For the first time in many years, bank customers and non-bank customers are shaken by policy shift in the financial services sector. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) limit N100,000 and N500, 000 on over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities per week, respectively, is with diverse implications to the polity, businesses and economy. The policy, which takes effect on January 9 next year, will crumble Point of Sale (PoS), cash-in-transit and entertainment industry operations, broaden e-payment ecosystem and raise the e-fraud momentum. TAOFIK SALAKO, COLLINS NWEZE, OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE, LUCAS AJANAKU and CHIKODI OKEREOCHA report

For a cash-based economy like Nigeria, any policy that tends to change the status quo is taken very seriously. That explains the inquisitiveness that followed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) directive limiting cash withdrawals for individuals and corporate organisations. The policy directive, among other things, limited over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities per week to N100,000 and N500, 000, respectively. The directive was announced in a letter to deposit money banks and other financial institutions. It was signed by CBN Director, Banking Supervision Department, Haruna Mustafa.

The apex bank said the regulatory directives will take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023, and warned that aiding and abetting its circumvention attracts severe sanctions. The CBN also set the maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day. “Only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs,” it said.

It further directed that third party cheques above N50,000 shall not be eligible for payment over-the-counter, but retained the N10 million limits earlier placed on clearing cheques. This policy has continued to generate diverse reactions from bank customers, businesses and economic managers. While it will broaden the e-payment space and expand financial inclusion, it will equally impact negatively on some cash-based businesses such as Point of Sale (PoS), cash-in-transit and entertainment industry businesses.

The influence of cash in politics is expected to drop while audit trail for all e-payment transactions will be readily available, experts have said. Data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) has shown that transactions worth N32.8 trillion were performed electronically in September through the NIBSS Instant Payment platform (NIP). According to the industry data, the total value of transactions worth N271.56 trillion was performed electronically in nine months of 2022, a 26 per cent increase compared to N215.76 trillion reported in nine months of 2021.

The new policy plan is expected to boost e-payment but also expand e-fraud across all payment channels. A survey carried out by Agusto & Co has revealed that 59 per cent of bank customers sampled indicated that they have fallen victim to fraud. According to the survey, 41 per cent said their accounts hadn’t been compromised. “The remaining had been victims through phishing emails, data breaches, unauthorised access to accounts through USSD, and others,” it said. This number is expected to rise as more customers embrace e-payment due to the new cash withdrawal policy.  Also, CBN establishment of bank neutral cash hubs (BNCH) to carry out receipt of naira denominated deposits on behalf of financial institutions from individuals and businesses with high volumes of cash will suffer a setback. The hubs were to be located in areas with high volumes of commercial activities and cash transactions to provide a platform for customers to make cash deposits and receive value irrespective of the banks their accounts are domiciled.

Also to be affected are cash-in-transit companies, which for years have dominated the business of moving cash with bullion vans to and from bank branches; while the entrainment industry is likely to suffer cash crunch. Many musicians get a large chunk of their income from funds sprayed on them at parties. This trend, analysts said, is likely to reduce drastically.

The bulk on PoS businesses

Point of Sale (PoS) operators have also lamented the negative impact the policy will have on their business. Speaking at Eleko Market in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, a PoS operator, Moses Adigun, said any policy that drastically makes cash unavailable is a minus for their business. “I pay out over N300,000 daily and limiting cash withdrawal to N100,000 weekly means that my business will suffer. The same way I do not have access to cash, is also how my customers will lack access to cash,” Adigun said.

According to him, less than 10 per cent of his customers ask for transfers and 90 per cent demand cash. “It means we will serve a smaller customer base when this policy takes off,” Adigun said. Another PoS operator, Nkemdilim Michael, said she will look for another business because the business thrives on cash. “Customers come to us for quick cash, which we give them at a fee. Now, both the customer and the operator will be looking for cash. That will make cash very expensive and might lead to higher fees and reduced patronage,” Nkemdilim said. Many of the market women expressed surges at the policy, saying they do not believe it is true. “I think the policy may not be as they have told us. How can they say we will only withdraw N100,000 cash weekly? The policy will reduce our business volume unless they make the right infrastructure available before implementation,” Mrs. Beatrice  Ajao, a vegetable seller based in Ajah Market, Lagos.

Bank customers association, others call for caution

Speaking on the new policy, President, Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN), Dr. Uju Ogunbunka, said the policy is a good one given the benefits that come from cashless banking, but its timing and implementation process are not practicable based on weak IT infrastructure realities on the ground. He said the CBN has good intention, but there are serious issues that are currently weighing against the policy implementation. “The policy is good, but the practical realities in the country are against its successful implementation. Nigeria is a cash-driven economy and no matter what anyone thinks, you cannot run away from that trend overnight. It is going to be a crisis. Power supply is bad and network connectivity in many rural areas is also bad or non-existent. Taking cash away from them will speed doom for the people,” he said.

