By Sola Ogundipe
LAGOS — Striking pharmacists, laboratory scientists and physiotherapists in the public sector have threatened to drag their respective counterparts in the private sector into the on-going nationwide health workers strike under the auspices of the Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU.
The health workers have also indicated intention to call out its over one million members at all tiers of government nationwide to boycott the 2015 elections to protest lack of government response to their demands.
Issuing the threat in a statement weekend, President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, PSN, Olumide Akintayo, said the PSN , the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, AMLSN, and Nigeria Society for Physiotherapists, NSP, would in the next few days make good the threat to engage the public sector in the strike if the Federal Government fails to accede to their demands by the first week of February 2015.
Rising from a consultative meeting, weekend, Akintayo gave indications that he and Presidents of the AMLSN and the NSP, after a holistic evaluation of the JOHESU strike, are of the view that the health workers strike does not worry government as rather than resolve and issue enabling circulars in line with the 12-point demand of the JOHESU, governments at federal and state levels have been busy campaigning while substantial fatalities continue to be inflicted on consumers of health in Nigeria.
He said: “In the reality that health services have collapsed in all the federal health institutions and major secondary healthcare facilities in all the states of the federation, one would have expected an intervention of the Federal Government.
“This clearly confirms that healthcare has not and can never be the prerogative of doctors who in the past never failed to remind Nigerians that they were jack of all trade who could render services of other professionals.”
Akintayo said in the proposed plan, the private sector strike would be phased, adding: “We shall in the first instance invite practitioners in the FCT, Abuja to withdraw services for a few hours for successive days before we shall extend same to all the 36 states in view of apparent government insensitivity which is deplorable and lamentable.
“In similar spirit, we call on the over one million members of JOHESU at all tiers of government, including the federal establishments, the 36 states and FCT Abuja as well as the 774 local governments to boycott the 2015 elections alongside their dependants, since government and the retinue of politicians know next to nothing about the golden nuggets of good governance as sanctity of life counts for nothing to these people.”