NAFDAC’s Fireworks

There were cartons of Vitamin B Complex syrup for children, manufactured by an Indian company, which Akunyili called “fake and toxic”, to which the Governor responded: “This is terrible.” The crowd moved to the section where fake mosquito coils (Goldeer) were dumped. “If you inhale the smoke from these coils,” the NAFDAC Director-General warned, “you will not wake up!” The crowd whistled in amazement.

“This Viagra is fake,” Akunyili said, pointing to another product. “But the good Viagra, is it even good?” a senior official in the crowd interjected as most men there bent double with laughter. “Viagra is good, if it is not fake,” Akunyili explained. In her words, Viagra is good for men who want to have children but who have some problem. If the crowd thought that the other products and medicines were dangerous to some far flung people, they were soon to receive the shock of their lives when Akunyili led them to the vegetable oil dump. “You can see these vegetable oil cans,” Akunyili explained, “they had been banned, yet they still find their way into the country.”

Here, the Governor advised NAFDAC to mount an enlightenment campaign on how to recognise fake, outdated and banned products, especially vegetable oil. “If you go to Gombe market now,” he told Akunyili and other NAFDAC officials, “you will see imported vegetable oil on sale.” In a lighter mood, the Governor pointed at an adviser “who bought some yesterday”.

The people were also shown stacks of unfortified sugar, counterfeit Pro-Cold – labelled as Flo-Cold – and fake injections. Earlier in the day, Governor Goje received Akunyili in his office. The NAFDAC boss seized the opportunity of her visit to sensitise people about the advantages of breastfeeding. As she put it, “breastfeeding is so important to be slaughtered on the altar of whether a woman’s breasts will go flat.”

She explained what many thought was not possible. That is, a sterile woman who adopts a baby can actually breastfeed him/her.”If a baby sucks a breast for 24 hours,” Akunyili explained, “milk will come out,” notwithstanding whether the foster mother has ever been pregnant. She added that exclusive breastfeeding protects the child against diseases and it helps to sharpen the brain. Akunyili further advised Nigerians to be wary of consuming energy drinks, which “contain high quantity of caffeine and sugar”. On how to guard against expired products, Akunyili advised people to always check for NAFDAC numbers, names and addresses of manufacturers and expiry dates. “If a product is about to expire, do not buy it,” she warned.

The Governor praised his guest for her sense of patriotism. “If you are looking for fearless and hardworking public officers in Nigeria, you cannot count four without mentioning Prof. Akunyili,” he said. The NAFDAC boss later thanked Governor Goje for providing the agency a piece of land – also fenced by the state government – for its office. “Your Excellency, we are indebted,” she submitted. As the speechmaking wound to an end, Akunyili rose to shake hands with her host. “Ah! Sharia!” Goje joked. The hall exploded in laughter. The Governor, his guest, government officials and journalists thereafter drove to Aska road, outside Gombe city, where the products were burnt.

– Additional Reports by Demond Utomwen.