Ogunbunka said the economy currently has big problem with inflation, and the strength of the naira is weak. “What can N1,000 buy? That means people will have to be frequenting the banks to get enough money to buy what they need. How many people spend N100,000 a week? I am yet to see how a woman selling vegetables will be paid with cash transfer. The CBN need to strengthen the infrastructure and get banks ready for take-off,” he said.

The BCAN boss said there are many bank customers who do not believe in online transactions and will not change their minds overnight because of the negative experiences they have had with the channels. He said the rising cases of e-fraud have frightened many cardholders into abandoning e-payment and returning to cash-based transactions. He said convincing such people into embracing digital payment fully will not be an easy task that will just happen overnight.

The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has reacted cautiously to the recent new policy on cash withdrawal limits announced by the CBN, particularly on the ease and cost of doing business. This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the President of ACCI, Al-Mutjaba Abubakar. According to Abubakar, the chamber is raising posers on the impact of the new policy on cost of doing business and ease of doing business in Nigeria.

“We have perused the policy guidelines and we first commend the CBN for constantly innovating to address the fiscal and monetary challenges facing the country. We note the intention of the apex bank, which is the urgent need to address growing inflationary pressure and stabilise the value of naira. As commendable as this policy is, we are worried about the timing of the announcement that coincides with the ongoing plan to phase out old naira notes,” he said.

Abubakar said that ACCI’s concerns stemmed from the disruption the new policy would have on many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in several big local markets. He said that the limitation on withdrawal will constrain business transactions, especially as most businessmen rely on such withdrawal for quick business engagement from one market to the other. “Aside slowing down businesses within formal and the informal markets, the new policy also has tendency to increase cost of doing business due to sanction on withdrawal exceeding certain limits. The charges on excess withdrawal constitute new form of levy, which adds to the long list of levies on the SMEs and the informal business operators.

“The ACCI wishes to again draw the attention of the apex bank and other levels of government to the fact that small businesses in Nigeria are dying on a very alarming percentage. We solicit the understanding of policy makers to always engage the business sector on policies and programmes that will affect them. Such exchange will enable policy makers to consider impact of proposed policies on businesses,” he said.

Abubakar said that any oversight in holding such consultation might result in policy decisions that further emasculate small businesses, thereby deepening economic challenges facing the nation. “On the implementation timeline of the new policy, we urge the apex bank to allow more time for the commencement of this policy so that businesses have enough time to make the necessary adjustments,” Abubakar said.

Telecom operators, others lend their voices

Telecom operators expressed support for the CBN’s move to institutionalise cashless policy by limiting the volume of cash individuals and corporates could handle per week. They, however, said the unpaid debts owed them by the banks for transactions that were carried out using telecoms infrastructure remained the single threat to the CBN’s policy. Acting under the aegis of Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), the group said it remained a cause of worry why, despite the intervention of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami and others, the banks refused to pay the debt, which has now reached N80 billion.

The Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, in a telephone interview, said the policy of the apex bank aligned with what is obtained in other parts of the world, saying it was doubtful if there is any country in the world where the type of huge cash is carried around. He said the negative impact of the policy will be insignificant on the industry as most subscribers now buy airtime through the banking sector or through virtual top up. Adebayo said the number of people that buy with cash is low and are done mainly by people who are at the lowest rung of the social ladder.

“So, we don’t foresee any major backlash from the policy in our sector. We have somehow been at the top of the digital transformation journey of the country through our investment in infrastructure. The industry is ready to support the policy. We have done that not only via mobile money but through the use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD). However, the big elephant in the house is the USSD debt, which has now reached N80 billion, in spite of the ministerial interventions. One day, we will get to the point where we will operate the no pay, no service. This will no doubt frustrate the entire industry. It is one major threat to the cashless policy because, no matter how long it takes, one day, we will implement our commercial terms,” he said.

He said while the telecoms operators are assuring members of the public of the resilience and availability of infrastructure to drive the policy, the debt owed by the bank remained the only threat to its success.

Also speaking, the President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOM), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the policy is welcome as it is the practice in other parts of the civilised world. He said as the giant of Africa, the country should reduce the huge cash outside the banking sector. He said the implementation of the cashless policy might put an initial pressure on the network; the hiccup will eventually be resolved as the policy progresses.

It will be funny and ignorant on the part of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) if it thinks that its new policy on cash withdrawal limits can control inflation or strengthen the naira, the Director General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, (NACCIMA), Olusola Obadimu, has said. In an interview with The Nation, Obadimu said the apex bank will be displaying ignorance if it believes it can rein in inflation or strengthen the weakening value of the local currency, the naira, simply by rationing cash.

