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By Enyeribe Ejiogu
Medical Laboratory Science is at the core of the healthcare delivery system as the results of diagnostic investigations are vital and guide doctor in treating various disease conditions. Members of the Young Medical Laboratory Scientists Forum play the role of frontline soldiers in medical diagnostic investigations that enable treatment and cure. In this interview, the National President of Young Medical Laboratory Scientists Forum (YMLSF) Joshua Adeola-Oyekan, Xrays the medical
Give us an overview of medical laboratory practice today
Medical laboratory practice in Nigeria stands at a defining crossroads. The sector has recorded notable advances in diagnostic capacity, professional education, and awareness of quality management principles. Yet, these gains remain unevenly distributed. A significant number of laboratories still operate with limited infrastructure, obsolete equipment, and inconsistent adherence to quality assurance standards.
Nevertheless, there is a growing awakening within the system, an increasing recognition that accurate diagnostics form the very backbone of effective healthcare delivery. The modern medical laboratory scientist is no longer a behind-the-scenes analyst, but an integral partner in patient management, disease surveillance, and public health decision-making. The emergence of molecular testing, automation, and digital diagnostics continues to redefine our professional landscape. However, realizing the full promise of these advances will require deliberate investment, policy reform, robust regulation, and continuous professional development.
Why did it become necessary to establish the YMLSF as a separate body from AMLSN?
The Young Medical Laboratory Scientists Forum (YMLSF) was not founded in opposition to the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), but in continuity with its legacy. It emerged out of a necessity for renewal, to create a platform through which younger professionals could channel their energy, creativity, and leadership potential toward strengthening the profession.
While AMLSN remains the parent body and custodian of our professional heritage, YMLSF exists as a strategic incubator for early and mid-career scientists. It provides a space to cultivate competencies in advocacy, leadership, research, entrepreneurship, and technological innovation. In essence, YMLSF represents the bridge between the wisdom of tradition and the urgency of transformation ensuring that the next generation is both prepared and empowered to advance the ideals our predecessors established.
From the perspective of a practitioner, what would you say are the operational modalities that need to change?
To strengthen diagnostic services and public confidence, several operational modalities require reform:
Quality Assurance and Regulation: Every medical laboratory must institutionalize internal and external quality assurance systems as a non-negotiable standard of practice.
Workforce Structure: We must establish a clearly defined scheme of service that rewards competence, encourages specialization, and prioritizes continuous professional development.
Inter-professional Collaboration: The laboratory must be recognized and respected as a clinical partner rather than a subordinate service, as accurate diagnostics are central to effective treatment.
Technology Integration: The adoption of Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), AI-assisted diagnostics, and digital reporting must become standard to enhance accuracy and efficiency.
Funding and Policy Support: Sustainable diagnostic services demand deliberate government investment, supportive legislation, and private partnerships that prioritize quality and patient safety over profit.
How well equipped and positioned is YMLSF to bring about a paradigm shift in the practice of MLS, which the public can see and feel in real terms?
YMLSF is strategically positioned to lead the paradigm shift our profession requires. The Forum has evolved beyond being a youth-driven network into a developmental stakeholder in Nigeria’s healthcare ecosystem. Our members are the very scientists behind the diagnostic outcomes that influence daily patient care across hospitals and laboratories nationwide.
Under the leadership of MLS Adeola-Oyekan Joshua, our national president, YMLSF’s strategic direction focuses on advocacy, innovation, and impact. Through structured mentorship programs, public engagements, and consistent community health initiatives such as medical outreaches, screening campaigns, and blood drives, the Forum is actively bridging the gap between laboratory science and public health visibility.
Our objective is simple yet profound: to make the impact of medical laboratory science visible, relatable, and felt in everyday healthcare experiences. When diagnostics become a recognized pillar of national health development, the paradigm shift will not just be professional, it will be societal.
Looking back at the Warri incident, what needs to be done to educate and enlighten the public to identify quacks engaged in medical laboratory practice?
The Warri incident served as a painful but necessary wake-up call for both the profession and the public. It exposed the depth of public ignorance that enables quackery to persist. Many Nigerians are unaware of how to distinguish a legally accredited medical laboratory from an illegal or unqualified setup.
To correct this, a multi-pronged enlightenment approach is essential. Public awareness campaigns, leveraging radio, television, print, and digital media should focus on teaching citizens how to identify MLSCN-accredited laboratories and licensed professionals. The introduction of visual authentication tools such as standardized signage, digital verification codes, and facility databases can further simplify verification for patients.
Partnerships with ministries of health, civil society groups, and the media will strengthen this outreach. Moreover, faith-based and community organizations can play a transformative role in disseminating this information at the grassroots level. Ultimately, the fight against quackery begins with education because where ignorance ends, malpractice loses its ground.
How can YMLSF under the new dispensation be a bulwark against non-MLSCN regulated interlopers in medical laboratory practice?
YMLSF fully recognizes the statutory authority of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) as the sole regulatory body for the practice of medical laboratory science in the country. Enforcement, accreditation, and compliance fall squarely within the Council’s legal jurisdiction, and as a professional body, we operate strictly within those boundaries.
That said, we also acknowledge that the diagnostic terrain in Nigeria is extensive, and quackery remains an enduring threat to public health. Our approach, therefore, is not to replicate enforcement, but to reinforce regulation through collaborative intelligence and strategic advocacy.
Under the present leadership, YMLSF seeks to engage the MLSCN in a structured partnership framework that allows the Forum to function as a voluntary field intelligence and advocacy network. Through this framework, our members across all states can:
•Observe and discreetly report suspected unlicensed facilities or unethical practices to the Council via official channels.
•Conduct educational visits and awareness campaigns to help the public identify accredited laboratories.
•Collaborate with the MLSCN’s Public Enlightenment Unit to deepen regulatory education and public awareness.
We see ourselves not as enforcers, but as professional allies extending the presence, advocacy, and influence of the regulator at the community level. Our strength lies in credibility and proximity; we can be the eyes, ears, and voice of the Council among the people.
To complement this, YMLSF is pursuing partnerships with faith-based and community organizations to amplify educational outreach. These partnerships are critical in changing public perception and dismantling quackery at the grassroots. When people understand that diagnostics is a regulated science anchored on ethics and law, they become empowered to demand quality, and quackery loses its economic incentive.
Our ultimate goal is to safeguard the integrity of diagnostics and the safety of patients. The fight against quackery must be intelligence-led, advocacy-driven, and community-owned. YMLSF stands ready to play this role with integrity, foresight, and collaboration.
With the Renewed Hope Agenda in mind, what can you say to President Bola Tinubu regarding medical diagnostics?
The future of healthcare in Nigeria will be determined by the strength, credibility, and visibility of its laboratories. No nation can deliver quality healthcare without reliable diagnostics, and diagnostics cannot thrive without empowered, ethical, and well-supported scientists.
YMLSF embodies that empowerment not merely through rhetoric, but through service, advocacy, and innovation. Together with stakeholders, we are charting a future where every diagnostic result reflects scientific excellence, professional integrity, and national trust.
