Student Moses Damilola Fehintola was sent a cruel message by Nigeria’s medical council.
He was trapped in Ukraine’s war earlier this year and it was a relief to be able to escape and continue his medical degree online.
One day, he received a WhatsApp message in capital letters from his phone. It informed him that his distance-learning qualifications would no longer be recognized.
It was formal and cold.
“We want to inform the general public that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria will not honor the Medical and Dental Certificates of Ukraine issued by Medical Schools starting in 2022.”
As his vision became blurred for a second, Mr Fehintola gasped. He muttered, “Jesus,” in frustration.
“What’s the matter?” His mother asked him, looking across the road as they drove to Oyo state’s local market. He mumbled some words and tried to keep it down.
“The news really hit me hard… He recalls that so many thoughts flood my mind. “I was looking forward to graduating in Ukraine, regardless of what happened.”
He was in his sixth year at Ukraine’s Sumy State University, and months away from finishing when the Russian troops invaded.
He was 22 years old and was kept there for several weeks until he returned home. He was one of over 1,000 Nigerians who had returned from Ukraine, most of them students.
Despite the fighting, Sumy State University and Ukrainian institutions continued to offer online courses. So Mr Fehintola believed he could finally achieve his dream of becoming a doctor.
But, his plans are now in disarray.
Mr Fehintola stated that he is currently in Nigeria to practice clinical medicine and wanted to fulfill the requirements to become a Nigerian doctor.
“First, l wrote to my state Ministry of Health asking to be posted in a hospital. But, upon arriving at the hospital, the medical chief there stated: “Oh, you’re from Ukraine. Was it not the place where the MDCN cancelled the certificates?”
“I was so shocked, I just had to tell him: “Yes” because it’s the truth. That look was constant and I knew there would be stigma. It was the attitude that he was from Ukraine, so his certificate was not valid.
The BBC has reached out to the MDCN for clarification.
Fehintola described the policy as discriminatory and said that he had thought about it. He chose to be motivated, rather than view it as a disadvantage.
“I will say this to Nigeria: If that’s what Nigeria wants it, so be It. Nigeria will lose if I look for other countries that practice the same thing.
Grace Ladi Musa agrees, having been five years into a Kyiv Medical University medical degree when war broke out.
She says, “It’s just unfair.”
The 23-year old tells BBC that the plans she had for her future have been thrown off-track by the war and then the revelation that her education would be invalid.
“I wish the Nigerian Ministry of Education would rethink their approach to education.”
A second medical student has more words of praise for Nigeria’s authorities.
“Our country is turning us off,” says Emmanuella, a 17-year-old student in her second year at Sumy State University’s medical school.
“People want to be better educated so they can return home to make the country better. But you’re sending them away.”
Samuel Otunla, a 24-year-old veterinarian student, believes that mobilisation is the only way to solve this problem.
He intends to gather Nigerian students returning from Nigeria and petition the government for a reversal of the decision. He also accuses the government of failing to manage education in a way that allows those with the means to afford to study abroad.
Students enrolled in medicine or dentistry at Ukrainian medical schools have been advised by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to transfer to other accredited institutions.
It is stated that any online medical education done anywhere in the world does not meet accepted standards and will not honor any medical degree certificates obtained at the conclusion of any online medical education.
Mr Fehintola says, “We want to help our fatherland.” “We want to save lives in our community. That’s why we became doctors.
He also paid tribute to Ukraine.
“A country that can forge ahead during a war period to ensure their students continue to receive the required requirements for study is truly the hero in this situation. It is an insult to the Ukrainian government to try to invalidate their certificate.
