The Proprietor of Fresh FM network of radio stations across south-western Nigeria, Yinka Ayefele, MON have been warned to desist from the illegal harassment of Medical practitioners in Oyo State. The Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Oyo State Branch, Dr.’ Wale Lasisi made this known.
According to the statement, Yinka Ayefele and Fresh FM are not regulatory authorities for medical practitioners or their practice environment in Oyo State or anywhere in Nigeria. There is a weekly programme broadcast from the studio of Fresh FM Ibadan anchored by its proprietor, Mr. Yinka Ayefele, which does not align with Medical practice.
On this programme, Mr. Yinka Ayefele has obviously arrogated himself the power to regulate medical practitioners and their practice. He has constituted himself into a court or a pseudo-medical disciplinary tribunal that illegally summons doctors to his radio programme to explain patient care and management on air!
The Nigerian Medical Association is the professional association of doctors and dentists in Nigeria, while the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) is the regulatory body. Their core purpose is to uphold the professional and ethical practice of Medicine and Dentistry in Nigeria.
While we respect the journalism profession and its practitioners and appreciate their work in keeping the society informed through their diligent and persistent search for information, sometimes at great peril to themselves, we, however, frown at the ill-informed bad eggs in the journalism profession that paint the profession in bad light.
We are not unaware of individuals who are not seasoned journalists as they do not have deep formal training in journalism but gatecrash into that noble profession. They go marauding any and every piece of information for sensationalism and clout chasing and, unfortunately, misleading and misinforming the unsuspecting public.
To avoid doubt, the practice of Medicine is guided by very strict codes of conduct as well as ethics, which date back to Hippocrates- the father of Medicine. These ethical codes include the fierce protection of patients’ medical information after death. This code is taken so seriously that every doctor is required to swear to uphold it before being admitted into the profession.
Moreover, the National Health Act and relevant Laws make it an offence for any healthcare professional to unlawfully disclose the medical information of any patient without their consent!
A seasoned journalist should at least be aware of these fundamental laws and ethics and should know that no doctor will willfully break these codes and laws to imperil their medical license, even if a pseudo-journalist is willing to throw caution to the winds by abusing his cheap access to the broadcast airwaves.
While doctors are subjected to very rigorous education and training before being certified and licensed to practice Medicine, as humans, they may make mistakes sometimes. The Law made ample provisions for how to deal with such mistakes. None of the provisions includes submitting doctors to interrogation on live radio by Mr. Ayefele.
The Laws of the Federation of Nigeria established the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria(MDCN) and vested it with the authority to regulate doctors’ and dentists’ training, registration, and licensing. The MDCN specifies the code of conduct expected of doctors while practising Medicine. The MDCN is armed with a disciplinary Tribunal for the trial and discipline of doctors who err in any professional respect. Any person or persons who feel aggrieved by the conduct of a doctor who attended to them is free to lodge a complaint with the MDCN.
We, therefore, implore the Nigerian Union of Journalists, the Nigerian Bar Association and the Oyo State Commissioner of Police to please call Mr. Yinka Ayefele to order.
We also seek a public apology from him on his radio programme to the medical profession and the hospitals concerned, failure of which, we may have no other options than to use all legal means to address this weighty issue.
While we await the public apology from Mr Yinka Ayefele, we want to advise him to desist from further fueling the existing conflagration by stopping the illegality being perpetrated on our members by himself and his radio station.
We are a noble body with noble members, and noble intent, peaceful co-existence, and harmony in performing our duties are topmost on our daily duties.
