Jim Iyke: ‘Doctors Are Trained Not to Heal Completely, It’s a Business’
Nollywood star Jim Iyke has sparked fresh debate with his controversial take on the medical profession, claiming that the system is designed to treat symptoms rather than provide complete cures, because keeping people sick is more profitable.
Speaking during an interview on The Echoo Room with host Teddy A, the actor described healthcare as a “multi-trillion-dollar enterprise” where patients are viewed less as people to heal and more as long-term customers. He argued that many doctors are trained to manage illnesses rather than eliminate them entirely.
According to Iyke, if doctors completely healed patients, they would lose a recurring revenue stream. “If they tell you what to take and they heal you, you’re not a customer anymore and they won’t make money,” he said, stressing that the underlying problem is not always the individual doctors, but the profit-driven structure of the global healthcare system.
He suggested that this business model benefits not only private practitioners but also large pharmaceutical companies, who rely on ongoing demand for medication and treatments. In his view, the cycle of dependency on prescriptions, follow-up appointments, and repeated procedures is not accidental, it’s part of a calculated system that prioritizes profit over people’s complete recovery.
Iyke’s remarks quickly drew attention online, with supporters agreeing that there’s truth to the idea that big business interests influence healthcare priorities. Some pointed to high drug prices, costly medical procedures, and the increasing commercialization of health services as evidence of his claims. Others, however, criticized his comments as overly cynical and dismissive of the many doctors who genuinely work to restore patients to full health.
By linking medicine to business strategy, the actor has added his voice to a growing conversation about whether modern healthcare is more about managing illness than eradicating it. While his claims may be provocative, they tap into a deeper public frustration about the intersection of health, money, and trust.