Former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, has said Nigeria’s healthcare sector can only achieve long-term sustainability if practitioners embrace value creation and an entrepreneurial mindset in service delivery.

Ohuabunwa asserted that the 2026 AfriHealth Expo, held recently in Lagos, had the theme: “Healthcare Entrepreneur and Mentorship: Guiding the Next Generation of Health Innovators.” He said he looked forward to seeing healthcare enterprises become profitable and sustainable.

He noted that the time had come for healthcare professionals to move beyond the traditional perception of healthcare as purely a social service, arguing that the sector’s sustainability now depends on innovation, business thinking, and value addition.

“I believe that the purpose of this exhibition, first, is to create awareness of our products and services. The second is to create buy-in and get people to decide to buy our products or services, either now or later,” he said.

According to him, one of the major challenges in the healthcare sector is practitioners’ failure to recognise the business dimension of their profession.

“One of the challenges we have in healthcare is that we do not see healthcare as a business. Very often, it is seen only as a service, and we are losing our professional skills,” he said.

Ohuabunwa noted that although healthcare had historically been treated as a social service, changing global realities have made entrepreneurship an essential component of professional practice.

“Healthcare, education and other services that were once regarded as social services have become businesses. Every profession now has a business component because that is what creates sustainability,” he stated.

He warned that dependence on unpredictable public funding systems weakens service delivery and constrains growth in the sector.

“Public service is dependent on unpredictable income. But businesses are supposed to be more predictable,” he said.

The former PSN president therefore advocated a shift from traditional professional practice to what he described as professional entrepreneurship, where healthcare providers combine expertise with business strategy to ensure continuity and improved service delivery.

He explained that entrepreneurship is fundamentally about identifying and solving problems, meeting needs and creating value.

“Entrepreneurship is simply a mindset that is constantly asking three questions: Is there a problem to be solved? Is there a need to be met? Is there value to be created?” he said.

Ohuabunwa added that once these questions are properly addressed, value exchange and economic returns naturally follow.

“If you solve a problem, are you likely to get a return for that effort? Yes. If somebody has a need and you can provide it, can there be an exchange of value? Yes,” he said.

He illustrated value creation with practical examples, noting that transforming raw materials into finished goods increases their worth and market value.

“When you sell a tree standing in the forest, it has little or no value. But when you cut it, process it and turn it into furniture, you have added value. That is entrepreneurship,” he explained.

Ohuabunwa further stressed that branding and competitiveness in healthcare should be driven by the ability to solve problems better than existing alternatives.

“Branding does not start with packaging. It starts with what you have and the value you bring. If your product solves a problem differently, that is what makes it a brand,” he said.

He encouraged healthcare entrepreneurs to think long-term and develop clear visions for their businesses, noting that sustainability requires deliberate planning.

“Your vision determines the effort you put behind it. If you want to be number one in 10 years, that vision determines what you do today,” he said.

Ohuabunwa also underscored the importance of planning, financial discipline and strategic partnerships in building sustainable ventures. He explained that proper business planning, including cash flow and profit-and-loss projections, helps attract investment and supports long-term growth.

“You need a business plan. You need to show cash flow and profit and loss. That is what you present to investors or banks to fund your business,” he said.

Highlighting the importance of collaboration, he noted that partnerships strengthen credibility and improve access to funding.

“If I come alone to ask for investment, it is different from coming with partners. Partnership builds trust,” he said.

Concluding his remarks, Ohuabunwa outlined what he described as the “five Ps of business success” as a framework for sustainable enterprise. According to him, the first is purpose, which defines the reason for the business; the second is planning; while the third is perspiration, which represents hard work and smart work.

“The fourth is principle, which is ethics and values. Any business without ethics will fail. And the fifth is profit, because sustainability requires that your business must make returns,” he said.

He urged participants, especially young innovators in the health sector, to embrace these principles and adopt entrepreneurship as a pathway to building a resilient and sustainable healthcare system in Nigeria.

–As Oyo PSN unveils first five-storey secretariat building

The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja; former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Pharm. Olumide Akintayo; together with other pharmacy stakeholders, have called for deliberate policy reforms to strengthen local drug manufacturing and enhance medicine security in Nigeria.

The call was made during the commissioning of the Asiwaju Adebowale Omotosho Pharmacy House, a five-storey building unveiled by the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Oyo State Branch, in Ibadan.

Speaking at the event, the Olubadan urged pharmacists to explore collaboration with traditional medicine practitioners, noting that many indigenous remedies possess medicinal properties that could be harnessed through scientific research and standardisation.

“If you know that everything you have here is not enough, please have an open mind to embrace traditional medicine. There are useful elements that can be extracted and developed for the benefit of society,” the monarch said.

He stressed the need to properly document and protect indigenous medicinal knowledge, adding that collaboration between pharmacists and traditional medicine practitioners could lead to innovations in healthcare delivery.

