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As the number of graduates from health-related courses, particularly Pharmacy, Nursing, and Medical Laboratory Science, continues to rise, there are claims that they are being forced to pay bribes to health facilities or engage in unethical practices to secure internship placements amid limited available slots and intense competition, writes VICTOR AYENI
When Peter Ezenwa graduated with a degree in Pharmacy from a university in the South East and was inducted into the profession in 2023, his eyes shone with optimism.
The 25-year-old held onto the hope that an internship at a reputable state or federal hospital would provide him with the necessary training and signify the beginning of his career advancement.
Little did Ezenwa know that he had stepped under a proverbial metal cloud—a highly competitive market where only graduates who could pay would secure internship placements in health institutions.
“Since my graduation, I can’t afford to go for an internship because of the high cost of internship slots in hospitals. I have applied to so many hospitals, but all to no avail because I couldn’t afford their slots,” he told Saturday PUNCH in a frustrated tone.
Graduates of health-related courses such as Pharmacy, Nursing, Medical Laboratory Science, Physiotherapy, and Radiography, who have been inducted, are expected to undergo internships to gain hands-on experience that bridges theory and practice and prepare them for career progression.
According to the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, pharmacy graduates are statutorily required to undergo 12 months of continuous internship training under the supervision of a registered and currently licensed pharmacist in an internship centre approved by the council.
These internship placements could be in hospitals (mostly general hospitals), private hospitals, community pharmacies, or, more recently, pharmaceutical industries.
Some pharmacists apply to the Hospitals Management Board of states for internships, and if accepted, they are randomly allocated to a hospital or primary health centre.
Others, like Ezenwa, target federal institutions for internships, as these institutions are often mandated to accept candidates from across the country.
However, an investigation by Saturday PUNCH revealed that many federal and state hospitals sell their internship slots to graduates in Pharmacy, Nursing, and Medical Laboratory Science for amounts ranging between N200,000 and N500,000.
Determined to secure a pharmacy internship by any means, Ezenwa spent the next year working tirelessly, painstakingly saving up about N300,000 to buy a slot.
He said, “On December 4, 2024, I received a call from a federal hospital in the East that they needed a few graduate interns before Christmas, and they made it clear that each slot would cost N350,000. I had to borrow N50,000 to pay for the slot.
“They informed me that my appointment would be ready before Christmas, but since I work in Lagos, I had to start planning to relocate back to the East. After weeks of no response from the hospital, I inquired from my friends, and it was the same for them, so I started applying to other hospitals.
“The slot prices for each hospital differ, and I couldn’t afford many of them. Now, here is the problem, the hospital I paid N350,000 for an internship is supposed to refund my money if they have excess interns or can’t take any more. But now, another hospital has called me to start my internship. This is the problem I started this year with.”
A copy of the transaction made by Ezenwa to the hospital, seen by our correspondent, confirmed that he indeed paid N350,000 for the internship offer.
He further revealed that in most hospitals, a candidate may get refunded immediately if the institution cannot offer a placement for an internship.
Alternatively, the candidate could find another person to purchase their internship slot in order to recover the money if they are not yet ready to take the appointment.
An intense struggle
With the growing number of health-related graduates produced annually in Nigeria, the struggle for internship placements has become increasingly fierce over the past five years.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that although health institutions receive numerous applications and organise examinations for candidates seeking internships, they have a limited quota of interns they are expected to take in at any given period.
This has created a situation where many hospitals allegedly extort desperate graduates seeking placements and foster a system of nepotism, where “man-know-man” takes precedence over merit.
Several medical-related graduates who spoke to our correspondent pointed out that while some institutions openly demand money in exchange for internship appointments, others operate more covertly, often preferring to deduct the money from the interns’ monthly pay.
“I wrote internship applications to a total of 23 institutions,” a pharmacist who gave his name only as Chinedum told our correspondent. “I wrote 10 interviews in all. I was living in Port Harcourt then, so I had to travel out of my state eight times.
