forced

The sudden deactivation of the verification portal by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria in February has plunged countless Nigerian nurses and midwives working abroad into turmoil.

Currently, healthcare workers are encountering hurdles in renewing their licences and meeting the regulatory requirements set by international bodies.

Already, some nurses without the necessary verification from the NMCN find themselves in violation of visa conditions and employment laws, resulting in legal consequences.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that many nurses abroad, including United Kingdom and United States, had been forced to return to the country over the issue.

Among them is a nurse, who spoke with Saturday PUNCH on condition of anonymity to avoid being ridiculed.

He recalled how he was thrilled to join the UK Trust, a prestigious healthcare organisation, to contribute his skills to the country’s medical community after moving from Nigeria in September 2023.

His hope was, however, dashed when the council deactivated the verification portal.

He claimed to have completed a series of exams and navigated the complex process of document checks, and all that remained was to get his pin as a registered nurse from the verification portal.

Desperate to resolve the issue, he said he reached out to the NMCN, hoping for assistance. However the council’s policy prevented any further verification on the closed portal.

The UK Trust, bound by its policies, reportedly terminated his employment due to his inability to meet the certification criteria.

He said, “The situation is not only saddening but also suicidal. My career is stagnated because the portal is closed. I’m in Nigeria now. I have gone to the nursing council on several occasions to tell them that even if they should write a letter of good standing and send it to them, they would be happy to acknowledge it. But my efforts were futile.

“Meanwhile, the court case against the council regarding the verification process has been withdrawn, but the portal remains closed. This is a matter that has affected even many people who refused to speak up at that time. In the next few weeks, the number of nurses who will return to this country to either commit suicide or start afresh will be many.”

Voicing her concerns, a worried Nigerian nurse based in the UK, who identified herself only as Ovie, said without completing her verification, she would be unable to become a registered nurse, lamenting that this had created uncertainty about her future.

“I am a registered nurse from Nigeria, and I moved to the UK in February this year to pursue a nursing top-up programme to become a UK-registered nurse. My initial plan was to complete my verification process while studying so that I could work as a part-time nurse to pay tuition fees and support myself.

“Unfortunately, just before I arrived, the NMCN suspended the verification for nurses, which has prevented me from pursuing my registration.

“What initially seemed like a temporary maintenance issue has turned into months of uncertainty, with no clear timeline for when the verification process will resume. This has made it challenging to navigate my studies, future career plans, and overall stay in the UK.

“The ongoing suspension of the verification process has significant implications for me. Without completing my verification, I am unable to become a registered nurse in the UK, which limits my employment opportunities and affects my ability to support myself financially. This has created uncertainty about my future as I approach the end of my studies,” she explained.

The nurse lamented that she risked deportation due to the delay in her verification.

She said, “My student visa will expire soon, and without the ability to work as a nurse, I am at risk of having to return to Nigeria or seek alternative means to remain in the UK.”

Another nurse, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of intimidation, said her passion for nursing led her to the UK, but the journey did not proceed as smoothly as she hoped. She is also faced with the same hurdle—closure of the verification portal.

The closure meant she could not schedule her CBT, and without it, she was stuck in limbo.

“I travelled to the UK last year (not as a registered nurse) and passed my English test this January. I have not been able to write a Computer-Based Test to proceed to other things due to the closure of the verification portal,” she said.

A nurse based in Saudi Arabia, identified as Hannah, said she travelled to the country in 2023 to practise as a nurse, but her future had become uncertain.

She told Saturday PUNCH that the weight of the situation was taking a toll on her.

As the looming threat of deportation casts a dark shadow over her life, Hannah said she is in a state of frustration and despair.

NANNM reacts

Speaking with our correspondent, President of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Michael Nnachi, said the group had engaged the government on several demands, including the reopening of the portal.

He noted that a committee was recently formed to review ongoing discussions.

He said, “If we don’t receive a positive response soon, I can’t predict what will happen next. I believe the message we are sending is that we have engaged the government. I can’t give an exact date, whether tomorrow or the day after, but I know there is hope. I prefer not to speak beyond what I am authorised to say.

“I would advise our affected members to remain patient. We are deeply concerned about the difficulties they are facing, and we are not comfortable with the situation. However, patience is necessary at this time. Finally, in many cases, even when agreements are reached with the government, they often fail to fulfil their promises. I remain hopeful and expect a positive response from the government. There is hope.”

The Deputy National President of the association, Abubakar Shehu, expressed displeasure over the delay in activating the verification portal.

He said, “There are lots of intricacies in the issue of this portal, and we are not happy, honestly speaking. We are not the only health professionals migrating from Nigeria to other countries. Doctors, pharmacists, and lab scientists are leaving, so why only nurses?

“We have held a series of meetings with the Registrar of NMCN; we went to the Ministry of Health and met with the Minister of Health. He was told that we are the critical stakeholders and they were supposed to have engaged us before even deciding to close the portal. You were meant to engage us so that we could sit down and discuss. We have a lot of nurses and midwives outside the labour market and they are not employed. You didn’t give somebody employment and you don’t want to allow the person to move to another place for greener pastures. It’s not done like that.”

Shehu, however, said the NMCN registrar recently promised that the portal would be opened soon.

“The registrar has assured us that the portal will be opened. So, we are waiting to see. He gave the assurance last week,” he added.

NMCN mute

Efforts made by Saturday PUNCH to reach the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Faruk Abubakar, proved abortive, as calls were unanswered and text messages sent to him received no response.

Meanwhile, on August 28, after Nnachi appealed to the Federal Government to reopen the portal for verification of its members’ credentials, Abubakar assured that the whole misunderstanding within the nurses and midwives circle would soon be resolved.

“The council is not against any member of NANNM moving anywhere in the world, but all that we are interested in is that Nigeria must work with dignity.

“Reopening the verification portal requires due process.

“I have received many letters on it, including from the National Assembly. We are working towards resolving all the issues, and the portal will be reopened,” Abubakar said.

CSOs weigh in

Speaking on the issue, the President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Debo Adeniran, slammed the government for hindering the progress of Nigerians by restricting their opportunities abroad.

Adeniran said, “It’s uncharitable for the government to debar our people from making the desired progress, even when we have more than enough that could serve in this country, only that we don’t motivate them. They should encourage as many of them as possible to go, and while we encourage those being trained here, we should also support those training them to improve the quality of education we provide. The government should not discourage people from taking appointments outside the country; rather, they should encourage them more.

“There was a time when the government toyed with the idea of getting them to sign a bond to serve in Nigeria for some time before travelling, but I don’t think that idea materialised. Despite the criticism against our educational system in Nigeria, it seems that we are still doing better than many Western countries because most of our graduates who travel abroad continue to secure lucrative appointments. This shows that the rating of our educational attainment is high in Western countries.”

He called on the government to support Nigerians in the diaspora who are representing the country positively.