Former lawmaker Dr. Usman Bugaje has expressed concern over the complete lack of pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria’s Northeast region, highlighting the area’s dependence on external drug supplies.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust TV, Dr. Bugaje revealed the extent of the region’s pharmaceutical dependency. “Up till now, over 75% of the drugs we take in the North are brought from outside. How can this happen? Look at the whole of the northeast. In the whole of the six states of the northeast, there is no single pharmaceutical industry,” he stated.
The former lawmaker emphasized that the region lacks even basic drug manufacturing capabilities. “Not even producing over-the-counter drugs like paracetamol, some antihistamines, antimalarials, not even that. And if you put the population together, it is the average population of a country in Europe. But you can do that in one year,” Bugaje said.
Drawing from his professional background as a pharmacist trained five decades ago, he contrasted current conditions with past capabilities. “I trained as a pharmacist 50 years ago, and when we trained, we had a manufacturing unit attached to Ahmadu Bello Hospital, and that’s where we used to go and do our practicals,” he recalled.
Dr. Bugaje described how the training facility successfully supplied multiple hospitals in the region. “And that manufacturing unit was supplying most of the regular drugs to three hospitals: one in Zaria, one in Minna, one in Kaduna at that time. So we were trained to produce the medicines, not just theoretically,” he explained.
He detailed the comprehensive practical training that equipped graduates with immediate manufacturing capabilities. “We had practicals from the way of mixing the drugs and going through the process up to when they come out as tablets or as capsules. We were trained like that, and from that training, from the moment you get your degree, you can actually start a manufacturing unit because you are already familiar. We did hospital visits also. We went into the theater because of the anesthesia. The point I’m making is that we can do these things, but there is no focus on them,” he stated.
Dr. Bugaje criticized current governance approaches for lacking serious engagement with critical issues. “I think governance has become just some kind of show and frivolity. And this is my worry: that there is no seriousness in the real engagement with the issues. Everybody is there because you are holding a position, so nobody should speak. Everybody should just praise you,” he said.
COURTESY: inkslinger
