The United Nations ranks Nigeria as the fifth country with highest death rate in the world. The high death rate could be partly attributed to health challenges such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, among others.
Drug hawking is also considered as one of the biggest killers in the country. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) sees drug hawking as a serious challenge to the country’s healthcare system.
In spite of the warning, the practice still thrives in communities and cities across Nigeria.
Dataphyte investigation found that illiterate and semi-literate hawkers are prescribing drugs for and holding consultations with individuals in Ogun State communities – making millions of naira in the process.
They prescribe drugs for cancer, diabetes and other debilitating and life-long ailments.
Findings further revealed that the illegal practice in the state has put many lives at risk. While some are dead, others battle with life traumas caused by the drug vendors.
Like typical merchants or traders, they target areas dominated by students and women such as campuses, rural communities and markets.
Wrong prescriptions, major source of income
Thirty-eight-year-old popular drug vendor at Osiele, Iya Usman, would always display her wares inside a big bowl for passersby to see and buy. Her primary aim was to make money every market day. She would convince her customers to buy any type of drug she wanted. According to her, as long as the drugs had the same number of tablets, they would perform the same function.
According to her, any time a particular drug was requested and she did not have it, she would ask the customer to take the alternative.
Observations showed that Iya Usman often convinced her customers to go for available options, not minding the complications that were likely to occur when drugs were either abused or misapplied.
The reporter also visited another vendor in the same community, Iya Oyin, who prescribed and sold drugs said to cure breast cancer and other critical health conditions. She had no equipment to carry out tests and was not a health practitioner but would prescribe medicines for breast cancer. According to her, her business had continued to flourish without her having a shop or brand name. She also noted that her customers had been coming with positive testimonies.
To test her reaction, this reporter claimed that her friend had a lump in her left breast. Iya Oyin prescribed a drug that would presumably cure the condition and assured that the lump would dissolve in a few days time.
She said, “The pain would subside and you’ll come back to give a testimony on behalf of your friend. This is my stand, I’m always here every market day. Ask around, people know me well. Even students living around here know me well.”
After a week, the reporter went back to her stand to give a false testimony about the medicine she had prescribed. That false testimony made her happy. When asked if she sold self-inducement drugs, the drug hawker said the drugs could be obtained on demand and promised to be of help.
Meanwhile, Madam Christianah, another drug vendor at Lafenwa community, prescribed a medicine known as Ferrous and some blood tonic when asked if she sold drugs for irregular menstrual flow. According to her, the cause of the health challenge was insufficient blood in the body.
She said, “I have it and you’re lucky because I just restocked. Some students were asking for it and it wasn’t available. The major cause of irregular menstrual flow is shortage of blood in your body. If there’s enough blood, it will flow normally without obstruction. You’ll have to buy a Ferrous tab and blood tonic so they will help in the blood flow.”
However, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service attributes irregular menstruation to issues such as puberty, start of menopause, pregnancy, weight gain or loss, stress, anxiety, too much exercise, among others. It does not list shortage of blood as one of the reasons.
Victims’ experiences
A 32-year-old mother of two, a resident of Ogunmakin community in the state, told the reporter how a drug vendor who came to her community promised to help her treat her five-year-old son.
She said, “I noticed my son’s speech wasn’t fluent like other children. When I told my mother-in-law, she said probably his tongue was tied. There was this woman who came to sell drugs in the neighbourhood. I went to meet her to lodge a complaint. Because she was eating beans. she used her hand to lift up my son’s tongue. The innocent boy started licking his tongue because of the beans in his mouth.
“She asked me to bring N1500 and a pair of scissors so that my child would talk fluently. I later went to the nearest health centre to complain and they advised that I see a doctor as my child was above the age they could handle. They also advised me not to patronise anyone outside a doctor.”
Also, a victim, Mr Baba Segun, who resides in the Agbetu village in Ogun State, narrated how he was exploited by one of the quack vendors who sold wrong drugs to him. He said the drug worsened his leg problems until he was rushed to the hospital for proper medical care.
He said, “My leg got swollen after I returned from the farm. As soon as I noticed, I reached out to one of the vendors that come to our village to sell drugs and she prescribed some medicines for me. I started noticing that there was no improvement yet she didn’t stop selling her drugs. One day, I went to a private hospital in Abeokuta, where I was treated, and glory be to God, I feel relieved as you can see.’’
