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The plan to bring to book all illegal manufacturers and distributors of herbal preparations and unregistered medicines by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is laudable. In pursuit of this goal, the agency has arrested a popular Kaduna-based herbal medicine practitioner, Alhaji Salisu Sani, also known as, Baban Aisha, for allegedly producing herbal medicine with expired registration licence and advertising the sale of Sacra Herbs Oral Liquid.
The Director-General of the agency, Prof. Mojisola Christiana Adeleye, has decried the ugly trend and vowed that the agency would ensure that only safe medicine and wholesome food are sold to the citizens.The move by NAFDAC is not only timely but long overdue. While the effort of the agency to reduce the illegal manufacturing of herbal medicine is appreciated, much more needs to be done.
NAFDAC should begin an evaluation of all herbal medicines in the country, including those it has approved. That is one of the best ways it can sanitise the proliferation of illegal herbal medicines. It can also beam its searchlight on manufacturers of drugs and foods in Nigerian market.
We say this because the law establishing the agency gave it enormous powers to prohibit the sale of counterfeit, fake drugs and unwholesome processed foods. That is why the resolve of the agency to curb the sale of illegal and fake herbal drugs should be supported. The agency is also charged to regulate the manufacture, sale and advertisement of food, drugs, cosmetic and medical devices.
However, the battle against the distribution of illegal herbal medicines must be waged by NADFAC and the security agencies at the seaports, airports and land borders. At times, some of the herbal concoctions can be imported through the porous borders. The health authorities should educate Nigerians on the dangers of consuming illegal herbal medicines. Apart from causing damage to human organs, they can lead to instant death.
The clampdown by NAFDAC on the manufacturers of illegal herbal medicines should not be a one-off exercise. It must be regular and all- encompassing. The lives of the people should matter. NAFDAC must not relent. This is the time for the agency to give vent to its vow and commitment to its mandate.
The culprits and their accomplices must be made to face the full weight of the law which will send the right signals to others. Treating the culprits with kid gloves or a slap on the wrist will not deter others from embarking on the lucrative but harmful business.
Alternatively, the agency should also hasten its pace in regulating herbal medicines. If properly regulated, herbal medicine has immense economic and health benefits. Before the advent of orthodox medicine, most cultures depend so much on the efficacy of herbal medicine. For instance, China and India have excelled in the development and use of herbal medicines. They make a lot of money from the exportation of herbal medicines. Herbal medicine yields to yields about $60billio in foreign exchange to China and India, and it is growing at the rate of 6 per cent per annum according to reports by Exim Bank. Presently, about 80 per cent of the Indian populations rely on indigenous medicines derived from medicinal plants.
Nigeria can tap from the experiences of these two countries to develop its herbal medicine. Fortunately, medicinal plants and herbs abound in many parts of the country. NAFDAC should also check the excesses of manufacturers of other products such as sachet water, carbonated drinks and other fake drugs that litter the Nigerian market.
It is sad that many Nigerians are dying from the consumption of unwholesome herbal concoctions. In October 2021, 10 people died and about 400 people hospitalised in Kano due to the consumption of adulterated sachet water and substandard juice. The consumption of ‘poisoned’ beans has also led to the death of many Nigerians. We urge NAFDAC to curb the distribution and sale of expired and adulterated food products across the country.
