How Nigerians Consume ‘Poison’ Daily

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For millions of Nigerians, the biggest danger may no longer be what they knowingly put into their mouths, but what they believe is safe. The latest warning came from an unlikely source.

Former Vice-President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo recently revealed that his wife, Dolapo Osinbajo, developed unexplained headaches after she made freshly squeezed orange juice part of her daily routine. Because she had stopped taking carbonated drinks, the fresh juice was regarded as the healthier option. When the headaches persisted, the family reportedly began looking for the cause. Eventually, a batch of the freshly squeezed orange juice was sent to a laboratory.

According to Osinbajo, the laboratory result showed that the juice was not fit for human consumption. He did not disclose the specific substance found in the juice, so it would be wrong to speculate about what caused the problem. But the revelation raises a disturbing question: if something as apparently innocent as freshly squeezed orange juice can turn out to be unsafe, how much do Nigerians really know about what they eat and drink every day?

Osinbajo made the revelation on August 28, 2026, while speaking at the Open Day for Gardeners’ Seminar in Lagos. He used the experience to draw attention to the use of chemicals by some farmers and traders in the cultivation, preservation and artificial ripening of fruits and vegetables. And this is where the story becomes bigger than one family. It becomes a story about Nigeria’s food chain.

A STORY THAT STARTS FROM THE FARM

For years, Nigerians have heard warnings about artificially ripened fruits, pesticide residues and the dangerous use of agricultural chemicals. But recent research shows that this is not simply an urban rumour. A 2024 study published in Discover Public Health examined fruit sellers and consumers in Ado-Ekiti. Of the 20 fruit sellers studied, 10 — 50 per cent — reported using calcium carbide to ripen fruits. The researchers also found that 90 per cent of the sellers demonstrated poor knowledge of the health risks associated with calcium-carbide use. That figure should worry anyone who buys fruit. The problem is not that farmers and fruit sellers use chemicals at all. Modern agriculture depends on pesticides and other crop-protection products. When properly registered, correctly applied and used according to safety instructions, pesticides can be part of legitimate food production. The danger comes when chemicals are misused, excessive residues remain on food, banned substances are used, or chemicals never intended for food preservation are deliberately applied to food. The World Health Organisation warns that pesticides can be toxic to humans and that exposure can produce both acute and chronic health effects depending on the chemical, quantity and route of exposure. That is why maximum residue limits exist for food. The Nigerian problem therefore isn’t simply “chemicals in food”.

It is the uncontrolled and sometimes reckless use of chemicals.

In Lagos, a 2023 study of 50 fruit and vegetable retailers found that 22 — 44 per cent — reported using chemical preservatives. The chemicals reported included gammalin-20, Sniper, aluminium phosphide, DDT, carbide and brodifacoum.

These are not small numbers in a country where fruits and vegetables are consumed daily by children, pregnant women, the elderly and people battling existing illnesses.

And it is precisely this evidence that makes Osinbajo’s warning so uncomfortable.

He cited the Lagos study during his speech and warned Nigerians not to assume that something is safe merely because it looks fresh.

THE FRUIT THAT LOOKS TOO PERFECT

Walk through a Nigerian market and you will notice something. Some fruits look almost unnaturally perfect. The banana is bright yellow. The mango has suddenly changed colour. The plantain looks ready for sale. The tomato is red. The pawpaw is soft. To the ordinary consumer, this is good business. To a food scientist, however, appearance is not proof of safety. The 2024 Ado-Ekiti research found that consumers themselves had limited knowledge of the possible risks associated with chemically ripened fruits. More than half of the consumers studied had poor-to-fair knowledge of the health effects associated with calcium-carbide ripening. That creates a dangerous information gap. The trader knows what was used. The farmer knows what was sprayed. The transporter knows how the produce was stored. The wholesaler knows where it came from. But the consumer knows almost nothing. And the consumer is the final person in the chain.

THE SNIPER IN Y,OUR FOOD

Perhaps one of the most disturbing examples is the misuse of agricultural chemicals as food preservatives. In June 2024, NAFDAC specifically warned Nigerians against using dichlorvos, popularly associated with the insecticide Sniper, to preserve food. The agency warned that the practice could cause serious health consequences, including cancer and death. This is not a new warning. But the fact that the regulator has repeatedly had to warn Nigerians about the practice shows that the problem has refused to disappear. Some traders reportedly use chemicals to keep dried fish, grains, vegetables and other commodities away from insects. The motivation is understandable. The method is not. A trader wants to prevent loss. A farmer wants to protect his harvest. A wholesaler wants products to survive transportation. A retailer wants produce to remain attractive. But when the solution becomes a chemical designed to kill insects, the consumer may ultimately become part of the equation. And that is where food preservation becomes potential poisoning.

THE BUSINESS OF MAKING MORE FROM LESS

There is another side of the problem that deserves even more attention. Food fraud. This is where a product is deliberately misrepresented, substituted, diluted, falsified or altered for economic gain. It can mean fake packaging. It can mean putting another substance into a product. It can mean selling an inferior product as a premium product. It can mean altering a date. It can mean using another company’s brand. It can mean diluting a product to increase volume. And sometimes, it can mean producing an entirely fake version of a product people trust. NAFDAC’s own regulatory framework recognises adulteration, contamination, unsafe additives, unsafe pesticide residues, incorrect formulation, food fraud and poor storage and handling as legitimate reasons for food recall. That is a significant admission. Because it tells us that the problem is not simply one of expired food sitting on a shop shelf. The problem can begin during formulation, production, packaging, transportation, storage or sale. Nigerians have seen this battle before. NAFDAC has issued alerts over counterfeit milk products.

HOW ABOUT THE MEDICINE WE TAKE

If food is frightening, the pharmaceutical market may be even more dangerous. Imagine having malaria. You visit a chemist. You buy an antimalarial. You swallow it. The fever does not go away. You assume the malaria is resistant. You buy another medicine. You get worse. What if the problem was not the malaria? What if the medicine was falsified?

The World Health Organisation estimates that at least one in 10 medicines in low- and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified. Such products can contain the wrong ingredients, the wrong dose, too little active pharmaceutical ingredient or no active ingredient at all. They can result in treatment failure, prolonged illness, antimicrobial resistance and death. Nigeria has repeatedly appeared in NAFDAC alerts involving falsified and counterfeit medicines. The list is not theoretical.

In 2025 alone, NAFDAC issued alerts involving counterfeit Postinor2, falsified oxytocin injections, counterfeit Accu-Chek test strips, falsified Cikatem antimalarial, counterfeit Noristerat injection, counterfeit Aflotin antimalarial and other substandard or falsified medicines. This is where counterfeit medicine becomes more than a consumer-rights issue. It becomes a matter of life and death. A fake shoe may give you blisters. A fake drug can kill you.

THEN THE WATER WE DRINK

Then there is Water. The Nigerian “pure water” culture is partly a story of necessity. Millions of people rely on sachet water because reliable public water supply is unavailable or unaffordable. But scientific studies continue to raise concerns about the quality of some packaged water.

– By Emmanuel Daniji