According to Business Day, Olufolake AbdulRazaq, the wife of Kwara State Governor, has urged pharmacy students to consider remaining in Nigeria after their graduation to contribute to the nation’s healthcare system, thereby reducing the increasing reliance on medical tourism. She made this appeal during a lecture at the Annual Conference of the Pharmaceutical Students Association of Nigeria (PANS), held at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) on Tuesday.

Represented by the State Commissioner for Health, Aminat Ahmed El-Imam, Mrs. AbdulRazaq stressed that real growth, success, and positive change come from personal efforts and a commitment to improving one's home country. She noted that the exodus of medical professionals is contributing to a growing healthcare gap, urging the students to play a pivotal role in reversing this trend.

Addressing Medical Tourism, Mrs. AbdulRazaq emphasized that by choosing to practice in Nigeria, pharmacy students can help stem the capital flight caused by medical tourism, which many Nigerians pursue abroad. "Your skills are needed here, and you can be the catalyst for change in our healthcare sector," she said.

Her comments resonate amid ongoing concerns about brain drain in Nigeria’s healthcare industry, with an increasing number of professionals leaving the country for better opportunities abroad.

“There is no greener pasture anywhere in the World than the one you water yourself”, she noted.

While encouraging the students to invest their skills and expertise in building the Country’s healthcare system, she acknowledged the challenges in Nigeria’s health sector.

Abdulrazaq, however auded the ongoing efforts of the Federal Minister of Health and the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to improve healthcare services across the Country.

She reassured the students that their contributions as pharmaceutical professionals are crucial to the development of a nation which is home to over 200 million people, saying, “Nigeria needs you to help make a difference.”

She pointed out that numerous entrepreneurial opportunities are available in Nigeria, specifically in Kwara State, where structures are being put in place to ease the journey for aspiring entrepreneurs in the pharmaceutical sector.

“No one understands the country’s health needs better than those who have studied and trained here,” she added.