‘Dr. Musa we will pay off your $250,000 student loans,’ By Musa Mbahi

One of the major Strengths of my Anatomic and Clinical Pathology Residency Program at Howard University Hospital Washington, DC was it’s proximity to many top notch Military Institution Hospitals and research Centers like United States Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; National Naval Medical Center; (Military) Veterans Affairs Haospitals etc.;

Our Residency Program was able to tap into the resources of these Institutions by sending us Residents for optional Rotations.

As part of Documentations to Rotate through these Institutions, our names invariably gets entered into Data Base visible to all recruiters of all branches of the Armed Forces. And they indeed tried much to recruit us. US Army, US Navy, US Air Force – all tried.

Most of us werent interested. The pay was not competitive compared to what we could get at our first Civilian jobs fresh out from our Residency Training.

The recruiters were persistent though, even after I had finished my Residency Training at Washington DC and moved on to University of Alabama at Birmingham, for my Fellowships Training – they continued with their pitch. I refused.

Finally, when I was doing my final fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the recruiter threw in what he thought will be the Final bait:

“We will pay off your Student loans upto $250,000 if you join up and sigh a 10 year commitment”

I took a deep breath, and said to him:

“I don’t have Student Loans. But if you will give me the $250,000 cash, I will Join”

Army Recruiter: “How come”?

Me: “Because I went to Medical School in Nigeria. And as a Nigerian Citizen, University Education is Heavily subsidized to almost neligible fees – which parents, relatives, friends, scholarships or Bursaries pay”

Me: So you will give me the cash or what?

Military Recruiter; “No we are not allowed yo do that”

Me: Ok, in that case, it doesnt make case to join-up for about $80,000 a year when I can get about twice that amount in Salary fresh out of Fellowship.

Military Recruiter: Correct!

I never got a call from a Military recruiter again. I guess they deleted my name or mark it as “unrecruitable”

Now, someone will tell me not to be grateful to Nigeria. Or that I should not be upset when I see Nigeria denigrated.

  • Musa Adamu Mbahi is a consultant and medical doctor based in United States.

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