SUGGESTIONS The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) should realise that the future of this profession lies in the hands of this association hence any erring member must be punished. NMA should realise that our regulatory agency, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), just like other regulatory agencies/councils inthe health is an appendage of the Federal Ministry of Health hence all the members of the staff are under the ministry. It is only NMA and her affiliates that are independent and can fight for the future of this association. In 2015, the Port Harcourt branch of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) suspended Barrister Worgu Boms, the then Attorney-general and Commissioner of Justice in the state over what they called lingering judicial crisis in the state. The state owned courts in Rivers state were all closed down and lawyers were relocating outside of the state when one of their own superintended the ministry of Justice. They did not spare rod after all their negotiations and entreaties with their colleague failed. It is also fresh in our memories how the Onitsha branch of NBA suspended the former governor of Anambra state, Barrister Chinwoke Mbadinuju PhD, over the killing of Barrister Barnabas Igwe and his wife in a state Mbadinuju was the number one citizen and Chief Security Officer. NBA did not stop at that they suspended the Chief Justice of the state and others over the murder of the former Onitsha branch chairman of NBA. NMA should call to order,and where necessary suspend, any CMD or minister of health who assumes the power of an emperor. The frequent altercations between ARD/NARD and their CMD’s should be addressed forthwith. Residency and House job placements should be a continuum in that upon graduating from medical schools ,doctors should be posted to their places of choices for internship by MDCN at the time of issuing the provisional licences, after NYSC ,the postgraduate medical college should also post the qualified from the Primary exam pass list. No medical school will be allowed to produce more graduates than it can absorb for both Residency and Internship each year. NMA should immediately recognise the ongoing strategy by JOHESU where doctors are portrayed to the public as incapable of manning administrative positions in the health sector. We all saw the politics that removed Dr Amina Shamaki as the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health. JOHESU in the ministry stood their ground and she was prevented from coming into her office for many days but at the end of the day, the wish of JOHESU was granted as she was forcefully transferred to another ministry. Coming down to FMC Owerri, when Dr Angela Uwakwem was reinstated in preparation for her terminal leave after several panel of enquiry from the federal ministry of health, and well populated by JOHESU members, exonerated her of any impropriety. However, the same JOHESU having failed in that bid, later petitioned EFCC and she was arraigned and later disgraced out of office few months before when her terminal leave would begin despite the fact that she after being reinstated made peace with her colleagues. Currently, the CMD of UCTH Calabar was recently arraigned along with others, many media houses carried news headlines such as: UCTH CMD, six others arraigned for fraud, abuse of office; EFCC Arraigns Chief Medical Director, Six Others for alleged N85 million fraud; Court Remand UCTH CMD, Others In Prison Custody,et cetera . Although, the petition that led to the arraignment must have emanated from JOHESU or JOHESU member, there may be the complicity of one of Prof Agan’s colleagues who is either interested in Prof Agan’s job or wants him disgraced out of office as a payback for what happened in the past. NMA should be proactive as this pattern started in FMC Owerri and as it has worked perfectly for them, Prof Agan is the next victim and who knows the next victim? While NMA is keeping quiet, JOHESU is progressively becoming a powerful force to reckon with failure of which the leader will be disgraced out of office. No wonder NARD members usually complain that their demands are swept under the carpet while demands made by JOHESU are given the utmost attention they deserve. I am not in any way exonerating any CMD who embezzles any hospital’s funds but all I am saying is that NMA should be aware of well-thought-out plan of portraying doctors to the members of the public as professionals incapable of administrative positions and plan of disdainfully exiting any CMD who does not acquiesce in JOHESU’s demands through unnecessary petitions which the court may eventually exonerate the CMD from but then the CMD had lost his job in line with civil service rule. The issue of remuneration of doctors should be immediately revisited as many doctors in the private sector and at the employment of some state civil service commissions are earning less than N500( five hundred naira) per day. They are faced with daunting family challenges and failure to solve these family responsibilities may lead to Depression, which is characterised by so many features which include but not limited to: persistent sadness and a loss of interest in activities that people normally enjoy, accompanied by an inability to carry out daily activities, for 14 days or longer. In addition, people with depression normally have several of the following: a loss of energy; a change in appetite; sleeping more or less; anxiety; reduced concentration; indecisiveness; restlessness; feelings of worthlessness, guilt, or hopelessness; and thoughts of