A wrong-headed policy?

“You can’t control inflation by rationing cash; you can’t strengthen the naira by rationing cash, Obadimu charged, pointing out, for instance, that despite the fact that the dollar is in used in every country all over the world, it hasn’t weakened its value. Euro is being spent all over the world, has that weakened the Euro?” Obadimu also asked, insisting, “It is childish to think that if you don’t have too much of your currency outside, it will give strength to your currency.”

The NACCIMA DG said the policy was wrong-headed. “If you know you don’t have money to print a lot of notes, why did you decide to change notes? Is it by force?” he asked, adding, “If you cannot afford to print enough notes to go round, you can’t be rationing notes. It is not done.”

Obadimu argued that cash transitions and electronic transactions are options. And that even abroad where electronic payment system is widely embraced, governments there never rationed cash for anybody. “The government has no right to impose restrictions on how you spend your money; your money is yours. You are free to spend it however you want; government can encourage electronic payment, but cannot force or impose withdrawal restrictions on people,” Obadimu told The Nation.

According him, Nigeria’s electronic payment infrastructure is not yet perfect and robust enough to support the new policy. “Even me as an individual, I had three transactions that I did in the last one week and I was debited, but they declined. If you add it together, it is more than N50, 000,” he said, asking “what if I don’t have any other money?”

Obadimu, therefore, emphasised that “the system is not perfect yet. So, you can’t force on people a system that is not perfect yet. Sometimes, it takes two to three weeks to revert a failed transaction. In fact, there was a particular one last year that First Bank never reversed for me.”

The NACCIMA chief, while reiterating that it does not make sense to force people to embrace a technology that is not perfect, stated that even in countries where electricity, Internet and other infrastructure are stable, “they are not forcing people to embrace electronic payment.”

He also said there is need to recognise the fact that there are people in the rural areas where infrastructure is even worse and Internet is worse, too. “How can you force people there to embrace electronic payment,” he asked. Obadimu said if the nation’s electronic payment infrastructure is solid and without the usual hitches, people will gradually embrace it. His words: “You don’t need to force people. If you want to do online transfers now, maybe you need a smartphone. I am not sure cheap phones can do it. How many Nigerians can afford smartphones? The cheapest smartphone should be about N30, 000. Some states are yet to implement the N30, 000 minimum wage. So, how can you force poor people to have smartphones to be doing online transactions? There are lots of people in the rural areas who don’t even have phones in the first place.

“Let’s not put the cart before the horse. As far as business people are concerned, they want to sell, they want to buy; don’t let us make life harder for them. Don’t let us make life harder for businesses. I think the CBN should rethink the policy. You can see the discordant tones.”

Deputy President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce & lndustry (LCCI), Gabriel ldahosa, said the cash withdrawal limit might be the next stage of the apex bank’s plan to steadily move the country to a cashless economy. He said the CBN appeared to be taking the benefit of the change of the high denomination currency notes to speed up the cashless process. He, however, expressed concerns that the policy may have negative consequences and lead to crises.

“It is likely to cause disruptions in the economy, especially in rural areas where bank branches are few and telecommunication networks are very weak. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have small working capital tend to hold most of it in cash in order to keep their businesses running,” Idahosa said.

According to him, CBN may be forced to introduce special arrangements for rural areas and SMEs if the disruptions degenerate into crisis situations. He said the apex bank must prepare for such possibilities, especially in hard-to-reach mountainous and riverine areas. He noted that there might also be an unintended consequence of people in regular need of cash keeping much more cash than they normally do.

The Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, said the new cash withdrawal policy was a needless dissipation of energy and resources. He described CBN’s claim that there was too much cash outside the banking system as “erroneous,” noting that currency as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nigeria was 1.8 per cent, whereas, in the United States, it was about 10 per cent. “We are more cashless than many advanced economies,” Yusuf said.

He noted that currency in circulation in Nigeria as at October 2022 was N3.3 trillion, out of which N2.8 trillion was outside the banking vaults, pointing out that there was nothing abnormal about this as currency in circulation is meant for cash transactions and is a mode of payment. It is a contradiction to expect the currency to be largely kept in the vault of banks, rather than outside the banks. “Currency notes are printed primarily to facilitate payments in the economy by segments of the population that needs them. There is a difference between money supply and currency in circulation,” Yusuf, a former director general of LCCI, said. He pointed out that the total money supply as of October 2022 was N50.6 trillion; while the total currency in the economy was just N3.3 trillion.

