SAM OHUABUNWA'S PARADIGM

My dear professional colleagues It is my great pleasure to send this goodwill message to all Nigerian Pharmacists on the occasion of the celebration of the World Pharmacists' Day holding today, 25th September 2018. It is exciting that the different branches, technical and interest groups have outlined several programs to commemorate this day. I pray that as we reach out on this special day to the community, the Good Lord will empower and enrich us all greatly and grant us very successful celebrations. Taking into cognizance the theme of this year's exercise: PHARMACIST, YOUR MEDICINES' EXPERT, I must say that the time has come indeed for us to push this subject as we face competition from all and sundry in the handling and management of medicines in Nigeria. Despite the great efforts of our leaders over  90 years that the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has existed, there still exists some confusion in the minds of the people on who the real experts and custodians...

Nigeria is an intriguing nation. A 58- year adult nation that is still crawling like a toddler, while most of its mates are running on sure feet. Many people including political, traditional and religious leaders have expressed their bewilderment with Nigeria's chronic inability to truly rise. Never mind that a tiny minority including some who earn 12 billion Naira as annual dividend will argue differently that Nigeria is rising. Many ordinary folks in Nigeria have raised their hands in desperation as they find themselves daily pushed into poverty despite their best efforts.This is evidenced by the fact that Nigeria the seventh most populous nation with a 'tiny' population of about 198 million People has become the global poverty headquarters,beating India( with a population of over 1.2 billion ) according to the Brookings Institution. Nigeria is said to have  87 million of its citizens in extreme poverty as today and according to Melinda Gates foundation, this number may...

Recently, it was reported that Vice President Osinbajo (VPO) had a different view from former Vice President Atiku (FVPA) concerning the type of restructuring that Nigeria needed. While VPO only wanted fiscal restructuring, FVPA wanted both fiscal and geographical restructuring. I must say at the outset, that it is a good thing that both political leaders are agreed that Nigeria needs restructuring, unlike some other political leaders who say all is well and do not see any need to restructure. For me, I do not only agree that Nigeria should be restructured geographically and fiscally but I believe that Nigeria should be reinvented. This is because a broken bottle can not be repaired, patched or amended. It just has to be re moulded. The breaking of the Country did not start today. It did not start with this Government, nor the one before,not even the one before that, though some elements in these governments have contributed in some way in the breaking of the Country. In my view, the...

The giant telecommunication company MTN has been in the news lately. Of course it is good for a corporate organization to be in the news, but it must be for good reasons. A few days ago, MTN was on National news for illegal money transfer. The CBN accused MTN of transferring foreign exchange illegally out of the Country and asked it to refund the sum of 8.1  billion dollars it allegedly transferred. When I first heard this news of illegal transfer, I shuddered. How did this happen? Was it possible that they bought this huge sum of forex from the Mallam or the unlicensed Bureau De Change? Later I heard the CBN sanctioning some banks for aiding MTN to transfer the money illegally. Then my worry got worse.    How come that banks which are licensed to deal in Foreign Exchange are being accused of aiding illegal transfer? Is this a case of illegal transfer of money or a case of the transfer of illegal money? I think that one of these or both of them soun...

I believe that I am not alone in feeling distressed about the situation of healthcare in Nigeria. Everywhere you look, the  problems stare you on the face. In the public healthcare space, you face poor infrastructure, old or inoperative equipment and generally poor attitude. Even skill and competency levels are often suspect. If you have taken a seriously ill patient to our public health facilities - be they primary, secondary or tertiary institutions, you will have known that many more people are healed by faith in Nigeria than by medical care. If you go to the private health care institutions, may be infrastructure and equipment may be better but attitude and skills are subject to national averages. Additionally, in all cases, affordability remains a key limiting factor. Since managed care and health insurance are still in their infancy or rather has remained in a state of stultified growth, most Nigerians have to deposit cash before they can be attended to or admitted in hospita...