My Grouse With NYSC Corp Members that are Graduate of Medicine and Surgery

Issues are clear and the stakes are high. I really groan, bemoaning my predicament as a corps member that studied Engineering. If the clock could turn back its hands and rewind time, studying Medicine would have been my preferred choice of profession rather than Engineering.

Undoubtedly, Engineering is a good and decent profession, and without Engineering, there can never be any meaningful development in any State or Society. However, in Nigeria, the profound profession is inadequately appreciated which has resulted in low scale of industrialization, thereby rendering many Nigerians that studied the profession hopeless and jobless.

The few months I served, as a National Youth corps member in Osun State has broaden my insight on some reasons why many Nigerians choose to study Medicine rather than studying any other professions; State Government pays them N98,000, while others are been paid N5,000 as their monthly stipend. Personally, the financial disparity seems unprecedented because the glorified profession is not rocket science; anybody with sound mind can study the profession.

I must confess, I feel jealous when I see corps members that studied Medicine, swanking around in their expensive cars, wining and dining with beautiful girls, whilst corps members that studied Engineering or other professions manage to fend for themselves with their ‘little alawee’. Imagine! Last week, a friend cried foul, when a Doctor snatched his girlfriend due to the obvious reasons of finance. However, despite his lamentations, the bitter truth is that they seem to have a better prospect than other professions due to the job securities and stupendous salaries they earn during and after National Youth Service.

Dear Nairalanders, I strongly believe that all professions are great and no profession is the greatest on earth, but the apparent truth is that Doctors in Nigeria are enjoying in all ramifications far more than the Engineers. I wish I knew these facts earlier before studying Engineering. I wish I had listened to my parents and ignored the idea of studying a profession that I love wholeheartedly. Alas! I made a costly mistake and there is nothing I can do about the nation’s ill-fated profession (Engineering).