The excitement of the first time I was able to successfully carry out a venipuncture procedure lingers in the passion I have for the profession, just as much as the confidence I had after mastering how to focus the microscope for a microscopy examination. The level of pride I had, successfully carrying out a Ziehl-Neelsen stain procedure, was infinitesimal to the joy and pride I had – setting the record as the youngest to graduate in my alma mater at the age of 18, and getting inducted as a professional medical laboratory technician (MLT) on the very day I clocked 20 years.
Now at the age of 30, while my passion for the profession remains, my commitment to the passion has waned, and this is solely because neither the passion nor the profession is helping me to live the life I dreamt of living. My expertise in genotyping as well as some other pathological procedures – or other service to humanity – has not enabled me to live a decent life, nor has it provided a channel for me to pursue a more excellent life.
Ultimately, I transitioned into Media and Marketing, and barely 2 years into this new career path – I am disappointed at gap in the reward system of this beloved medical profession, especially in Nigeria.
Recently, I saw a couple of messages on an alumni group chat I belong to, and it left me wondering. The messages were about vacancies, but I was seeing a monthly salary range of 100,000 – 150,000 Naira, an equivalent of less than 100 USD. I would be pretending if I said I didn’t know people are earning this kind of amount as their income on a monthly basis, but I expected it to be better for this particular profession. This is neither an office assistant vacancy nor is it an internship role. This is the monthly salary range for EXPERIENCD and CERTIFIED MEDICAL LABORATORY TECHNICIANS in NIGERIA.
To the best of my knowledge, an average healthcare assistant in the United States earns a monthly salary above 3,000 USD. While I am not expecting the same standard in a country like ours, I had hoped the gap wouldn’t be so large -less than 100 USD in comparison to 3,000 USD is staggering!
I had to ask questions, so I picked up my phone to ask, “how much will a private hospital/clinic/laboratory pay a professional MLT with over 5 years’ experience?”. Someone responded, “about 200,000 Naira”, and others came to debate, saying “it’s not up to that”. Then I asked, “how much does a professional MLT earn with the government?”.
Using Lagos state as an example someone replied, “MLTs get employed at the Grade level 07” and from the information I gathered, the gross pay is about 170,000 Naira and net pay after tax and other statutory deductions is about 150,000 Naira (The struggle to even get the government job is another epistle for another day).
This broke my heart all over again. Because, how does one go to a college of health, study to be functional in all 5 arms of Medical Laboratory – Hematology/Blood banking, Histology, Parasitology, Bacteriology/Microbiology, and Chemical Pathology – write professional exams on all 5 areas, be inducted as a medical professional only to be earning 100,000 Naira, 150,000 Naira or 170,000 Naira monthly in this economy! Yet they’re required to work 9am-5pm, and even do night shifts, work on weekends and public holidays.
The situation is very sad. Some private hospitals even make it worse, that they provide accommodation not because they care for the MLT, but so that they are housed in the facility or close to the facility and can work round the clock – cutting them off from their personal lives and relatives. Then you wonder, “what in the modern-day slavery is this?!”
Back then, when I was working in the profession, people see us wearing lab coats and think we are living the good life. Since most times you find us well dressed in sleek cover shoes or wearing scrubs – and you think, “Oh, these guys are so blessed to be medical professionals!” but far from it in reality…
In my opinion: this profession is stagnant! Especially in this country (Nigeria), where it’s more frustrating to be a medical practitioner than to be a keke driver! This makes me wonder if it is a curse, and if it is so; what exactly is cursed? Is it the profession? The ruling bodies? Or the Nigerian System?
Even though I transitioned out of the field, my love for the occupation still remains, and I hope to one day do something with it. Hence the reason I still develop myself within the profession, by getting relevant certifications, despite been in search of greener pastures that has led to where I am now today. However not everyone is lucky enough to go through life the way I have been able to, because I strive for myself alone – as a currently unmarried man with no child(ren). But most of my colleagues are married, and also have children, and I can’t imagine how things are for them.
Usually, they’re forced to go back to school and get their Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (BMLS) to become a “Scientist”. A pathway so hard that we can’t attest for a fact that 50% of MLTs can secure a direct entry into a university to obtain a BMLS on the pedigree of being a certified MLT. Yet, when they finally do and drop the “Technician” (MLT) title for “Scientist” (MLS), even as a “Scientist” – how much is the pay? When even the Doctors – who are at the top of the medical food chain here in Nigeria – are in a rat race to japa or relocate to another country for greener pasture. But at least, Doctors have the professional exam (PLAB) pathway that help them relocate.
Sadly, it’s easier for a truck driver to relocate with his skill, than it is for a medical laboratory technician to relocate with his qualification and skill.
Those in civil service would often say, “there are extra bonuses that tops our salary every year based on national steps, while the major salary increment occurs every 3 years”, but this leaves me in more confusion – knowing that we live in a county where “yesterday’s price is not today’s price” in the market. How then is it that we’re okay waiting “3 years” before the next major increment in salary? What of those with children old enough to be in the university, how do they send their kids to school? Remember, these people are not illiterates, they went to school and are medical professionals, but they can hardly cater for their families or send their own kids to schools!
Food for thought: What is the Association of Medical Laboratory Technicians and Assistants of Nigeria doing about this state of our profession? What is the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria doing? On a larger scale, what is the Nigerian Labour Congress doing about the difficult situation of things for people working in this country?
Beyond this is also the level of abuse, bullying and toxicity existing in the workplaces. You go to work, and bosses are sending you to the market, giving you plates to go buy food. Why then won’t staff carry out their frustrations on patients and patients’ relatives?
I’m always proud of being a professional MLT so much, that I flaunt it everywhere. But it’s a shame that practitioners are still living in the past! Earning just twice as much as a Corp member, even with all the professional exams and rigorous studying. Which would make one ask: Is it not just better to scrap the course in schools, so people can find something else productive to do with their lives? This is truly very sad and heartbreaking…
About Author:
Rotimi Adekunle Adedeji, known as ARA, is a certified Medical Laboratory Technician and Biochemist whose journey spans science, healthcare, storytelling, and digital strategy. He became the youngest graduate of Lagos State College of Health at 18 and entered the medical field by 20, accumulating nearly a decade of experience in laboratory science. Despite setbacks in pursuing BMLS, he earned a BSc in Biochemistry and returned to the field he loved—only to pivot due to poor working conditions.
In 2023, Rotimi embraced filmmaking at Ebonylife Creative Academy, launching a new chapter as a screenwriter and producer. He has written over five films and produced two, blending analytical precision with creative flair. Today, he runs a media agency offering social media marketing, content creation, strategy development, and video editing—proving that reinvention and innovation are his superpower.