Chairman of PSN Oyo State, Pharm. (Col.) Victor Segun Ajanaku (Rtd), described local pharmaceutical manufacturing as critical to national healthcare development but lamented that the operating environment remained difficult for manufacturers and importers.

According to him, government policies often fail at the implementation stage, while access to foreign exchange and other incentives remains a major challenge.

“Government may announce waivers and incentives, but implementation remains the issue. Many pharmaceutical operators are struggling because they cannot access foreign exchange and other critical support required for business survival,” he said.

Ajanaku noted that the society was willing to collaborate with researchers and relevant institutions to explore the potential of indigenous medicinal products through scientific investigation and validation.

Also speaking, former President of PSN, Pharm. Olumide Akintayo, said Nigeria would continue to face challenges in medicine access and affordability unless deliberate efforts were made to support local pharmaceutical production.

He identified poor infrastructure, inadequate industrial policies, high energy costs, expensive financing, and dependence on imported raw materials as some of the major obstacles confronting the sector.

“You cannot manufacture with diesel and remain competitive globally. Government must create the enabling environment through infrastructure, affordable financing, and policies that support local manufacturers,” he said.

Akintayo explained that countries such as India and China had become major pharmaceutical hubs because of sustained government support, adding that Nigeria must adopt similar strategies if it hopes to achieve medicine security.

The donor and namesake of the building, Pharm. (Asiwaju) Adebowale Omotosho, also emphasised the need for policies that encourage pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Drawing from his experience as an industrial pharmacist, Omotosho said manufacturing requires patience, long-term investment, and a supportive business environment.

“People want quick returns, but manufacturing does not work that way. Before products gain market acceptance takes time, and without the right policies, many investors will be discouraged,” he said.

Omotosho, who founded Bond Chemical Industries Limited after years in community pharmacy and pharmaceutical distribution, noted that his support for the project was his way of giving back to a profession that had contributed immensely to his success.

“Whatever I have achieved financially came from pharmacy. Supporting the profession is a responsibility I gladly embrace,” he added.

The commissioning of the five-storey Pharmacy House also drew commendations from stakeholders who described the project as a symbol of progress and institutional development within the profession.

The event attracted pharmacists, traditional rulers, industry stakeholders, eminent Nigerians, PSN stakeholders from Lagos, Osun, Kwara and across the country.

Peperomia pellucida (Fam. Piperaceae) is an annual, shallow-rooted herb, usually growing to a height of about 15–45 cm (6–18 inches). It is characterised by succulent stems, shiny, heart-shaped fleshy leaves, and tiny, dot-like seeds attached to several fruiting spikes. It has a mustard-like odour when crushed. It is also known by common names such as pepper elder, shining bush plant, crab claw herb, man-to-man, crested pepper, clearweed, and silver bush. It is called markafi or daadaa by the Hausas; oku okpukpu nta, nla, or umu nla by the Igbos; and ewe rinrin by the Yorubas.

Constituents

1. pellucida contains phytochemicals, including alkaloids, tannins, resins, flavonoids, steroids, and phenols. The plant is rich in crude protein, carbohydrates, and total ash. It also contains potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, beta-carotene, and ascorbic acid. Isolated flavonoids include acacetin, apigenin, isovitexin, and pellucidatin. Isolated phytosterols include campesterol and stigmasterol.

Preparations

The plant is available in the form of fresh or dried leaves, stems, and roots. The entire plant is edible, either raw or cooked. It may be boiled or used as an ingredient in soups and light meals.

Pharmacological actions and medicinal uses

The plant has been shown to possess antimicrobial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antihypertensive, anticancer, antidiabetic, cleansing, and antioxidant activities. This explains why it has traditionally been used to treat various medical conditions, including conjunctivitis, convulsions, fatigue, fever, headache, gout, rheumatic pain, and skin diseases such as dermatitis, acne, boils, and eczema, as well as breast cancer and diabetes.

Peperomia pellucida has demonstrated antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli, and antifungal activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes in vitro.

The crushed leaf is applied topically to promote the healing of wounds, cuts, boils, acne, and other skin irritations. Ewe rinrin is used as an antipyretic for fever and what is commonly described as “internal body heat”. In various countries, it has been used for stomach discomfort, kidney cleansing, urinary tract health, detoxification, minor bleeding, headache, renal disorders, rheumatic pain, impotence, measles, mental disorders, smallpox, uric acid reduction, colic, insomnia, gout, and cholesterol reduction. It has also been used as a diuretic in the management of proteinuria, as a cough suppressant and emollient, and in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

The analgesic properties of the plant appear to be related to its effect on prostaglandin synthesis.

