….university attended not on the of list of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria
By Joshua Akande
Medical students of the Osun State University ( Uniosun) who were sponsored by the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola administration to a university in Ukraine for the completion of their studies, may have run into troubled waters .
This is because the university, V.N Karazin Kharkiv National University in Ukraine, is allegedly not on the list of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) as one of the recognised foreign institutions for Nigerians seeking such platforms.
A check to this end by The Controversy on the website of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, a consenting authority saddled with the responsibility of determining medical doctors’ qualifications and related matters in Nigeria, showed that the university attended by the Uniosun medical students, was not listed among the foreign institutions recognised by the MDCN
Accordingly, top medical sources informed The Controversy that the fate of the 35 students who returned recently to the country out of the 50 that graduated from among the 85 sponsored by Aregbesola’s government to Ukraine, now hangs in the balance .
The Controversy gathered that the MDCN has purportedly rejected the certificates obtained from the University by the students.
This, it was further learnt, implied they would not be able use it to work in any of the Nigerian hospitals.
As a result, the reality of the development, is said to have hit hard the Osun State Government which is allegedly said to be running helter-skelter to salvage the situation.
Specifically, the administration is said to have run round to relevant quarters with a view to providing the needed reprieve and safe landing for the students by working out something for them in one of the Nigeria universities.
However, even at that, sources said for the returnee students to be recognised as medical doctors in Nigeria, they would have to undergo another mandatory one year attachment at a university teaching hospital, which it was further gathered, would likely be University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.
In addition, after the one year compulsory attachment , the students would be made to sit for qualifying examinations normally organised by the Medical and Dental Council Nigeria for student doctors.
The Controversy was further informed that it is those among them that pass the qualifying examinations that would qualify for a year mandatory Housemanship.
Already, the development has made the Ukraine returnees who had already been inducted in Ukraine, to be at cross roads as what their fate could be,as most of them are said to be afraid of the stringent conditions attached to qualifying as a Medical Doctor in Nigeria.
It will be recalled that upon assumption of office, the administration of Aregbesola wound down the College of Medicine of Uniosun, premising its decision on non-availability of a teaching hospital which allegedly required about N1billion to be fixed.
To this effect, the Aregbesola government decided to send the 85 students of the College, to Ukraine in 2013, for their studies.
Some medical consultants then, allegedly advised the government to shelve the idea of sending the students to Ukraine as they were said to have mapped out strategies of distributing the students to some Nigerian universities such as University of Ibadan,Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile Ife,University of Ilorin and University of Lagos, among others.
Their pleas, The Controversy learnt, fell on deaf ears as the governor was said to have insisted on sending them to Ukraine.
Reacting, the state government through its Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Mr Oluremi Omowaiye said there was nothing to worry about on the matter.
Though not forthcoming on whether the university was recognised by the MDCN or not, Omowaiye while speaking on phone with The Controversy, branded the Ukraine University as a world class institution that had produced three Nobel Laureate
“Even Nigeria as a country has just produced one Noble Laureate as against the three produced by this university ” he said.
While confirming that the beleaguered students would be hosted by the University of Ilorin for their attachment that will dovetail to the writing of their qualifying examination, the Commissioner insisted there was nothing special about, stressing, “even if you attend Harvard University and you want to practice as a medical doctor in Nigeria, you must undergo this process”
However, a WhatsApp message on Tuesday, 12th September, 2017,reminding him of the promise to get back with further information, was not responded to as at the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, efforts to get a reaction from any of the officials of the MDCN proved abortive as they appeared evasive on the matter.
When our correspondent called one Dr Abdul, he directed us to the Registrar, Dr Ibrahim Abdulmumini
A call to the two lines of the registrar as obtained on the official website of the Council, did not go through while a message to the registrar’s two email addresses,has not been replied to, as of the time of going to the press.
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