Young and aspiring Nigerian nurses continue to grapple with the lack of issuance of the nursing certificate due to a single administrative move since 2023, ENigeria Newspaper has learnt.
ENigeria Newspaper learnt this while it monitored an investigative research done by Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), which shows that hundreds of aspiring Nigerian nurses, fresh from school, are increasingly unsure about their future prospects as certificate issuing delays continue to impede their careers.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria’s lack of a governing board, which resulted from Bola Tinubu‘s dissolution of the organization in 2023 and left no authorized official to sign certificates for licensed aspiring Nigerian nurses, is at the heart of the dilemma.
For many affected graduates, the consequences have been immediate and severe. Samson Adams, who completed his studies at the University of Ilorin in 2023, told FIJ that he had to abandon an overseas job application after discovering that his available documents were insufficient.
“I have my license and notification of results issued by the board. But these are not sufficient to land me a job,” he said. “I just discontinued the application. It has been a terrible period so far.”
The situation is similar for Jemila Friday, a graduate of the Kogi State College of Nursing Sciences, whose hopes of securing a federal job were dashed at the final stage of recruitment.
“I was happy and thought I was a step closer to being gainfully employed,” she said. “I did well during the interview and submitted my available credentials, including my nursing license and notification of results issued after my graduation.”
But the absence of a certificate ultimately cost her the opportunity.
“My interviewers requested my certificate. I explained that it had not been issued. They said that without my certificate, they could not proceed with hiring me. It was really painful because that was a federal job,” she added.
Across the country, the story is repeating itself. Abiodun Grace, who graduated from a nursing school in Osogbo, said while she managed to secure work in a private hospital, many of her peers remain unemployed.
“My school authorities are aware of this problem, but they said it is beyond them. While I have not been pressured to present my certificate at the private hospital where I work, many of my friends don’t even have a place to work because all the opportunities they have seen required them to submit a certificate,” she said.
“I know a colleague who applied for a role in a state hospital but missed out due to the unavailability of her certificate.”
The uncertainty is further compounded by the temporary nature of the documents currently held by graduates. Odun Matthew warned that the notification of results issued in place of certificates expires after three years, potentially closing even more doors.
“Imagine finishing studying a professional course and three years after graduation, you can’t actually produce a certificate to show what you studied,” he said.
“It is shameful that nobody could sign our certificates in the absence of a chairman. When they know that the board chairman is so important and irreplaceable, why not appoint another one all these years?”
FIJ noted that the council, which oversees nursing education, license, and certification in Nigeria, has not had a board head since the breakup, leaving thousands of graduates in limbo. Attempts to get in touch with the agency for comment have failed as of the time of publication.