Adverse effects

The plant may cause asthma-like symptoms in individuals with hypersensitivity to the species. Like many herbs, excessive consumption may place stress on the liver or kidneys. Topical application may cause irritation or sensitivity in some individuals. It may also interact with antihypertensive drugs, anticoagulants, or medications used in the management of kidney disease. Use during pregnancy and breastfeeding should be avoided.

Economic uses and potential

In Nigeria, P. pellucida is not routinely sold as a standard commercial commodity. Rather, it is gathered and traded locally as a fresh wild-harvested herb or leafy vegetable. Fresh leaves and bunches may be purchased in neighbourhood markets for as little as N200–N500 per bunch, depending on the seller and location. Dried leaves, herbal powders, and capsules typically sell for between N6,000 and N15,000, depending on the weight or volume. The plant has considerable potential for utilisation in the agricultural, food, and pharmaceutical industries.

Reference

Nordin, N. A., Pauzi, M. R., Ismail, S., Rahman, N. I. A., Suzima, E. A., & Sukri, A. (2025). A comprehensive review of Peperomia pellucida: Chemical composition, traditional and pharmacological uses, and potential in dermatitis management. Malaysian Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(1), 100–111.

By Pharm. Ngozika Okoye MSc, MPH, FPCPharm

(Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency

Email: ngozikaokoye@yahoo.com

By Michael Owhoko, PhD

Inevitable deaths are in the offing in 2027. Those familiar with Nigeria’s electoral mythology, history and patterns know that the 2027 general elections will be a harbinger of death, powered by electoral violence. It will take a miracle to escape what will unfold. People will die. Nigerians will perish. Hospitals will be overwhelmed. Nigerians must therefore brace themselves for the coming calamity, as the intensity and scale will make it a memorable year of regrettable carnage. All six geopolitical areas of the country will be affected.

The event will further damage the country’s troubling global perception and worsen its negative profile as the 5th most violent country in the world and 4th in the Global Terrorism Index 2026, ranking as the 6th deadliest and 7th most dangerous country for civilians in the world. Moreover, the elections will threaten democratic norms, political stability, and erode faith in public institutions due to brazen manipulation of the electoral process.

The coming calamity will largely be fuelled by electoral insecurity engendered by the desperation of political parties to outwit one another, particularly the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the main opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).  While the APC will go all out and spare nothing to retain the incumbent government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in office, the ADC and the NDC will deploy every resource at their disposal to dislodge and replace the current APC government, causing public uproar.

Though other political parties will also show strength and contest fiercely, the election will be fiercely contested by the APC, NDC and ADC. The stakes are high, driven by illogical greed and lust for power to control political authority and economic resources, even though the resources are poorly appropriated and, most times, thoughtlessly deployed to protect pride, fund vanity, and maintain empires, rather than being judiciously applied to improve citizens’ living conditions.

Political parties are likely to deploy political thugs masked as party officials into the field to reinforce their internal strategic plans to achieve programmed goals. By their planned political conduct and indifference, the political parties will, unwittingly, diminish the value of human lives during the general elections. This is the picture of what the country will experience in next year’s general elections.

Alarming antecedents

Before you ask for proof, verify the antecedents of political parties and how their leaders ignited the political atmosphere to set the tone for violence and rigging through their utterances and body language, influenced by irrational desires to achieve electoral victory at all costs. Except for former President Goodluck Jonathan, all presidential candidates since 1999 to date are guilty of stoking the polity through their predilections and declarations.

For example, preceding the April 2007 Presidential election, the then President Olusegun Obasanjo alluded to the fact that the election would be a “do-or-die affair”. As simple as the statement was, it encouraged supporters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to go the extra mile to push for victory at all costs without thought for probable consequences. Evidently, this resulted in violence and fatalities across the country.

Also, during the 2011 elections where former and late President Muhammadu Buhari, then candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), lost to Goodluck Jonathan, his demeanour and post-election utterances undeniably provoked and encouraged electoral violence in parts of the country, particularly in the north-west.

According to Human Rights Watch, over 800 people were killed and more than 65,000 persons were displaced in that particular 2011 general election following widespread protests and riots by Buhari’s supporters in the northern states. The killings, which were worsened by sectarian colouration, occurred in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

Without showing empathy for the high number of Nigerians killed, including innocent National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, Buhari further threatened that if the next elections scheduled for 2015 were rigged like the 2011 elections, “the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood”, implying that violence and death would be inevitable. Clearly, Buhari’s comment was an indication of political desperation, intended to use the threat of force and violence to effect the outcome of political contest, as opposed to allowing the impartial verdict of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Luckily for Nigeria, former President Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat, preventing Buhari’s threat from coming to pass in 2015. Jonathan’s action not only defused tension, but it also averted widespread killings and bloodshed that would have accompanied the announcement of results in his favour, particularly in the northern part of the country. Jonathan’s position was obviously dictated by his philosophy that his ambition and that of anybody else was not worth the blood of any Nigerian, which he held as an article of faith throughout the period of the 2015 general elections, preferring a credible and peaceful election.

