27/05/2026
Yesterday, I was a Guest Speaker at the 6th Public Lecture of the Board of Fellows, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, where I spoke on the topic, "Accessing Quality Medicines in an Unstable Environment".
I maintained that Nigeria remains low in all key development indices, which is encapsulated in HDI. We are still stuck in a low HDI ranking when compared to similar countries like India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Egypt, which have either moved to medium or high HDI categories.
Nigeria's life expectancy at 55 years remains among the world's lowest when compared to its comparable countries like India, Indonesia, Philippines Bangladesh and Egypt which are all at about 70 years, and above.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have stipulated that quality healthcare is a fundamental human right and in the measure of countries, Nigeria remains 157 out 195. Our primary healthcare is not functional in most of the country.
Access to quality medicines remains vital for all human beings whether sick or well, who seek medical consultation, and it is proven that 90 percent of all medical consultations end in one form of prescription or another.
Therefore, availability of quality medicines remains the key armory for the fight for well-being, while the pharmacists remain the armorer. The reason we lack quality medicines is due to the same socio-economic problem affecting production in the country, where regulatory agencies now function as revenue collectors rather than as enablers and access to financing is not available or at an excessive rate. There is hardly any health insurance regime in place to guarantee access to those who cannot afford immediate cash payments.
Excruciating poverty and severe economic hardship have also kept functional healthcare and quality medicines out of the reach of the poor. The only medicine our people take now is prayer.
All we need to transform our nation is committed, competent, compassionate leadership who can channel more resources into the critical areas of health, education, and poverty eradication.
We can achieve this with sincerity of purpose and our collective commitment to doing what is right. I thanked the Board of Fellows, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria for organizing the very impactful event and for their immense contributions to healthcare in our nation.
Together, we all will achieve a New Nigeria where everyone's health matters.
