The President of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Haruna Mamman, has raised an alarm over the growing migration of Nigerian nurses abroad, warning that the trend is threatening the country’s already fragile healthcare system.
Mamman spoke on Tuesday in Abuja during the 2026 International Nurses Day celebration held at the NANNM Conference Hall, where he lamented the worsening “brain drain” in the nation’s health sector.
According to him, more than 57,000 Nigerian nurses have left the country in the past five years in search of better opportunities overseas, while about 16,000 migrated to the United Kingdom alone as of December 2025.
“It is on record that Nigerian nurses and Midwives are among the best across the world.
“Nigeria-trained Nurses and Midwives are migrating in droves to other countries in search of better lives,” Mamman said.
He added, “For the past five years, over 57,000 Nigerian nurses have left the country for different parts of the world in search of greener pastures. This should call for greater concern from both the Government and other stakeholders.”
The NANNM president attributed the mass migration to what he described as “push factors,” including poor remuneration, harsh working conditions, insecurity, lack of career progression and limited job opportunities.
“Many Nurses wish to stay and work in Nigeria, but the ‘push factors,’ which include poor remuneration, poor working conditions, kidnapping/insecurity, non-career progression, lack of job opportunities, etc., keep pushing them to leave the country,” he said.
Nigeria has continued to grapple with a
This post was originally published on this site.