However, Ms Mariam Hassan’s family was not so lucky. She told the reporter how she lost her mum due to wrong prescriptions from drug vendors in the Sagamu area of Ogun State.
According to her, “My mum was hypertensive and we often told her to go to the hospital for check-ups. However, being a businesswoman at Sabo market, the vendors often went to her late mother’s store to market their wares. I noticed that my mum used some drugs which pushed up her blood pressure, and she eventually collapsed. When she was rushed to the hospital, we got to know that the drugs she had been using were not helpful to her and the chance of her survival was slim. A few days later, Mum was announced dead. Ever since then, I haven’t bought drugs from hawkers except from the pharmacy store.”
Promotion of self-medication
The existence of these vendors has paved the way for self-medication as residents no longer see the need to go to hospitals for proper checkups.
For instance, a nursing mother took her two-year-old son with a high temperature to a nearby drug vendor for a checkup. On getting there, the vendor checked his eyeball and concluded that he had malaria without conducting a malaria test on him.
She was lucky that the child survived. A Lagos-based medical laboratory scientist, Mr Madubugwu Olisakwe, said such a situation could easily have led to death.
“Let us stop playing with our lives. Drug hawkers do not have the capacity to prescribe drugs or treat patients. Avoid them like a plague,” he said.
Accessibility to drugs is a major challenge
Dataphyte visited some pharmaceutical stores in Ogun State to find out how easy it was for these vendors to get drugs. Observation from these pharmaceutical stores showed that there was unlimited access to drugs in the pharmacies. People would walk into any pharmacy to buy any type of drugs, including prescription medicines, and they would get them.
Dataphyte was told by health experts that the vendors would go into pharmacy stores with their lists and would come out with the medicines they needed.
Health workers hit hawkers
A physician at the Federal Medical Center Idi-aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Dr. Moshood Kuyebi, said the misuse and the wrong prescription of drugs were dangerous.
He said, “Misuse of drugs and wrong prescriptions cause more harm to individuals’ health. It damages their organs and can lead to death if not properly attended to.”
He added that “knowing patients’ health history is important before prescribing some certain drugs. For example, selling NSAIDs like diclofenac to someone with a known history of peptic ulcer can worsen the ulcer. Also, high dosage medication in the area of excessive use of analgesics can damage the kidneys.”
A pharmacist, Mr Israel Oni said, “These quacks selling drugs to people are doing more harm to the people. Drugs work differently for different purposes and when they are being misused, there’s the possibility of complications arising which may worsen the victims’ conditions.
“We have always advised people to go to the hospital or visit the pharmacy instead of buying from drug hawkers and unrecognised vendors.”
Police refer reporter to NAFDAC
The reporter contacted the Ogun State Police Command to find out whether there had been arrests and raids on drug hawkers. She was referred to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which, according to the police, “is now in charge.”
NAFDAC reacts…
NAFDAC spokesperson, Mr. Sayo Akintola, said all efforts had been renewed to curb the illicit act by unrecognised vendors in different parts of the country. The spokesman said the agency had started a campaign that tended to sensitise and enlighten the public on how to be careful of drug usage.
“We just renewed our effort for about two-three months. We are going from one street to another and we are organising stakeholder meetings too. We’ve been to Ibadan, Lagos, and Abuja. It is a serious problem and we are not relenting. It is a strong campaign and I believe it will be sustained, and it’s going to have a positive impact on our people.
“We urge everyone to start speaking up by calling out individuals who are into this illegal act as this will help us as an agency.”
Ogun State govt says not in a position to react
The Executive Secretary, Ogun State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr. Ogunsola Elijah, said he was not in the position to give answers to the questions on drug hawkers.
“I’m glad you reached out, but I’m constrained to respond to your questions. I’m not in the best position to give you the answers you need.”
Ogun State currently has no commissioner for health.
PSN says determined to fight drug hawking
The Ogun State Chairman, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mr Adekunle Adenuga, said there had been cases of drug hawking and the association was working towards collaborating with the state government to curb the unlawful act.
“We have open markets in Ogun State. We are working with the government so that such an act would be curbed in the state. These people refer to themselves as physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare workers and end up causing more harm in the society. We are collaborating with the government so that the task force can start work in the state, and for our people to know that we have registered pharmaceutical patent stores in the state.”