self-harm or suicide. WHO insists that Depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide? According to the latest estimates from WHO, more than 300 million people are now living with depression, an increase of more than 18% between 2005 and 2015. Lack of support for people with mental disorders, coupled with a fear of stigma; prevent many from accessing the treatment they need to live healthy, productive lives. We all know that Depression at its worst can lead to Suicide. Remuneration of those our colleagues in other sectors should also be revisited to reflect the current economic realities of the country because it will imprudent to use CONMESS established when a dollar was less than N200 to pay doctors now that US dollar hovers around N400. Other working conditions should be revisited and the hazard fee revamped immediately. Our contributions to NHIS should also be revisited because I wonder why Oil company workers can treat their families and relatives in the choicest hospitals while their companies foot the bills whereas we in the health sector, manning the hospitals will have to pay through our nose when medical services are rendered to us or any members of our families. Finally, there is no gainsaying the fact that the current practice in Nigeria is frustrating both in public and private sectors. Frustration leads to Depression, and Depression as we have earlier noted can lead to suicide. S68 of Code of Medical Ethics in Nigeria treats the determination of Fitness to Practise.S.68(1)states that :The Council views the following as conditions which could render a practitioner unsafe and constitute obstacles of fitness to practise Medicine or Dentistry and ss.(1b) of the same section states that: A practitioner suffering from physical or mental conditions which can imperil his patient, embarrass his professional colleagues and indeed jeopardise his own career and professional position. There is no doubt that moderate and Severe Depression is implicated in this section because WHO classifies Depression as a Mental disorder or illness and maintains that is common and leading cause of ailment. S.68(2) goes on to treat how such a colleague will be investigated and when proven to medically unfit, how such a colleague will be handled is enshrined in S.69 of the Code. I nearly developed palpitation the day I read that section and I was not surprised why the likes of Dr Ekpo Etien Inyang, Dr Allwell Orji and others deliberately took their lives without revealing their health conditions to their colleagues who might report them to MDCN investigating panel. The clause I will not fail to mention here in the said section is where the name of such a colleague after the sentence will be published in the Gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and as a paid advertisement in each of four national newspapers. The punishment does not end there as there other major punishment attached to the section. I will humbly advise MDCN to restrict the mind-boggling punishments to colleagues convicted of drug addiction and chronic alcoholics as contained in s68( 1c and 1d) respectively. Meanwhile, those convicted of Senile dementia and Mental and physical illnesses as contained in s68 (1a and 1b) respectively, should not be punished because these ailments are not completely self-induced hence should not be punished along with the drug addicts and chronic alcoholics. Those of proven cases of Senile dementia and mental and physical illnesses should be rehabilitated and their salaries maintained even when they stop work. This is important because the theme for this year’s World Health Day is: Depression, let’s talk. The ‘let’s talk’ part of the campaign’ is aimed at getting more people with Depression, including medical doctors, everywhere in the world, to seek and get help. Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO summarised it as’ One of the first steps is to address issues around prejudice and discrimination. “The continuing stigma associated with mental illness was the reason why we decided to name our campaign Depression: let’s talk,”. “For someone living with depression, talking to a person they trust is often the first step towards treatment and recovery.” I maintain that doctors with mental and physical illness should be giving a soft landing and not punished like common criminals to motivate them to discuss their health issues with colleagues they trust. Let the deaths of Drs Ekpo Etien Inyang and Allwell Orji and et cetera start up a positive revolution and revamping of our health sector for the betterment of both the doctors and other healthcare professionals. Let their deaths be like the death of Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi (29 March 1984 – 4 January 2011) who was a Tunisian street vendor who set himself on fire on 17 December 2010, in response to the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation that he said was inflicted on him by a municipal official and her aides. This act became a catalyst for the Tunisian revolution and the wider Arab Spring, inciting demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country. Simmering public anger and sporadic violence intensified following Bouazizi’s death, leading then-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on 14 January 2011, after 23 years in power. While filing this report, breaking news headlines had it that another medical doctor, Dr I.J. Mbaekpe living in Abayi area of Aba Abia state, had committed suicide after being bedridden for nearly 30 years with an undisclosed ailment. 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