I think this man Aremu's insensitivity is getting out of hand. Why is he mocking about with the lives of the citizenry? Why does he find it almost impossible to sit down and talk? I found the following report highly disturbing. My final question is this: Pray, is Olusegun Aremu obasanjo on drugs?

The Guardian Online - http://ngrguardiannews.com
Monday, June 4, 2001
Doctors blame strike on government's insensitivity

From Chukwudi Abiandu, Benin

EDO State Branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has called on Nigerians to hold President Olusegun Obasanjo responsible for any avoidable deaths that may result from the on-going national strike by doctors.

At a press briefing on Friday, the chairman, state steering committee on the on-going national strike, Dr. Felix Iyamu, described the government's attitude to the doctors' demands as irresponsible, callous and insensitive to the plight of suffering Nigerians.

Pointing out that it was an abuse of privilege for the government to renege on the implementation of an agreement earlier reached with doctors' representatives, Iyamu said that the government has simply exposed itself as incapable of doing business well.

"The Edo State branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) wishes to inform the entire citizenry that doctors in Edo State and indeed the entire nation are sad about the current strike."

"This strike was avoidable and even now can still be cut short by the Federal Government of Nigeria", Iyamu said.

According to him, the issues that necessitated the strike are not new. "Over a year ago, the Federal Government through an inter-ministerial committee report agreed to the following professional allowances viz: call duty, teaching, clinical duty/supplementation, hazard, inducement, shift duty, administrative, specialist journal, learned society and rural posting."

"Strangely though, up till now, the government has refused to circularise and implement the agreed rates. For the avoidance of doubt, doctors are still receiving less than one per cent of their basic salary as call duty allowance as against five per cent agreed upon. Even this five per cent is a far cry from the 12.5 per cent of basic salary which was the call duty allowance of doctors during the tenure of Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti as Health Minister," Iyamu said.

He also claimed that the Federal Government has also refused to pay the following:

Arrears accruing from award of 150 per cent increase in call duty and 50 per cent increase in clinical supplementation from September 1998 to December 1999. This amounts to 16 months in arrears of salaries.

Government, Iyamu said, withheld salaries for health workers' strike with particular reference to doctors' strike of December 1998 to April 1999 and September 2000 to December 2000.

According to Iyamu: "The NMA gave the Federal Government of Nigeria enough time to resolve these issues but the government did not utilise the time. A 30-day notice of strike was also issued to the government, still they refused to act."

"The Nigerian doctor is not strike-happy, neither do we enjoy to see people die. However, we have been pushed to the wall and there is no alternative but to withdraw our services."

"There is no way the doctor can discharge his job effectively when he is not well paid. We now have to decide whether we want good health in this nation or not."