Checks with the General Medical Council (GMC) – the public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners in the UK reveals that no fewer than 353 Nigeria trained doctors between were licenced between June 10, 2021 and September 20, 2021.

According to reports from The Punch newspaper, statistics also showed that between July 24, 2020 and September 21, 2021, about 862 Nigeria trained doctors were licensed in the UK despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, 8,737 doctors who obtained their degrees in Nigeria currently practise in the UK and it is believed that the number of Nigeria trained doctors migrating to Saudi Arabia might even be more than those moving to the UK.

The protracted strike by National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) in Nigeria over poor remuneration is said to have contributed to the mass exodus.