Tax implications

Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader, PwC, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, said the new cash withdrawal limits will have tax implications, especially for individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). “As many people will be forced to carry out transactions using electronic payments, small businesses that currently operate mostly on cash will become visible to the tax authorities.” According to him, the policy will trigger various tax obligations including income tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

He said: “If a business is registered as a company, it may be liable to company income tax (CIT) depending on annual turnover. There is no CIT if the company’s turnover is below N25 million but it will pay 20 per cent of its turnover is between N25 to N100 million, 30 per cent of its turnover is more than N100 million in addition to Education Tax at 2.5 per cent. But if the business is not registered as a company, then it will be liable to personal income tax based on graduated taxable income bands between seven per cent and 24 per cent. Also, all businesses are required to register for VAT and charge 7.5 per cent on their goods and services except those with annual turnover below N25 million.

Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa Limited, Ike Chioke, said people in smaller cities may find it difficult during the early implementation days. He said that in blind spots where the PoS or internet banking will not work, there will be no other alternative than to move cash around. He said limiting cash in such areas will present a major challenge for the businesses and communities. “I hope the monetary authorities have also put into planning measures to make sure that Nigerians are not overly impoverished by the system,” Chioke said.

With Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye as Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in the last five years, local and international stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry believe the agency achieved so much in terms of safeguarding public health and enthroning strong regulatory frameworks that ultimately earned Nigeria WHO certifications and recognitions that were hitherto impossible. MOSES EMORINKEN reports

Nothing would have prepared Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, popularly referred to as Mama by her staff, colleagues and other industry players, for the herculean tasks ahead of her as Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Yet she assumed the position with intimidating credentials. Before her appointment as NAFDAC boss, she was the founding Chair of Biopharmaceutical Sciences and a Professor of Pharmaceutics, Manufacturing Science and Drug Product Evaluation at the College of Pharmacy, Roosevelt University in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States.

She was also a Professor of Pharmaceutics and Manufacturing for 21 years at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a Senior Fulbright Scholar and Specialist and 2008 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Fellow (the first African woman fellow). Her research interests are in the areas of pre-formulation, early phase development of solid, semisolid and liquid dosage forms, and IND-based and intellectual property-driven late phase drug product development. Through Duquesne University, she was able to develop an anti-retroviral (HIV/AIDS) paediatric fixed-dose combination and received intellectual property on the formulations in the United Kingdom and South Africa

However, it would only be fair that Adeyeye’s appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 2017, NAFDAC had achieved some commendable strides. These were under the competent leadership of the late Dora Akunyili, who waged an impressive war against peddlers and manufacturers of Substandard and Falsified (SFs) medicines across the thirty-six states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Until her death in June 2014, the late Akunyili, among other things, led the agency in several clean-up missions, which led to the confiscation of counterfeit medicines and products worth billions of naira. No doubt, many Nigerians still believe that sundry efforts by Akunyili and her team put Nigeria on the radar of recognition by international organisations.

Despite the feats, like every imperfect system striving for consistent improvements, the agency was fraught with many challenges, including some irregularities in documentation processes, tedious registration procedures, leakages in funds, non-recognition of Nigerian-made medicines by the international community etc. Therefore, the appointment of Prof. Adeyeye came as a joyous daybreak for staff, relevant health sector players, and citizens of the country because of the determination and expertise she brought to bear.

Under her watch, NAFDAC was able to safeguard public health and strengthen the industry by waging a strategic war against banned and counterfeit drug peddlers, confiscation of unwholesome goods – both consumables and non-consumables, and testing and authorising of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines during the wake of the pandemic. During her tenure, the agency also played a pivotal role in the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), enthroned Quality Management System (QMS), achieved the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Maturity level 3 global benchmarking for top ranking regulatory authorities, among others.

However, like everything, her tenure came to an end on November 3, 2022. The federal government has appointed an Acting Director-General for the agency in the person of Dr. Monica Eimunjeze, who, until her appointment, was the Director of Registration and Regulatory Affairs and also the most senior Director at the agency.  She had served as the Technical Assistant to the Director-General of the agency, and as the Director of Drug Evaluation and Research. She, alongside other Directors (both in active service and retired) were critical condiments for the success Prof. Adeyeye achieved. Dr. Eimunjeze is a pharmacy graduate of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 1986. She is a renowned pharmacist and has served in NAFDAC for over ten years.

Here is an analysis of Adeyeye’s tenure in NAFDAC, tracking some of the achievements of the agency under her watch and the areas she did not get a resounding applause, especially among the staff and other relevant stakeholders.

