Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association in Osun State, Dr. Suraj Ogunyemi, tells TOBI AWORINDE that Governor Rauf Aregbesola is unresponsive to the pleas of doctors in the state
What was the basis for the doctors’ strike in Osun State?
We have
been on this issue for more than a year. The Osun State Government, sometime in August 2014, was unable to pay all the state workers. You are aware that he did not pay up to six or eight months’ salaries before they (Federal Government) gave him (Governor Rauf Aregbesola) the bailout. When he collected the bailout, what we expected him to do was to pay those people salaries. But instead of paying those people, he kept the money somewhere and started paying people half-salary, claiming that he had an agreement with the Nigerian Labour Congress to pay whatever he was able to pay until the economy of the state improves.
From July last year, he started paying half-salary and the doctors working with the state government started complaining that they would not accept half-salary from him. We wrote so many letters and gave so many ultimatums, which I am sure are in the public domain. We did that for almost a year before starting our strike in September (2015). And since September, we have been appealing. He paid half-salaryforJuly, August and September. The people (doctors) then decided to go on strike in September 2015. From October, he said he would stop their salaries and he did. He stopped the small portion of doctors’ salaries that he was paying; a fraction of what should have been paid in full in the first place. So, he stopped their salaries for November and December. Those are the issues, among other things.
What other issues are the doctors disgruntled about?
There are also the issues of poor working conditions and taxes. He is removing Federal Government taxes from their salaries even though he is paying whatever he feels he should pay; he is not paying (up to) Federal Government (doctors’) salaries. Then there is the issue of deductions. There are deductions for cooperatives and unions. The state government would remove money from the salaries and it would not credit the accounts of the beneficiaries, that is, the unions. That one he is also keeping. The pension scheme is another; he would take money (from salaries) but he would also not pay it to any pension scheme administrator.
When he became a governor, right from the word go, he has been planning to bring in Cuban doctors to come and practise in the state hospitals. All his efforts have been geared towards finding any opportunity to sack doctors, just to justify his insensitive intention of bringing doctors from Cuba. You can imagine; how can a governor in 21st Century Nigeria, in a ‘change’ environment, bring people from Cuba to come and manage our health care system? Is he taking us back to the colonial days? People that don’t understand our language or culture? But I know that no foreigner will practise in Nigeria without doing the qualifying exams of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. The MDCN will not allow that.
Those are the fundamental issues and we have said he should address those issues. Instead of addressing those issues, he is threatening that if they don’t resume by Monday, he will sack everybody. And we have told him that there is nothing like that; this is a democracy, not a dictatorship. Those are the issues at stake before the strike. We took our time; we have been patient enough, but he is just not willing to negotiate and cooperate.
What efforts have you made to dialogue with the state government?
We have written so many letters. On December 24, we were with him and he was still saying he did not have money. He said he did not have money; that the income from the revenue allocation account was so small, yet we are aware that he is also constructing roads, building schools and doing other capital projects. So, where do we go from here? If there is no money, as he claims, then he would not be embarking on projects and completing ongoing projects. Those are the issues. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. One cannot say they do not have money and at the same time, they are building schools and constructing roads, embarking on several capital projects and so on. That is what we are saying. We have met him twice and he is insisting that he does not have money; that people should just go back to work. Go back on an empty stomach?
Are you saying that his priorities are misplaced?
Exactly! It is lack of prioritisation on his part. I was even asking, ‘Okay, this percentage that you are paying, when do you want to pay the balance?’ He said he doesn’t have money, he is not owing anybody. Those are facts. It is the whole state, not just the doctors. But he has been able to cow all the other civil servants.It is (only) the doctors that refused to keep collecting half-salary. The doctors are the last people standing and we are ready to pursue our interests to a logical conclusion because we are in a democracy. You know we cannot do half-work and it is even a crime; a labourer deserves his wage.
Have you considered taking the matter to court?
We may have to consider that; we hope it doesn’t get to that level, but if he (Aregbesola) continues his hard-line posture, we may be forced to take that line (of action).
Are you saying if he sacks the state doctors by Monday, you will, for certain, take legal action?
Apart from going to court, we will use civil disobedience, I must let you know. We have now put all doctors in the South-West and Nigeria on alert. We will mobilise; we have the capacity to mobilise all doctors in the South-West to come and join us in Osogbo to resist all this intimidation and harassment. And all affiliate bodies in the state may join the strike; all the hospitals, public and private, may be forced to embark on the strike, to sympathise with their colleagues who are working with the state government.
What do you say to the Osun State Government’s claim that the doctors are insensitive to the masses for abandoning their duty posts in the hospitals while other state health workers hold the fort at work?
We appeal to the masses to bear with us and to appeal to the state governor to toe the line of dialogue and negotiation and that he (Aregbesola) should negotiate with the doctors that are on strike so that we can bring this unfortunate crisis to an amicable resolution as soon as possible.
What about the people whose lives would have been lost as a result of the strike?
You have to hold the state government responsible for that. They claim that the hospitals are working; the state government will have to take responsibility because we took our time; we warned, begged and appealed to them that they should not allow these things to degenerate any further. But instead of them dialoguing, they are taking a hard-line position. It is the state government that will bear the responsibilities. It is quite unfortunate, but that is the way the state government wants to run the state.
Is it true that the government sent a number of prominent indigenes to dialogue with the doctors in order to find a middle ground?
We have not seen anybody. All of them agree; they know what the state government is doing is not right. We are the ones who told the government to do the needful. Hopefully by next week (this week), when push comes to shove, we may find a solution. When it comes down to an eyeball-to-eyeball situation, we may be forced to take an unpleasant decision. The truth of the matter is, a lot of people are dying — pensioners and other civil servants. That is the reality. We need more pressure on the state government so that it can reason with all of us and negotiate with the doctors, so that we can reach an agreement and this issue is resolved as soon as possible.
Is there any indication that the governor has cut his salary or allowances, reduced his motorcade, or embarked on any other form of austerity measures?
There is no austerity measure that he is taking. If you get to Osogbo, go to the state House of Assembly and you will see a lot of reconstruction of the roads. We are aware that vehicles are being bought for House of Assembly members and political appointees. So where is the austerity? Austerity for poor people? People that are already under austere conditions? If one comes to equity, one must come with clean hands. There is no austerity among them. It is only the poor masses that are experiencing the austerity. I believe he is just using the civil servants’ salaries to do projects. This is not fair.
The Federal Government demanded accountability in the expenditure of the bailout funds when they were paid out to affected states. Do you think the Presidency needs to step in to quell this crisis?
Yes, we appeal to the Federal Government to call him (Aregbesola) to order, so that he does not throw the state into unnecessary crisis. The greatest insecurity that we have in Nigeria is unemployment and when you have employed people that are not paid, it is terrorism. If one doesn’t pay people’s salaries, it is terrorism; that is the truth, and it is the greatest insecurity we have in Nigeria, because a hungry man is an angry man. We appeal to the Federal Government to come to the aid of civil servants in the state to appeal to the state government to kindly pay people’s salaries as at when due and negotiate with agitating doctors.
Source Punch NG