By Ogoh Alubo
Nigeria is currently in the grip of intense harangue from politicians contesting for various offices in the 2027 general elections. Among the contestants, those aspiring to become President and Commander -in- Chief are raising their voices loudest; especially since the line about subsidy. Both the incumbent (recently on vacation for some 30 days) and others are asking Nigerians for the opportunity. The campaigns go on and on and the messages and the messengers are unrelenting about who should be elected President. I have heard some statement credited to some in powerful positions that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock, which is most contemptuous of the constitution and the electorate. Elective offices are for four years after which they become vacant. To state that the incumbent wants to recontest is not the same as the quip of no vacancy.
Nigerians seem too preoccupied with the forthcoming elections to be attentive to other changes in the people’s lives; even the regular diet of kidnapping, ethnic violence and so-called banditry have receded from the headline. Among the replacements is the emerging form of cyber health enterprise. We are in the thick of marketing of products where all manner of people are now sales persons. A minimum tally of the new sales persons includes foot ballers, spiritual leaders, “scientists” and about anyone who claims years of research so long as s/he wraps a stethoscope around the neck. There are also spiritual leaders who claim divine messages as well as old practices of the clergy. This must set Nigerians apart, as spiritual leaders, who before now concern themselves itself more with the hereafter. They now emerge also as sales men touting remedies for various ailments.
The ads are sometimes nothing short of miraculous. I have watched videos in which two former green eagles players described their individual experience with the same condition in the same words and suggested, as the testimony, the remedy used to reverse it.
As important aspect is the new health enterprise logic, the standing dictum of caveat emptor (buyer beware) which prevails in virtually every transaction is understood to be different in medical practice where creedal emptor (buyer believe) is the new mantle. To coax this belief many cyber marketers swear by God to convey veracity of the message; others assure that if cure is not achieved within the period advertised, they will publicly burn their academic certificates. A few others invoke the instant wrath of God (a rarity these days) to descend on them if they are peddling lies.
In addition to this public declaration of faith in the products, all of them parade past beneficiaries who used their products and have been “cured”. To drive home the message, there are often clips of how the inventor of the miracle cure was assaulted by those in the pharmaceutical industry for fear that the latter’s business might be in jeopardy. This scenario is graphically captured in clips of an assaults by so called merchants of death in white coats. Famous TV news channels relay the story.
The new campaigns focus mostly on Prostatitis, high blood pressure and diabetes. The frequency of adverts about these conditions suggest that they must constitute some raging epidemic and huge unexplored market. There are hardly any adverts for the common killers such as malaria, cholera—possibly because the cure for these involves structural changes in people’s lives as well as access to basics needs such as clean water, adequate food, clean environment rather than handy packages of miracle supplements. According to some of the ads, cure can be attained within hours.
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Many of these miracle products do not indicate National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration (NAFDAC) accreditation. The claims that the products evolved from decades of research does little to clear the fog, there is no necessary relationship between length of research and efficacy of the product. There are also claims of access to ancient practice which is unverified. Most people are used to the categorisation of drugs into over- the-counter remedies and ethical/prescription drugs. The new field of marketing makes no such distinction, even as the medicines for the advertised conditions actually belong in the latter classification.
Similarly cloudy is the claim that thousands of users have been cured. Nigerians have some sense of deja vu of cures from rallies and conventions and now know better. There is no mention of those who might have used the products but achieved no cure. What is more, their modus operandi is the same:–buyers are invited to provide contact details and the product will be made available on payment on delivery basis. There are no indications about follow-up care nor situations where complications may arise. The emphasis is on marketing and sales volume of the wonder preparations.
Perhaps, it is time for the regulatory agencies to pay closer attention to the claims than continued subjugation of the population to wonder cures. The cyberspace is full of such products which now include boosters for libidinal energy. Many advertisements for this category show graphic pictures of the genitalia and even copulation. There are little questions if the consuming public matter and what steps can be taken to protect them.
The nature and dimension of Nigeria’s public health care from which many are seeking escape is well established. It has gone beyond prescriptions which are notoriously out of stock, to what might be called hostage taking. Before admissions, some lump sum deposit is demanded and periodic top-ups are required failing which treatment may be discontinued. In some cases, those who continue to receive attention are held hostage on recovery until outstanding bills are paid. The fate is meted out to patients who may have died; relations are compelled to pay up for the treatment which has failed before the release of the corpse. So, is the new wonder medication a solution to the existing problems or a further complication to squeeze out money from Nigerians exasperated from the public service system they are compelled to depend on?
The new marketing devises pays scant attention to the normal procedures of patient’s age, weight and how long they have had the condition and what treatments they might have received. The new miracles sellers do not even differentiate any division into small, medium or high strength. They operate on a strange formula of one-size fits all.
In spite of the demonisation of pharmacists as killers in white coats, it is quickly appreciated that the health care system, from the primary system to tertiary care, rely on drugs rather than wonder supplements.
Nigerians will continue to place priority on health even as indicated in daily morning greetings, the response to which is often “Lafia”. It is also now accepted that health is wealth. The challenge must however remain the extent which Nigerians’ feel Lafia and the extent which the desire to keep/remain healthy is a gold mine.
The author, who sent this piece from Jos, is not only a retired Professor of Sociology, he is a specialist in the Sociology of Public Health