Winning the war against substandard and falsified medicines

According to many stakeholders, the investigation and enforcement activities of the agency geared towards ridding the country of the menace of substandard and falsified medical products yielded a lot of dividends. Some of its enforcement activities include: interception and destruction of twenty-five (25) containers of tramadol worth one billion, seven hundred and eight million, seven hundred and fifty thousand naira (N1,708,750,000); destruction of more than thirty containers of tramadol and other unregistered products worth more than N198 billion on the street; arraignment of persons involved in the distribution of the banned tramadol at the Federal High Court, Lagos. As a result, most of the tramadol merchants went underground.

The agency also shut down three pharmaceutical companies over poor distribution practice of codeine-containing syrup; In 2020, it blacklisted two companies from India that falsified a registered product, and delisted the Nigerian company involved. In addition, six other local companies were shut down due to resistance to good manufacturing practices compliance; Destroyed fake, adulterated, counterfeit, banned and unwholesome NAFDAC regulated products worth four billion, two hundred and sixty thousand naira (N4,000,260,000) in exercises across the nation, while also clearing its Apapa warehouses that had been filled to the brim since 2013.

Global certifications, recognitions

In order to enshrine a strong regulatory framework, Prof. Adeyeye introduced a quality system approach or template that placed a premium on the customer. Therefore, it adopted an agency-wide Quality Management System (ISO 9001) that took the entire staff through training (from February 2018 to June 2019) in use of self-auditing, standard operating procedures, proper documentation, transparency, digitalization of her processes, etc. The agency was ISO 9001:2015 Certified in June 2019. NAFDAC also received recertification in 2020 and 2021.

The WHO Benchmarking Programme (ISO 9004) commenced in January 2018, and since then, the agency has imbibed a culture of self-audit as part of WHO-Global Benchmarking requirements, and in line with International Best Practices. Another achievement worthy of mentioning is the award of Maturity Level 3 (ML3) certification to NAFDAC from the WHO in March this year. With this certification, which is the second highest in the four-tiered WHO classification of national medicines regulatory systems, NAFDAC joins Tanzania, Ghana and Egypt in the whole of Africa to have attained this feat in medicines regulation.

The ML3 rating means NAFDAC has been found to function well, stable and eligible for inclusion into the transitional WHO Listed Authorities (WLA) – a list that will comprise the world’s regulators of reference – that is, regulatory authorities that should be globally recognised as meeting WHO and other international standards. Egypt reached maturity level 3 for vaccine regulation (locally produced and imported) and Nigeria for medicines and imported vaccines.

NAFDAC has, however, stressed its determination to work to attain the WHO’s Maturity Level Four certification, which will place pharmaceutical products manufactured in Nigeria in a better pedestal to compete favourably in the global market. NAFDAC is now using a traceability system to monitor the distribution of vaccines across the country. The agency is now leading globally in the use of this technology to monitor vaccines. Oxford University recognised what NAFDAC is doing and referred to it as the “Abuja Principles” to mitigate falsification and counterfeiting of medical products.

Clearing huge debt and closing revenues leakages and curtailing fraud

NAFDAC was in debt to the tune of N3.2 billion before Adeyeye took over the helm of affairs.  However, with her determination, cooperation from the members of staff, and efforts by the Finance and Accounts Directorate, she brought financial sanity to the agency by stepping down all fictitious claims, and introducing budget discipline to all financial activities of the agency. All these activities reduced its debt profile of N3.2 billion to zero as at 20th November, 2018. The cost effective measures steadily increased NAFDAC’s cash position in Treasury Single Account (TSA). Also, her leadership put both human and material resources in place that resulted in boosting the agency’s internally generated revenue significantly, and also reduced recurrent expenditure drastically.

The agency discovered and recovered N106,590,298.52 erroneously credited to another MDA in 2015 as a result of a deep reconciliation exercise carried out. It also recovered N533 million evaded administrative charges (2014 to 2017) from stakeholders by the Ports Inspection Directorate.

Other achievements and what staff members said

Other achievements of NAFDAC under Adeyeye are: digitalisation of registration processes, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown, which led to expedited clearing of backlogs of registration applications; inauguration of the Herbal Medicine Product Committee in March 2019, which fostered collaboration between herbal researchers and local practitioners; purchasing of laboratory equipment and refurbishing and building of world-class laboratories. An example is the Yaba Drug and Biologics/Vaccine laboratory currently being expanded and under construction.

However, despite the impressive achievements of the former Director-General of NAFDAC, some stakeholders in the health sector, especially members of staff of the agency, have low ratings for her tenure – with their grouse bordering mainly on what they called “poor staff welfare.” While acknowledging and recognising the efforts and achievements of Adeyeye in the last five years in NAFDAC, they lamented the poor salaries and other benefits for staff, which they said proved inadequate to cater for their needs and give them a decent life.

