How quack doctors are sending Nigerians to their early graves

By Femi Oyelola

In 2017, Kaduna State Police Command arrested one Aliyu Yau, a quack Doctor for allegedly killing a patient.
According to the police. Yau was not a medical doctor, but he admitted and carried out medical surgery on unsuspecting patients.
He confessed to carrying out hernia surgery on a patient who died in the process and he is currently serving a 25-year jail term.
Similarly, in early 2023 the Police Command in Plateau State arrested two other medical doctors in connection with the alleged harvest of vital human organs by a suspected quack doctor, Noah Kekere. These are just a few examples of the kind of havoc perpetrated by quack doctors across the country.
These actions of quack medics are akin to when an armed robber invades an apartment, and aks: “Your life or your money.” In most cases, the armed robber will take either of the two. But when you visit a quack doctor, he is likely to take both your life and money. This makes quack doctors more dangerous to humanity than robbers and other criminal elements.
As dangerous as they are, Nigeria keeps recording a high number of professional fraudsters parading as medical practitioners; practicing and promoting quackery at exorbitant prices and great risks to people’s health, and in most cases, sending them to their early graves.
They prey on poor people, pervert the healthcare system, and plunge their powerless patients into endless pain and sometimes, permanent paralysis and deformity.
Vulnerable and pregnant women are particularly exploited by these quacks who pose as qualified medical doctors.
Acting Executive Director of Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW) Mrs Hannatu Ahuwan, enumerated the adverse consequences of patronising fake medical practitioners thus: “Fraudsters posing as medical practitioners in Nigeria can pose significant dangers to women and children, as well as the general population. Some of the specific risks include: “misdiagnosis and incorrect treatment. Fraudulent medical practitioners may misdiagnose medical conditions, leading to improper treatment, delays in receiving appropriate care, or unnecessary procedures, which can have serious health consequences.
“Administering fake or substandard medications or treatments can put patients at risk of adverse reactions, worsen their conditions, or lead to long-term health problems.
“Patients may be charged exorbitant fees for fake treatments or unnecessary medical procedures, causing financial hardships for families.
“Victims of medical fraud may delay seeking legitimate medical care due to misplaced trust in fraudulent practitioners, resulting in worsening health conditions.
“Women and children who are victims of medical fraud may suffer psychological distress, loss of trust in the healthcare system, and fear of seeking medical help in the future.
“In cases of infectious diseases, fake medical practitioners can contribute to the spread of illnesses by failing to follow proper infection control measures.
“Children may suffer stunted growth, developmental delays, or other long-term health issues if they receive inadequate or incorrect medical care.”
Reacting to this ugly trend, Chairman of Kaduna State Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Madaki David Sheyin, said the association is at the forefront to check-mate quackery and other malpractices in the medical profession.
Dr. Sheyin disclosed that the seriousness of quackery in the medical profession is the reason for the 2023 Physician Week, Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference with the theme “Elevating Healthcare Excellence: Fighting Medical Quackery and Reinforcing Professional Standards.”
According to him, the activities of quack doctors have become alarming and worrisome and need urgent attention to tackle them.
He disclosed that the NMA has resolved to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure all forms of quackery are stamped out in the state.
Similarly, Dr. Musa Itopa Yakubu of Kaduna State University and a Member of Pharmacists Society of Nigeria (PSN), Kaduna State Council, opined that the high prevalence of fraudsters parading themselves as medical practitioners in Nigeria is alarming and dangerous to society.
He observed that many cases of fraudulent practices, impersonation, and identity theft across various professionals in medical practice including doctors, pharmacists, nurses, dentists, etc. have been reported.
The practice of these fraudsters according to him not only undermines the trust and integrity of the healthcare system, it can potentially cause physical harm, emotional and financial distress to their victims through wrong diagnosis or misdiagnosis, wrong treatments, and unethical practices.
Pharm. Musa expressed dismay that though impersonation of medical practitioners is a global phenomenon, the situation is made worse in Nigeria by several factors.
“These factors are related to the weakness in our health care system as well as socio-economic problems.
“Inadequate number of medical practitioners. Nigeria currently has less than 30,000 licensed doctors practicing in the country, less than 10% of 363,000 recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and about 6,000 out of these have migrated to the UK, U.S.A, Canada, and other countries.
“According to the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), only 19,000 licensed pharmacists are practicing in Nigeria, that is one pharmacist serving 13, 385 Nigerians against the WHO recommended ratio of one pharmacist to 2,000 of the population.
“Similarly, the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) recently lamented that only about 125,000 registered nurses are currently servicing the health needs of over 200 million population of Nigeria.
“That means one nurse is serving about 1,160 patients as against the WHO recommended ratio of one nurse to five patients.
Inadequate healthcare facilities, especially in rural areas where there is less or no scrutiny, makes it easier for fraudsters to indulge in impersonation and identity theft as medical practitioners.
“The poor economic condition of most Nigerians makes it difficult for people to afford standard health care services thus, they would be willing to go for any services seen as cheaper. Also, most rural dwellers are not enlightened enough to differentiate a qualified practitioner from a fake. To most of them, any person wearing a white overall lab coat is a medical practitioner.
“Most fraudsters parading themselves as medical practitioners were people who could not complete their training in medical school due to one reason or the other, those who forge certificates or steal the identity of a qualified medical practitioner “ Pharm. Musa noted.
The larger brunt of this menace falls on some hapless and vulnerable Nigeria, mostly women and children.
Corroborating this, Hajia Hadiza Umar of Hope for Children Initiative Kaduna is of the view that the issue of fraudsters parading as medical practitioners is of grave concern because it is affecting lives.
She stressed that Women and children are known to form a great percentage of clientele in this sector. “ We have recorded scores of wrong diagnosis, treatments, and medical prescriptions that have caused pain and loss to many families unrecorded.
“Caregivers should stick to attending government-owned and government-accredited facilities and importantly, always seeking second opinions on medical advice or plans to ensure the right diagnosis, treatment, and medication is administered at all times,” she advised.
In his own reaction, a citizen activist, Yusuf Ishiaku Goje, opined that the issue of fraudsters parading as medical practitioners is a manifest symptom of a dysfunctional system as a result of the decaying moral values.
Goje observed that on the one hand, it exposes the negligence of the regulatory authority; and on the other, the rising desperation of getting rich at all costs.
He stressed that the menace is not limited to the medical profession alone, but cuts across all sectors. “For instance, we have buildings collapsing and roads eroding after a few months of construction due to quack engineers, unqualified teachers are being employed and turn around to collect bribes to pass students who fail, who end up bribing their way into manning sensitive positions in government. No wonder we even have leaders at different levels who are occupying positions of authority they are not qualified for.”
Goje added that the medical practitioners the citizens should be more worried about are those who bought their ways, in cash or kind, through school and got genuine certificates without the requisite knowledge.
“Unfortunately, many of them are even working in public hospitals, because the truly qualified ones are leaving the country for greener pastures.
“Do not be surprised if investigations are carried out, these practitioners would be found to be the leading causes of deaths in our hospitals.
“As for the fraudsters, it is imperative that the regulatory authorities wake up to their responsibilities of tracking, apprehending, and severely punishing those caught to serve as a deterrent to others.
“There is also the need to raise public awareness on how to detect and report fake medical practitioners. In the long term, there is also the need for social reengineering to change the get-rich at all costs mentality that has eaten deep into our social fabric.” Goje advised.