The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has responded strongly to a statement made by Pastor Poju Oyemade, who claimed that doctors in Nigeria are trained on just N500,000 throughout their studies.

In their statement, NARD said this information is not true. They pointed to a published study by Osoba et al. (2021) in the Pan African Medical Journal. The study shows that it actually costs between $21,000 and $51,000 to train a medical doctor in Nigeria. This includes school fees, living costs, and other expenses.

NARD also highlighted the big gap between this cost and what doctors in Nigeria earn. Most doctors are paid around N250,000 each month, which is about $170. Meanwhile, in the United States, doctors can earn about $16,000 (₦24 million) per month, although their training costs about $275,000.

The group added that many Nigerian doctors who want to work in the U.S. have to spend over $10,000 for the process, and this is usually paid by their families.

NARD said it was wrong to suggest that doctors in Nigeria are ungrateful. They described Nigerian doctors as some of the most hardworking and strong professionals in the world. They also pointed out that most Nigerians cannot afford to travel abroad for healthcare and have no choice but to rely on a weak and broken health system.

The doctors added that pastors like Oyemade can afford to travel for treatment using church funds, but the regular churchgoer cannot.

Finally, NARD advised Pastor Oyemade to use his influence to support better healthcare reforms in Nigeria. They ended their message by reminding spiritual leaders to focus on prayer and the Bible instead of speaking on things they may not fully understand.