Speaking with The Nation, a top executive with NAFDAC, who pleaded anonymity, said: “In the last five years, we have had some tremendous turnover and turnaround under the leadership of Prof. Adeyeye, and she came with a sound knowledge of pharmacy – knowledge of drugs. As a Professor, she improved the optics of the pharmaceutical laws. In the pharmaceutical profession, she has really positioned NAFDAC. For the first time, all the drugs – indigenously or domestically produced were certified, pre-qualified. With the WHO now, we have few components that were listed to produce which were certified. Today, if there is any crisis that WHO will mandate companies to produce for them, Nigeria is one of them. This means that Nigerian drugs can be consumed in Malaysia, China or anywhere. This is the first in Nigeria’s history. Before, all our drugs that are locally manufactured only ended up in Africa. Now we have gone to the global level. This is attributable to Prof. Adeyeye.

“However, every leader has their ups and downs. Unfortunately, we don’t have a good salary at all. There is no welfare, and this is where the problem is. If you block the leakages and there is too much money, and people are hungry, it is as good as rubbish. This is where we are having the problem. Did you know that my salary cannot pay my house rent, school fees? As a level 14 staff member, I cannot do anything. Those are the issues we are talking about. One of the conditions for us to be given that certification that we can now produce for WHO is that there must be retention and retraining; there is none. There must be proper welfare of staff with proper remuneration.

“Recently, the National Assembly placed NAFDAC alongside revenue generating agencies. NAFDAC is generating revenue by coincidence and not by Act. Because of our regulatory activities, you see us turning around close to N30 billion. Today, we have this money but we cannot touch it. The staff had to go on strike to get 30 per cent of the total consolidated salary, according to everyone’s level, as hazard allowance. Hazard allowance is N5,000. How much is this compared to what we are going through?”

New born babies are expected to breastfeed many times in a day for the  first month as they often get hungry because breast milk digests quickly. For many mothers, this is an uphill task as they cannot produce sufficient milk to satisfy the babies. To help such women, many cultures across the country prescribe consumption of palm wine, pap and other native delicacies for mothers to produce adequate milk. While many women who have used some of the natural remedies have attested to their efficacy, orthodox medicine practitioners believe that some of the practices portend grave danger to the health of babies as well as their mothers. INNOCENT DURU digs into the pros and cons of the native practices vis-a-vis the solution offered by orthodox medicine.

• Women attest to efficacy of palm wine, pap others

• It’s a myth, harmful to mother, child – Doctors

• Why it’s not advisable to give water to infants in first six months – Physician

Rose, a Lagos based businesswoman, was full of excitement when she gave birth to a baby boy. For her, it was a dream come true as she had always wished her first child would be a male.

Shortly after having the baby, she found that she could not produce enough milk to feed the baby.  At that point, anxiety set in for Rose as she thought it was a serious health problem.

“I was making plans to see my doctor because the unusual development was almost spoiling my joy,” she said.

But before her anxiety turned to anguish, the mother stepped in and helped her with a native intelligence that addressed the problem.

Rose said: “When I could not produce enough breast milk to feed my baby, my mother quickly ordered fresh palm wine. After some time of taking it, I started producing large quantities of breastmilk and my baby could feed to his satisfaction.

“The same thing was done for my siblings who had similar problems. They took palm wine and that ended their problem. I am very sure of palm wine because I have used it and can attest to its efficacy.

“There may be other natural remedies like some people would tell you about using pap. But pap for me is not really as potent as palm wine.

“Palmy, as we call it, quickly and easily makes breast milk to pump out like shower. When you take it, your breast will be full of milk such that if someone mistakenly hits your breast, the milk will be gushing out like water.”

She added that palm wine has no side effects and “it works perfectly for breast milk production.

“In our place, we have two types of palm wine; one is called nkwu and the other ngwo. Ngwo intoxicates and is not good for nursing mothers, but the palm wine from nkwu is very good. It really does not intoxicate.

“If you want to give it to a nursing mother who has a challenge producing adequate breast milk, you have to order a fresh one that was tapped that very day and it must not be kept on bare floor because doing so will change the taste.

“Many people doing traditional weddings make use of ukwu because it is sweet and does not really intoxicate.”

Asked why she, as an educated person, bought into the use of traditional remedies to solve her problem, she said: “Why not? As long as it is not fetish, I will use it.

“Many traditional practices are beyond what science can explain. Many of those practices have proven to be potent over the years and have stood the test of time.

“Can science explain the use of wool or rope from your clothes to stop a baby from hiccupping? When you place such on the head of the baby, he or she will stop hiccupping.

“Doctors will tell you not to give water to your child, but I can tell it doesn’t really make sense to me. My mother made me realise it is important to give water to a baby. If you would not, she will give water to the baby shortly after breastfeeding.