“On several occasions, especially in one university in the South, they were openly collecting money, and a good number of people in my class got their internship placements after paying their way through. I couldn’t even afford it, so I was just applying and writing exams.
“Although no one directly asked me to pay for a slot, I knew those who did. In fact, you first need to have a ‘connection’ who can help you facilitate the placement before you can even pay the money. When I travelled to Asaba and Uyo, I heard people paid N120,000 or N130,000 for slots. That was in 2018.”
In Nigerian lingo, having a “connection” refers to leveraging a social network within public and private organisations to secure favours, financial benefits, employment, or internship opportunities, often bypassing standard requirements such as due process, experience, skills, and merit.
This practice has been described as nepotism, and the Whistleblower Encyclopedia defines it as “favouring family members or close relatives for jobs, promotions, contracts, collaborations, or other benefits within a company, organisation, or government agency.”
Chinedum, now employed and working in Lagos, wistfully recalled how much he spent travelling for internship examinations, despite having limited financial means at the time.
“I travelled to Abuja from Port Harcourt twice. I travelled to Enugu, Uyo, Asaba, Lagos, and even applied at UST and UNIPORT. I entered night buses many times, coupled with the stress of travelling. My observation is that placements tend to be easier in the South-West than in the South-East,” he added.
Corruption disguised
In a post by an X user, Alex Onyia, last Sunday, he accused federal and state institutions of forcing Nigerian graduates from medical and health-related disciplines to pay between N300,000 and N1m for internship placements.
“They make them write interview exams knowing full well that they will never be accepted unless they have strong connections or pay the money. Many of these graduates are still at home looking for placements. This criminality has to stop!” he wrote.
Replying to his tweet, a pharmacist named Ikenna said, “When I travelled to Lokoja (Kogi State) and Lagos for interviews, I knew the chances were slim. Obviously, I didn’t have a ‘connection,’ but I had to try.
“I went to Abuja to find ‘connections,’ but on my way back to Port Harcourt, I was kidnapped in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State. I spent six days in the kidnappers’ den. I had had enough.”
Sex for internship
A few pharmacists discreetly told our correspondent that not all candidates pay in cash. They alleged that some desperate candidates also pay in kind—through sex.
“Except you know someone or you pay money, it’s easier for a pharmacist to trek from Lagos to Onitsha than to get an internship placement in any hospital,” a pharmacist, Beatrice Usen, told Saturday PUNCH.
“People are going through a lot just to get internship placements. I had a similar experience, and someone even propositioned me for sex. It’s annoying because if not for what I was looking for, why would I stoop that low?
“You will find pharmacy graduates spending months or years travelling from state to state to write internship exams, which we know they won’t get until they drop either money or something else. That’s why many of us are frustrated about this. What’s the point of studying hard for six years if you still have to look for money or offer your body?” Usen queried.
A Lagos-based pharmacist, who chose to be called Wande, also confided in our correspondent that he slept with a man to secure an internship placement in a health institution in 2022.
“After my graduation, it was a struggle getting an internship placement,” he said in a low tone. “My parents contacted people they knew in hospitals and relevant organisations, but their ‘connections’ all failed.
“Eventually, my uncle introduced me to one man who requested I pay in kind, and I had to give him what he wanted. I got my internship there. It was indeed a crazy period of my life.
“Before I got the slot, I had travelled to different states and written exams, but nothing came out of them. I couldn’t really tell my uncle or anyone what I had to do, but I have moved on from it. I’m grateful that I’m now in a better place with better pay.”
‘It has always been tough’
On his part, a pharmacist who spoke with Saturday PUNCH, Moyosore Odedeyi, argued that the struggle to get juicy placements has always been tough.
He recalled that when he did his internship in 2017/2018, he heard rumours that some of his colleagues parted with money to get internship slots.
“I heard a lot of things that were unconfirmed then,” Odedeyi stated. “But I did not pay to get a placement. It took me more than a year to get a placement, so I can surely say it was very tough. I even heard that some pay in kind, but I haven’t come across anyone who actually paid to get a placement then or now. But there’s no smoke without fire.”
