The Association of Resident Doctors of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, has demanded the release of their colleague Dr Ganiyat Popoola, as well as the 20 medical students from the University of Jos and Maiduguri who were abducted on Thursday along the Otukpa-Otukpo-Enugu Road in Benue State.
The doctors led by their President, Dr Olusola Monehin made the demand during a peaceful protest held within the hospital premises on Monday.
The protesters were seen with banners and placards with inscriptions reading, “FG must help bring back Dr Ganiyat Popoola, “We demand the release of Dr Popoola now”, ”The security agencies should help free Dr Popoola”, among others.
They lamented that Dr Popoola was a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna, before her abduction last year December alongside her husband and seven-year-old nephew.
According to reports, while her husband was released in March, the doctor and her nephew remained in the possession of their kidnappers.
Dr Monehin, while urging the appropriate authorities to act fast, stressed that the country’s insecurity challenge is worsening.
“Here is a woman contributing her quota to qualitative health care delivery in the country, serving people with all her passion and over seven months after her abduction, we have not seen her return together with her nephew.
“And just on Thursday, another 20 medical students of the University of Jos were waylaid and abducted in Benue. This goes to show that the insecurity challenge is not getting better. We are therefore calling on the appropriate authority to act fast.
“The security efforts should double up their efforts to get these Nigerians out of the gulag of these criminals. We are on our knees begging the government to act fast and do all that is necessary to free Dr Popoola and the 20 medical students”.
Speaking on the ongoing strike in the hospital over payment disparity, Dr Monehin called on notable indigenes of the state to prevail on the governor, Dapo to accede to their demands.
He said “this strike, though regrettable it is to help in delivering qualitative healthcare to the residents of the state or how much can we do when the few doctors that remain in the government-owned health facilities are also moving out to other neighbouring states, Babcock University Hospital among others because of remuneration?
“What we are demanding is an upward review of our CONMESS salary and this is something that we have been talking about since last year. We have other states like Lagos and others that have implemented it. We are saying that our earnings with doctors in federal government establishments and others must be the same.
“This is how we can retain the few hands that have not embraced “japa syndrome”, a term we popularly use for people travelling abroad to seek greener pastures because of poor remuneration, poor welfare and stifling working environment”.
