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President Bola Tinubu has called on Nigerian doctors and other healthcare professionals living abroad to return home and contribute their expertise to the ongoing reforms in the country’s health sector, saying there is “nowhere like home.”
The President made the appeal on Friday while receiving a delegation of the Nigerian Diaspora Medical Associations Worldwide, led by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, at the State House, Abuja, as part of activities marking the 2026 National Diaspora Day celebration.
Tinubu said Nigeria needs the knowledge, innovation and experience of its highly skilled professionals abroad to build a stronger and more resilient healthcare system under his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“It is a very great joy to see that you are coming back to facilitate your single motivation to help your country meet the needs of our people,” the President said.
“I have been through that journey, I’m home now and I can tell you there’s nowhere like home. Some people built the society where you are; they have their hands on their plough, their focus was to develop their nation and their continent.”
The President said his administration is implementing reforms to strengthen primary healthcare, expand access to quality medical services and encourage greater collaboration with Nigerian professionals in the diaspora.
He added that the government would continue investing in medical education, research, digital health infrastructure and improved welfare while pursuing policies to reverse the country’s brain drain.
“The best way to demonstrate to you is for me to commit myself to my agenda, the Renewed Hope, so that the hope of Nigerians of having better environment, better education, better development and prosperity can be realised,” Tinubu said.
He commended the visiting doctors for conducting free medical outreaches across different parts of the country, describing their services as a demonstration of patriotism and commitment to humanity.
Tinubu also urged them to encourage more Nigerian health professionals abroad to reconnect with the country through partnerships, investments, knowledge transfer or permanent return.
Earlier, Dabiri-Erewa said the delegation had returned to contribute to national development despite achieving success abroad.
“They have been trained in Nigeria and because they are Nigerians and succeeded abroad, they want to come back home and do something,” she said.
She added that NiDCOM would continue supporting diaspora professionals willing to contribute to the administration’s healthcare agenda.
Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, described the engagement as evidence that the administration’s health reforms were attracting support from Nigerians overseas.
“These are very motivated, very ready, very prepared Nigerians who want to give back to Nigeria,” Salako said, adding that the Ministry of Health would make collaboration with diaspora medical professionals an annual event.
Nigeria has experienced a sustained migration of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers to countries including the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, driven by better remuneration, improved working conditions and greater career opportunities abroad. The trend has contributed to shortages of skilled personnel in Nigeria’s health sector.
Successive governments have sought to address the challenge by increasing investment in healthcare, improving welfare packages and forming partnerships with Nigerian professionals in the diaspora to strengthen medical services, training and specialist care.
STATEHOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT TINUBU URGES NIGERIAN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS IN DIASPORA TO RETURN HOME, STRENGTHEN NIGERIA’S HEALTH SECTOR
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday urged Nigerian medical doctors and other healthcare professionals in the diaspora to return home… pic.twitter.com/WBI2gag7Mk
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