“After taking the water and you rob your hands on the baby’s back, he or she would belch. Water is life and I don’t think breastmilk is a replacement for it.”

For Ify, a fashion designer,  consuming a large quantity of hot pap is  the quick way to end the challenge of the breast not producing enough milk to feed a newborn.

Reliving her experience, she said: “That was what I was using when I had that problem. Apart from pap, I also used hot pepper soup, which also helped to flush my stomach.

“At a point, my mother-in-law suggested that I should be taking palm wine.  To get a good one, my husband would go as far as Ijegun area in Alimosho Local Government Area (Lagos State) very early in the morning to get some.

“Most of the palm wine you see around are not original. They have been chemicalised and that can cause health problems for the baby. If you get original and fresh palm wine, it would help.

“But I prefer pap. Pap, for me, is better. When you take it in large quantity, it will help you to produce sufficient breast milk for your baby.”

Omonsuzi, a native of Ishan, Edo State, told of how pap helped her to overcome the trauma of not producing adequate milk to breastfeed her daughter.

She said: “After giving birth, I could not breastfeed the baby immediately. Before I was discharged, my sister brought palm wine to help me lactate and feed my baby very well but the doctors refused.

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“They didn’t allow me to take it. They advised me to continue to put the baby to the breast and relax very well. When I got home, I tried all that but it didn’t work.

“I was subsequently advised to take pap in large quantity. After taking it for a while, the story changed. My breast became very heavy with milk. As soon as my baby put her mouth to it, the milk would begin to pour like tap water.

“I felt relieved because I never wanted to use baby food. It is not as rich as breast milk. I wanted my baby to have all the nutrients that breast milk contains hence my worry about my inability to breastfeed her.”

Pap, for Bridget, is also a natural remedy for nursing mothers having difficulty producing sufficient breast milk to feed their babies.

“Taking warm food which includes pap will help any woman who has a challenge with producing enough milk to feed her baby. That was what I used when I had the problem,” she said.

Asked if she knew about the efficacy of palm wine as a remedy for such problems, she said: “I am aware of it and also know about people who have used it.

“People who use it always go for fresh palm wine because all the ones you see on the road are already diluted with different sweeteners that could affect the health of the baby and the mother.

“Original palm wine is safe and potent for treating different health challenges. Our parents used to use palm wine to bathe children to cure them of certain diseases.

“They use it to treat measles. Some people would even drop it on the eyelid of babies when treating them of measles.

“All these are local remedies that predated orthodox medicine. They are beyond something that science can explain.”

She added: “When I was living in Kaduna, the people there were using fura da nunu to enhance breast milk production for women who had problems lactating or producing adequate breast milk. It worked and still works.

“Our forefathers had solutions to any health problem you can think about. They had no laboratory to diagnose health problems but native intelligence helped them to solve different health challenges using natural things.

“The remedy could be herbs or everyday things we eat. The good thing about all thiss is that they have no side effects.

“Orthodox medicines have a way of affecting the body systems in the long run but natural remedies don’t.  Countries like China use natural remedies to treat many health challenges.”

Aside from the testimonies of the above women, many writers have at various times told of how palm wine and other natural remedies help to boost breast milk production.

One of such write ups on drinkingdivas.com, said: “Breastfeeding is one of the most precious moments a mother and child can share.

“Some women face lactation problems and find themselves stressing over the production of milk from time to time.

“However, it has been shown to help lactating mothers produce more breast milk regularly. There is a stimulant in palm wine that assists in the production of breast milk, which is exactly what you want.

“In countries like Cameroun, Nigeria and Ghana, many of the natural healers who use medicines from the earth to heal ailments claim that palm wine can produce more milk for lactating mothers.”

It’s a myth capable of harming mother, baby -Doctors

Heartwarming  as the women’s testimonies about the efficacy of the local remedies sound, orthodox medicine practitioners have described  their claims as mere myths.

A public health physician, Dr Rotimi Adesanya, in a chat with our correspondent, was wary of endorsing some of the local remedies, especially palm wine.

He said: “After birth, a woman is expected to start lactating.

“There is what we call suck reflex. When a baby is put to the breast, a message is sent to the brain and milk will start flowing. That is one way to increase breast milk.

“Immediately the woman delivers, there is a hormone called prolactin which should make the woman to start producing naturally.  But at times, the woman may have a stressful labour, which may make the milk not to start flowing immediately.

“A woman may also give birth through surgery which may make the milk not to flow immediately but there are things that we advise such women to do.  We ask such women to have enough rest, take enough fluid, not necessarily pap.

“We also tell them to take liquids generally. But our people have customised pap. There is no harm in taking pap, but at that point in time, women need to increase their fluid intake.

