The Federal Government of Nigeria recently rolled out its plan to appoint retired healthcare professionals in an attempt to address the deficiency of manpower in the health sector. This was partly brought upon by the massive exodus of healthcare professionals out of the country. The offer of contract jobs to ‘qualified and deserving’ retirees may be a politically convenient alternative to the agitation for review of the current retirement age upwards, by up to five years.

Regardless, it is not a tenable approach to solving the problems at hand. As a matter of fact, such intervention will worsen the human resources problems of the health sector in the context that this article attempts to describe.

The actual consequences of Japa on the country are currently elusive. But in a few years, several sectors of the economy will show characteristic patterns of decline if the trend is not reversed. Moreso, in the health sector. Healthcare delivery is such that relies on continued learning of the workforce to better improve patient care. These learning points are successively passed down to professional cadres in a manner that ensures that vital lessons learned in a generation of healthcare delivery are not lost. It is the assessment of these lessons that facilitates major improvements in service delivery.

Consequently, a break in the chain of handovers creates a deficit not only for the present but also for the future. Here in lies the problem with Japa, a gap is being created today with far-reaching consequences among which is the emergence of an incompetent workforce. In other words, a gap such as this can only be filled by a similar crop of healthcare workers.

This new policy by the government is bad for a number of other reasons. First is that it will lead to congestion of the sector with unessential workers. Most senior cadre professionals in the health sector rarely perform on-the-ground clinical activities. Consequently, many healthcare workers end their careers in an administrative or policy-making role.

Therefore, many retirees coming back into the workforce will likely return to these roles, which are important but do not meet the pressing needs of the sector. Which is an effective workforce comprised of professionals on the frontline of healthcare delivery. So bringing retirees back will simply put more pressure on the wage bill leading to undue and unproductive spending.

Furthermore, it will likely deny the current workforce the opportunity to fully express their career ambitions. Since their growth is now being stifled by people who are overstaying the terms.

In addition, healthcare delivery is a dynamic conundrum that continues to evolve, relying on novel approaches to deal with contemporary challenges. Filling up the space with retirees will prevent advancements from happening. The system may get stuck in ancient and archaic practices that will stagnate it and render it irrelevant. It requires a workforce that is familiar with contemporary practices and is able to further explore them for growth. In order words, A young, vibrant workforce that is equipped to drive innovations.

Moreover, a scheme such as this is susceptible to exploitation by unscrupulous managers for their selfish gains. For example, many contract jobs do not follow due process and are usually shrouded in controversy. The scheme will naturally become another hole in the reservoir of the government’s resources leading to incredible losses and further worsening of corrupt practices.

The people leaving the country are doing so for a number of reasons. The trend of massive exodus may be reversed, and some that have left may even come back if those issues are resolved. This includes, but is unlimited to, poor living conditions in the country, hostile work conditions with absolutely no concern for workers’ well-being, and lack of growth and fulfillment in career. In the sector, bureaucracy and corrupt practices continue to thrive, stifling talent and innovation. This failed system must be thoroughly reformed because the emergency patch-patch approach is insufficient.

Finally, the designers of this policy should have a rethink. The problem is not simple addition and subtraction, so proffered solutions must have multiplying effects if gloomy predictions about the healthcare sector will not be fulfilled.

Efforts should be made to improve conditions of service that allow for growth and career fulfilment. The training capacity of training institutions must be increased through appropriate and adequate funding. These basic principles are essential for the survival of the health sector in these times. Anything short of these is perhaps, a waste of time.

Joshua Opanike is a fellow of the Millennium Campus Network of the United Nations Academic Impact.