Background <p>The emigration of health professionals from Nigeria to the Western world has become a significant drawback to the already afflicted health system, due to an increasing loss of its essential health workforce. While emigration brings opportunities and negative consequences, the views of the affected stakeholders in Nigeria are yet to be determined. This study unravelled the perspectives of these stakeholders regarding the impact of health workforce emigration on Nigeria’s health system.</p> Methods <p>A qualitative research method was employed to collect data through in-person and virtual interviews, conducted between October 2024 and February 2025. Respondents were heads of health regulatory bodies and professional associations of nursing, pharmacy, medicine &amp; dentistry, medical laboratory science, optometry, and radiography. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically.</p> Results <p>The perspectives of the participants showed two themes: Negative and Positive effects on the health care system, with seven sub-themes, further explaining the significant impact of emigration on health workforce; numerical loss of personnel, disruptions of organizational plans and leadership continuity; quality of healthcare services; workload; healthcare cost; better career prospects; and exposure to advanced healthcare and international best practices.</p> Conclusion <p>This study examined the impact of the prevailing emigration of health professionals from Nigeria to developed countries on key stakeholders in the affected health professions. The migration reduced the workforce strength and weakened the healthcare system, resulting in reduced access to quality healthcare, an increased workload for their counterparts who remained in the country, and better career prospects and exposure to international best practices for the emigrants.</p>