Doctor’s strike suspension: An open love letter to Abuja’s Super Minister

By Lemmy Ughegbe, Ph.D

Dear Super Minister,

This is not a letter of complaint, but a heartfelt appeal. Abuja has come to admire your boldness, decisiveness and the energy with which you have reshaped the city in such a short time. We see the roads, the order, and the renewed sense of governance that your hand has brought.

We call you “Super Minister” because you act where others hesitate and because, under your watch, the FCT is no longer adrift, but alive with purpose.

It is precisely because of this reputation for delivery that I am writing to you now, in love with the city and its people, about the crisis in the healthcare sector. The Association of Resident Doctors in the FCT recently embarked on an indefinite strike that brought hospitals to a halt.

Thankfully, following the intervention of the Senate Committee on Federal Territory Area Councils and Ancillary Matters, the strike has been suspended. While none of the demands have yet been met, the doctors have chosen to put their faith in the assurances of the Senate Committee and their trust in you as a listening and responsive Minister.

Out of respect for the Senate, regard for your office, and above all, love for their patients, they resolved to return to work, declaring, “We have to keep saving lives as we have sworn to do.”

This act of good faith is not a sign that all is well, but rather an invitation for you to step in decisively and resolve issues that have long been festering. Their problems did not all begin under your tenure, but government is a continuum, and the onus now rests with you to break the cycle of neglect and deliver a new chapter of healing for the capital.

Your Excellency, I note with affection that you have already spoken with conviction about your commitment to health. You said, “The 2025 capital budget for health alone, we put N25 billion,” and you instructed the Civil Service Commission: “Go and employ them. I will not be a doctor. Go and employ them.” These words show that you are listening, that you care, and that you want to act. This is love in governance, and Abuja is grateful.

But the doctors’ pain goes deeper than promises of tomorrow. Behind their communiqué are human stories of frustration. A young resident, unpaid for months, is borrowing money to keep his child in school while still reporting for duty. A surgeon, forced to finish an operation under the weak glow of phone torches when the theatre lights failed. A young woman doctor fainted during a night shift after going hungry because unexplained deductions whittled away her pay. These are cries of the heart, and it is with love for the city that I bring them to you.

Their demands, Super Minister, are modest and rooted in dignity. They want you to declare a state of emergency on healthcare in the FCT and urgently recruit more hands. They request payment of salaries owed to 27 colleagues who have been without pay for months, along with the clearance of outstanding arrears.

They appeal for an end to unexplained deductions and for a transparent reconciliation of accounts. They seek a clear and time-bound plan for promotions and arrears settlement, so that their careers can progress fairly.

They yearn for hospitals and primary health centres to be renovated and re-equipped, so they are no longer working in facilities that belong to another era. And they request that other items in their communiqué, many of which are low-cost but high-impact, be taken seriously.

By suspending their strike, the doctors have already shown remarkable goodwill. They trusted the Senate’s assurances and put their faith in you. This should touch the heart of every leader. Now, Super Minister, the ball is firmly in your court.

I know you have cautioned against blackmail and reminded us that everything has a procedure. You are right: process is necessary. But love also demands urgency. When lives are at stake, bureaucracy must give way to compassion.

Allow me to humbly propose a six-point plan in the spirit of this love letter. First, announce a 30-day “Emergency Welfare Window” to clear the backlog for the 27 unpaid doctors, publishing a transparent arrears ledger. Second, freeze unexplained deductions and institute a reconciliation desk with representatives from doctors and administrators. Third, issue a signed promotion and arrears timetable; dates, even staggered, give people hope. Fourth, fast-track recruitment with delegated authority, so your “go and employ them” instruction becomes reality. Fifth, ring fence a modest “Immediate Tools” fund for consumables, emergency repairs and diagnostic essentials while the larger capital plan unfolds. And sixth, establish a standing Minister and Clinicians Roundtable, a quarterly forum for dialogue and problem-solving. None of these measures requires breaking the bank. What they need is the will to show care.

Let me also speak of patients, for their voices complete this letter. Imagine the mother in labour arriving at midnight at a skeletal ward. Imagine the diabetic pensioner waiting weeks for a simple review because outpatient clinics are closed. Imagine the child brought in from the outskirts of the city, only to be turned away because a diagnostic machine is out of order again.

These are the silent heartbreaks that play out daily. These are the faces of Abuja, yearning for healing. Super Minister, your compassion is the balm they need.

There is a wider national backdrop to this crisis. Only recently, the National Association of Resident Doctors declared a nationwide strike, citing similar issues of unpaid arrears, welfare gaps and dilapidated facilities.

Nigeria’s hospitals, already overburdened, stagger when resident doctors, who anchor emergency and in-patient care, go on strike. In low-income settings like ours, where safety nets are weak, the cost is high: treatment delays, avoidable deaths and financial shocks that drive families deeper into poverty. Abuja, as the nation’s capital, cannot afford to mirror this fragility.

The structural pressures are just as stark. Nigeria continues to struggle with brain drain, as young doctors leave for better conditions abroad. Our doctor-to-patient ratio lags far behind global standards.

Every day we fail to pay salaries, delay promotions or ignore welfare concerns, we push more of our brightest talents out of the system. Abuja should set the example that public service is valued, not punished. If the capital cannot treat its healers with fairness, what hope is there for the rest of the country?

Super Minister, your strength has always been action. You are known as a man who does not shy away from a tough call. This is one of those moments. By moving swiftly to address the doctors’ welfare issues and honouring the trust they have placed in you, you will not only stabilise the health sector but also send a message that under your watch, lives come first.

Abuja residents already celebrate your strides in infrastructure and city renewal. How much more will they rejoice if they can also say: “When our doctors returned to work in hope, our Super Minister matched their faith with decisive action.” That is the legacy of love and leadership this city craves.

History, I believe, will not only record you as a builder of roads and bridges but as a healer of lives. And so, in this open love letter written after the strike, I ask that you meet the doctors’ goodwill with concrete solutions, restore our hospitals, and remind Abuja once again why we call you Super Minister.

With profound respect and affection,

Lemmy Ughegbe, ANIPR, writes from Abuja

Email: [email protected]

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