“Let’s be honest, everything is difficult to get legitimately in this country. Let’s start from the elementary stage—getting admission. Do you know how much will leave your pocket before you can be admitted to study in a public university? Even those with high UTME and post-UTME scores still have to ‘sort’ people to maintain their places on the matriculation list.”
“There is a need for a central system to oversee internship placements,” advised Olaoye David, a pharmacist. “Medical doctors were suffering the same fate of being exploited by hospitals before the MDCN took charge of the situation. Most administrative staff in teaching hospitals are the brains behind the extortion of pharmacists.”
At a recent oath-taking/induction ceremony held in Abuja, the PCN Registrar, Ibrahim Ahmed, urged pharmacists to uphold the highest ethical standards.
“PCN frowns upon professional misconduct in its entirety. As such, any form of misconduct by any pharmacist is usually investigated by the PCN Investigating Panel, and if the pharmacist has a case to answer, he or she is referred to the disciplinary tribunal,” Ahmed said.
Attempts to obtain comments from the PCN were unsuccessful, as a call made to the registrar’s phone line went unanswered, and a text message sent received no response. Additionally, a message sent by our correspondent to an email address listed on the PCN’s website on Wednesday had not been replied to as of the time of filing this report.
Nurses’ sad experiences
Pharmacists are not the only ones fiercely struggling for internship slots; nurses in Nigeria also face the same growing challenge.
“I got my internship placement 18 months after graduation,” a registered nurse, Ruth Iyanda, told Saturday PUNCH.
“Let me tell you the truth, in most cases, you have to bribe someone in there with N200,000 to get one.
“We have federal teaching hospitals doing this too. They will collect bribes before you can get an internship placement, and if you don’t, they won’t give you one. I recently heard about a fellow nurse who has been searching for an internship placement since 2022. It’s sad!” she exclaimed.
“A junior colleague called me the other day crying,” said a registered nurse, Muinat. “The poor lady had no money or ‘connection’ for an internship placement, and she has stayed at home for almost a year now. You study, pay school fees, graduate, and still have to face the trauma of looking for an internship. Is that not madness?
“A friend of mine got an internship slot in a federal teaching hospital. They told him his first two months’ salary was for them. Nurses have to do unspeakable things just to get internships—why? I’m sick and tired of this country,” Muinat noted, sadness evident in her voice.
Highlighting the importance of internships, a nurse who works in a state hospital, Margaret Iduh, explained that nurses who do not complete the one-year hands-on training may remain relegated in the civil service.
“You can’t progress if you don’t go for an internship because it places you on a higher pay level. If you don’t want to remain stagnant, it’s very important. That’s why there is desperation, and some unscrupulous people take advantage of it to exploit graduates,” she told our correspondent.
Also speaking with Saturday PUNCH, a nurse intern, who gave her name as Flora, clarified that although she did not pay for her internship programme, she was selected solely because someone she knew had a connection in the hospital.
She further stated that the slots allocated to hospitals come from the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja, and it is left to the hospitals to regulate how many interns they take in at any given time.
“Getting an internship placement was much easier in 2017 or 2018. Back then, you didn’t need many connections to secure one. Things are more difficult now.“The number of graduates in many universities used to be around 50 to 60. But now, we have a much larger population of graduates. For instance, in my set at UNIBEN, we were about 72 graduates, and by the time we did our induction, only 60 of us remained.
“Now, they have around 200 graduates per set, and the same applies to other health-related courses and universities. Meanwhile, hospitals can only take 20 or, at most, 30 interns at a time. This makes securing an internship placement even more difficult.”
Flora added, “I have heard of people paying between N200,000 and N350,000 to get an internship, and even then, there’s no guarantee they will get it in the end.”
According to the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act Cap C3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, the direct or indirect giving and receipt of bribes or gratification to influence official acts related to official duties is prohibited.
Sections 12, 13, 14, and 20 of the Act also criminalise corruptly giving or receiving gratification for or on behalf of public officers for the performance or non-performance of official duties, as well as bribery conducted through agents.