Grabbing and snatching

Also, the incumbent President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is not immune from utterances that have encouraged violence. While addressing party members in London in 2023, Tinubu said that political power was not served “à la carte”, but must be secured through intense efforts by “fighting for it, grabbing it, snatching it and running with it”. Whatever that means, this remark was not only unhelpful; it encouraged rigging and violence, as well as opening a new vista of political desperation and redefining the new premise for an unhealthy autochthonous political process.

A parallel can be drawn between Tinubu’s statement and an incident that occurred at a polling unit in the Lekki area of Lagos during the 2023 general elections. After queuing for hours in the sun to cast their votes, just when ballot papers were to be counted at the end of voting, some thugs emerged from nowhere, scared away voters, seized the ballot box and left with it, presumably to thumbprint fresh ballot papers. Surely, there is a correlation between their actions and the political philosophy of “fighting for it, grabbing it, snatching it and running with it”.

In a similar vein, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Alhaji Buba Galadima, recently advised Nigerians to defend their votes in the coming 2027 elections with “bottles and jerry cans of kerosene”. This is an obvious reference to violence and an invitation to anarchy. Indeed, it is a precursor, as a worse scenario marked by unhealthy electoral struggle will be thrown up in the 2027 general elections where the value of human lives will be degraded.

The culture of killings in every electoral cycle in Nigeria has become legendary. Among all African countries and indeed the world over where elections are conducted, Nigeria is reputed for election manipulation and violence, attracting undue global spotlight. As elections draw closer, scepticism, uncertainty, fear and apprehension permeate the atmosphere due to expected violence.

Prioritising personal safety

Though it is the responsibility of government to protect and guarantee the safety of lives during elections, past assurances by government to protect the lives of citizens did not translate into safety. When a few successes are discounted, you find that security agencies have proved incapable of handling high-level violence such as what happened in the 2011 elections, where over 800 people lost their lives.

From antecedents, politicians are careless about deaths and can sacrifice the blood of innocent Nigerians on the altar of electoral victory. Their interests and activities are driven more by the value of votes, as evident during post-election litigations where they seek legal redress for electoral malpractice rather than justice for the dead.

Sadly, the coming deaths will dwarf all previous politically related killings in the country, necessitating the need to prioritise personal safety. It is imperative to identify and avoid electoral blackspots that are notorious for violence. Political thugs are likely to trigger violence by creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation at polling units aimed at electoral manipulation.

Citizens are therefore advised to devise safety nets that will shield and guarantee personal safety in the event of an obvious threat to life, even if it means avoiding polling booths. Recall that Nigerians who died during previous electoral cycles have since been forgotten and the country has moved on without them. Therefore, citizens need to protect themselves to avoid being counted among the dead in the pending catastrophe in 2027.

Dr Mike Owhoko, Lagos-based public policy analyst, author and journalist, can be reached at www.mikeowhoko.com and followed on X (formerly Twitter) @michaelowhoko.

 The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has called on Nigerians to renew their commitment to ensuring safe and wholesome food access for every citizen.

Prof. Adeyeye made the call on Monday in Lagos during the agency’s commemoration of the 2026 World Food Safety Day, held under the theme, “From Burden to Solutions – Safe Food Everywhere.”

Represented by Mrs Eva Edwards, director of food safety and applied nutrition (FSAN), the DG asserted that access to safe food is a fundamental human right. She noted that NAFDAC is fully aligned with global efforts to build resilient food systems alongside the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Food Safety Management Committee.

According to the agency, unsafe food remains a severe public health and economic challenge, causing over 200 different diseases globally.

“The theme challenges us to focus on practical and sustainable solutions that will ensure safe food for everyone, everywhere,” Adeyeye said. “This can be attained through science-based regulation, education, responsible practices, entrenching a food safety culture, innovation, and collaboration.”

The DG explained that food safety risks exist at every stage of the supply chain—spanning agricultural production, harvesting, storage, processing, distribution, and consumption. Consequently, she noted that securing the food supply requires intentional, best-practice compliance from all actors.

To mitigate these risks, NAFDAC urged industry operators to strictly adhere to Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good Hygiene Practices (GHP), and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). She also highlighted the necessity of implementing the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system and driving public awareness around the WHO’s “Five Keys to Safer Foods.”

While reaffirming NAFDAC’s role in verifying that products meet national and international standards, Prof. Adeyeye emphasised that regulation alone cannot solve the problem, calling food safety a “shared responsibility” that requires multi-sectoral partnerships.

She concluded by urging consumers to remain vigilant, advising the public to boycott food products that lack proper labeling, traceable sources, or valid NAFDAC registration numbers.