Final-year medical students at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) in Nnewi, Anambra State, may not graduate this year due to an ongoing indefinite strike by clinical lecturers. According to sources at NAUTH, the strike, which began on September 25, 2024, is a result of a conflict over the Vice Chancellor position between medical and clinical lecturers and the university’s governing council.
A source revealed that the governing council included a requirement that disqualified certain individuals from contesting for the Vice-Chancellor position at UNIZIK. According to the source, one of the 11 criteria listed in the advertisement for the Vice-Chancellor vacancy, published on September 12, stated that candidates must have earned a PhD at least 15 years before the publication and must have supervised postgraduate students to completion.
Clinical lecturers, who felt this requirement was deliberately designed to exclude them from the contest, protested against it. However, they claimed that the university administration did not address their concerns. In response to the disagreement, the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) sent a letter on September 17, 2024, to the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, calling for the withdrawal of the advertisement.
In a letter signed by its Chairman, Dr. V. I. Modekwe, and Secretary, Dr. S.O. Oriji, the MDCAN stated that they had previously raised concerns in an August 2, 2024 letter.
They alleged that there was a deliberate plan to include harmful requirements in the advertisement for the Vice-Chancellor position aimed at disqualifying all eligible lecturers from the Faculties of Medicine, Basic Clinical Sciences, and Basic Medical Sciences.
In the letter, they appealed that this harmful requirement should not be included, as it is unusual for Nnamdi Azikiwe University and all universities in Nigeria.
Despite being informed beforehand and having established a cordial relationship, they were shocked to see an advertisement for the position of Vice Chancellor at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU) published in newspapers and allegedly authorised and signed by the Registrar/Secretary of the Council. The advertisement selectively and unfairly excluded all members from the Faculties of Medicine and Basic Clinical Sciences from applying for the vacant Vice Chancellor position.
The Association expressed concerns about the advertisement for the position of Vice Chancellor at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), which required candidates to hold a first degree, a Master’s degree, and a PhD. They pointed out that the academic progression for clinical lecturers at NAU and globally differs from this requirement. Clinical lecturers typically follow a pathway consisting of a first degree (MBBS, BDS), followed by primary, Part I, and Part II fellowship examinations, leading to a Medical Fellowship.
They criticised the ad for insisting on a PhD with 15 years of experience without acknowledging the equivalent qualification of a postgraduate Medical Fellowship with 15 years of experience. Furthermore, they objected to including an N400,000,000 grant requirement, which they found unusual for such an advertisement. They also noted that the ad did not emphasise administrative experience, which should be an essential qualification for the role.
UNIZIK’s Lecturers Reject the Advertisement
The Association argued that the advertisement unfairly excluded its members from the faculties of Medicine and Basic Clinical Sciences and deviated from the 2019 ad for the same position. They felt that their earlier attempts to address the issue were disregarded.
Rejecting the advertisement as harmful and unacceptable, the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) demanded its withdrawal and called for a new one that acknowledges the academic pathway of medical/clinical lecturers, replacing the PhD requirement with a postgraduate Medical Fellowship and removing the Master’s degree requirement. They issued a seven-day ultimatum for the ad to be withdrawn, threatening to launch an indefinite industrial action that would see the withdrawal of medical and clinical lecturers from all academic duties if their demands were not met.
When the governing council ignored their request, the lecturers, in a notice of withdrawal of services dated September 25, 2024, and addressed to the Acting Vice Chancellor, declared their decision to embark on an indefinite strike.
A lecturer confirmed that they are determined to continue the strike, despite its negative impact on the medical students, stating that there has been no meaningful response or invitation for dialogue.
While hospital services are ongoing without disruption, students are not permitted to participate. There are no lectures or exams, and final-year students, who have already lost two years due to the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 and the 8-month ASUU strike in 2021, will once again be unable to graduate this year.