Bleak Days for Patients as Doctors Down Tools in Cross River

By Edem ITA

loomy days now await hundreds of patients stranded in both public and privately owned hospitals around Cross River having been abandoned to their fate by doctors since Sunday night.

Their pitiable plight is the fallout of the decision by medical doctors in Cross River, operating under the ageist of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, to withdraw their services in protest over the incessant abductions of its members around the state.  According to the state chairman of the body, Dr. Felix Archibong," the drastic step is meant to register our displeasure over the rampant abductions of our members in Cross River in recent years without any respite from government or security agencies"

"This is also intended to compel the Governor, Senator Bassey Otu to rejig the security architecture of the state to stem the rampaging menace of kidnappers rattling the state since 2015"

A communique issued by the NMA in Calabar after an emergency general meeting held yesterday stated that the "total and indefinite work to rule action shall be observed in federal, state, private, mission, and cottage medical facilities around the nooks and crannies of the state"

The communique, endorsed by the NMA Chairman in Cross River, Dr. Felix Archibong, and Secretary, Dr. Amaku Asuquo called on the government to "activate all necessary instruments at its disposal to ensure the timely and unconditional release of our member in the hands of her abductors"

The Beagle News recalled that abductions of medical doctors have evolved into a recurring decimal in Cross River since 2015 with over ten whisked away by gunmen resulting in payment of huge ransom to secure their release with no arrest or security crackdown on the culpable offenders

A sad scenario occurred in 2018 when another senior consultant, earlier held in captivity for weeks but released upon payment of ransom slumped after a call from the abductors intimating him that they were coming for him a second time after having exhausted the initial ransom. Meanwhile, a security expert, who preferred anonymity attributed the upsurge in kidnappings in Cross River to the "compromising posture of the government arising from lips service accorded to issues bordering on security of lives and property of the citizenry"

In his words" If the government is serious about checkmating the issue of kidnapping in our state, the onus is on the governor, who is the chief security officer of the state to act"

"The police routine confirmation and activation of a tactical team to track down the perpetrators has become mere rhetoric, at the end, no arrest is made, talk less of prosecution"

Prof Ekanem Ephraim, a lead consultant neurologist at University of Calabar Teaching Hospital was whisked away from home last week by a gang of four gunmen posing as relations to a potential patient who was in the car in dire need of medical attention.