Attempts to contact the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria via email were unsuccessful, as both email addresses listed on its website were blocked. Similarly, calls to the phone numbers provided on the site did not connect, and a text message sent to both numbers remained unanswered at the time of filing this report. An effort to contact the NMCN via X also failed, as only accounts they followed could send them messages.
‘I sought placement for four years’
Narrating his ordeal to our correspondent, an Enugu-based Medical Laboratory Scientist, Kelechi Uka, said he sought internship placement for four years, attending over 15 interviews across the country.
“I graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 2013,” Uka recounted. “From there, the search for an internship placement began in earnest. My first interview experience was at UNTH, the very hospital where I did my clinical posting during my school days.
“I thought at least graduates from UNN would be given an advantage. But when I saw the job advert, I knew there was going to be a problem—they told applicants to submit 10 copies of their application, yet the vacancy was for just 150 interns, and I was 1,587th on the interview list.
“On the day of the interview, which was scheduled for 8 a.m., we were not attended to until around 3 p.m. They started with the doctors, who had about 2,000 applicants, then moved to Pharmacy, and finally my department, MLS. We queued in a single file, without any screening or verification of applicants.”
After the written interview, Uka and other applicants were asked to wait for an oral interview. He found it absurd, considering they intended to “interview up to 5,000 applicants in a single day.” Eventually, many candidates who had travelled long distances left because they had to return to their destinations.
He recalled widespread rumours that a lady who was an aide to the Chief Medical Director was allegedly selling internship slots to candidates by proxy.
“Although I eventually got placement with them on my third attempt, I didn’t even partake in the oral interview. That was when I confirmed the rumour—most of the people who secured placements had either bought the slot or were from the CMD’s state of origin.”
Recounting another experience at a Federal Medical Centre in Bayelsa State, Uka claimed that applicants from the South-East were completely sidelined and not selected at all.
Another teaching hospital in Enugu State granted placements only to its indigenes, which led some candidates to forge the state’s certificate of origin. They were so insistent on requiring LGA identification that one applicant from Anambra State forged his certificate of origin to reflect Enugu State. They later called him on the phone to verify, as his name, by all indications, sounded like one from Anambra State, which was indeed his true state of origin.
Sharing a similar experience, an MLS graduate, Chukwudi Uzor, said, “I searched for an internship for over four years. At a point, I even got fed up. The worst part is that even if you confidently apply, there’s still no certainty of securing it without ‘connections’ or money.
“Don’t even get me started on the transport fares and other expenses involved in seeking an internship. It’s an embarrassment to our profession that you have to lobby and beg for internship slots. Such a thing should not be happening in a sane society.”
First class graduate frustrated
Taking to X last month, an MLS graduate in Chemical Pathology, Ochuko Akpobome, lamented to the MLSCN that despite his first-class honours, he had been “silently battling with gigantic frustration for several months” because no facility would grant him an internship placement.
“I’m pained to a depth that’s far from easy to explain because I know that I deserve so much better, and there’s no reason for someone like me to suffer this way!
“This system, where even a first-class degree isn’t enough to secure an internship placement, has to change! If it isn’t enough, what then is its use? What’s the point of giving so much to go through the rugged, intense journey of getting a BMLS degree if it only ends in frustration on such a massive scale?” he wrote.
“It’s easier to gain admission than to get an internship in Nigeria,” an Ibadan-based MLS, Oreofe Disu, noted. “The problem starts even from the undergraduate stage. University departments admit more students than required, and at the end of the day, the number of graduates becomes outrageous compared to the limited number of slots available.
“The professional bodies should make things easier for graduates. It is a bad commentary that people have to pay outrageous amounts of money for internship placements. What kind of country are we building if our institutions are so greedy and ethically deficient?”
Attempts by our correspondent to obtain comments from the administrative head of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria were unsuccessful, as calls to his phone did not connect, and a text message sent remained unanswered as of Friday afternoon.
Additionally, an email sent to the MLSCN through its website on Wednesday had not received a response at the time of filing this report.
