The Kogi administration has declared war on quacks and quackery in the healthcare industry and has put all necessary infrastructure in place to deploy mobile courts to punish any quacks who have been apprehended while practicing in this state.
Dr. Zakari Usman, the commissioner of health for Kogi, made the statement at a meeting of private medical practice stakeholders held at the ministry in Lokoja. He added that quacks and quackery in the state’s health sector have a terrible impact on the lives of innocent citizens.
The commissioner declared that the state government would no longer remain silent as desperate businessmen posing as medical professionals devastated the lives of innocent persons.
“The negative effects of quacks in our healthcare system must end. Quackery is a threat, and we are ready to deal with it this time around in a determined manner.
“The war on quackery has already been launched, and all necessary infrastructure has been put in place to employ mobile courts to prosecute any quack who is apprehended while practicing in this state.
“Until sanity is restored in our health sector, any hospital or clinic whose license has expired but has not been renewed but is still in operation is treated as a quack and will be treated as such.
“All hospitals and clinics that the health ministry has registered must register in order to avoid legal repercussions. Stop providing delivery and other medical services in all those places of worship.
“Clinics or hospitals that only employ auxiliary nurses without licensed doctors will also be subject to legal repercussions because they would be categorized as quackery.
“We have well-equipped hospitals and referral centers dispersed throughout the state in addition to Primary Health Cares (PHCs),” he stated. “Yet the quacks are diverting the people’s attention with their phony, diabolic, and wicked activities.”
Usman claimed that Governor Yahaya Bello had made significant investments in the supply of healthcare.
He claims that a central inspectorate team has been established by the state government to address state health issues including quackery.
All hands must be on deck, according to the commissioner, in order to drive out the quacks and save the lives of defenseless Kogi citizens.
Dr. Barnabas Segun-Isaac, the team’s leader, responded by describing the government’s decision as a wise move that will help to ensure the safety of its constituents.
In order to preserve the state’s health system among the best in the nation, he claimed that the committee had started working seriously to root out any quacks functioning there.
Dr. Bauku Sola, the Kogi Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), also spoke and voiced concern over the way quacks’ actions cause innocent, naïve individuals to die heedlessly.
For effectiveness and efficiency, Sola recommended decentralizing the inspectorate team to the senatorial districts.
