t think any serious government can fold its arms while other countries decide to empty its human resources, especially in the health sector,” Mr Mimiko said at the induction ceremony of medical students of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), in Ondo.

While noting that Nigeria is a great country blessed with talents, he said the country has “an incredibly young population that is ready to serve their father’s land if the government put in place adequate measures that would see to their welfare.

“This country has the capacity to train two million to three million students, but those countries that stand at that end to benefit from this training must also do something to expand our capacity to train our people.

“The government must take it up at a very high diplomatic level. We cannot fold our arms and allow all our best human resources to leave this country. It is like a war situation. But I know one thing for sure: if the government does the necessary things, it can be a win-win situation for us as a nation,” the former governor, who is also a medical doctor, added.