“If you have enough fluid in your system, you will be able to produce more milk. The food intake should also be increased in addition to the fluid.”

“On the use of palm wine, he said: “The use of palm wine to enhance breast milk is in the public space, but I will say it is a myth because medically, it does not increase breast milk flow. It cannot be explained medically.

“Secondly, it is also not safe for the mothers and the babies because it contains a certain percentage of alcohol.  Once you take palm wine, the alcohol in it gets into the breast milk and part of it is also fed to the baby.

“At that point, the baby’s brain is just developing, and that may make that baby to be depressed and unable to function well due to the effect of alcohol.

“Mothers may not see that. They believe generally that it helps to boost breast milk. We in the medical field discourage it. It is not a healthy practice.

“Palm wine has up to six per cent of alcohol in it.  No medical practitioner will recommend it for any woman when breastfeeding because a larger percentage of that alcohol in the breast milk will  get to the baby.

“We don’t recommend it and it doesn’t increase breast milk once the woman increases her fluid intake and takes a balanced diet.”

In the western world, he said, “nobody takes pap,  because it is not part of their meal. They also don’t mention palm wine over there because it is not part of their culture or system. Yet they breastfeed their babies.

“The delivery period is a stressful period, so we tell mothers to take enough rest, have enough sleep. All th is will increase their breast milk flow.

“They should also keep putting the baby to breast whether they think the breast is flowing or not.

“It is by putting the baby to breast that the breast milk will start flowing under the suck reflex that I mentioned earlier.

“We are not happy when we hear people who don’t have formal training on how the body works pontificating on it. The whole thing is just an imagination of the public.

“When we had ebola outbreak, some people said they should be using salt and water to bathe and all that.

“Somebody just came up with that and it had a deadly implication as many people were affected by that speculation.”

Explaining the dangers of alcohol on babies,  the physician said: “When alcohol gets into babies, you may not see the effect immediately. It may affect the IQ of the baby. It may be when the baby wants to start learning that the effects will begin to manifest.

“It will definitely affect the brain. That is why we discourage it in totality. We medics have our own code ethics, and that principle is do no harm. When you are treating somebody you must make sure that no harm is left behind.

“People that are recommending palm wine, there is a harmful effect on the baby’s brain which no medical doctor that has sworn an oath will recommend.

“There are drugs that can increase lactation. The drug works on the part of the brain that we call dopamine. That dopamine helps the hormone that brings out the breast milk.

“We don’t give the drug to all women. We look at women that will benefit from it and recommend it for them. It does not work for all women.

“When we see a woman that is not lactating, drugs are the last option.  We start by telling them to increase their fluid intake, have enough sleep, put the baby to breast, and sleep well. These are the common measures  that do not involve any cost at all.”

Asked about the psychological effect of not being able to lactate on mothers, he said: “Have you ever heard about milk from animals not being enough for their babies? There is a way that nature has made all these.

“Some of these things are actually perception. It is only the baby that is sucking that will say whether the milk is actually coming in or not.  The mother may not know.

“But like I said, as the baby sucks, the milk intake will continue to increase.  The problem out there is that there are many people who have different information from what the health workers give.

“Just this week, I had someone who had twins. She also sent such a message to me about palm wine. In fact, people were suggesting so many things to them.

“Yes, women  who feel that the milk is not flowing may have psychological problems, and that is why we health workers are there.

“We encourage them by giving them what we call psychotherapy.  We assure them that what they are doing is okay and that the milk will be okay for their babies.

“If it is outside the hospital setting, there may be people that may be telling them things that are not okay healthwise. They need to get informed messages.”

For mothers who ask why water shouldn’t be given to infants, Dr Adesanya provides an answer. He said: “There is what we call a baby friendly hospital. They are hospitals that WHO  designate as baby friendly hospitals. And there is even an initiative we call baby friendly initiative.

“In a baby friendly hospital, immediately after the baby is born,  you have to put the baby to breast 30 minutes after the baby is born.

“I am sure you would have seen pictures of women that were operated on putting babies to their breasts while they are still on the operation table.  That is the principle for the milk to start flowing.

” The other part of the initiative is that the baby must take only breast milk-no water or other thing except medication when the baby is not feeling fine. That baby must practice exclusive breastfeeding, meaning that only breast milk for the first six months of life.

“When mothers introduce water within those six month, they would have broken the rule of baby friendly hospital initiative which exclusive breastfeeding is part of.

“When you give water, the baby’s stomach is so small and it will not be able to take the breast milk that will give nutrients to the baby. Water does not have nutrients and will only occupy the space in the stomach.

“I must tell you that breast milk has 90 per cent water. There are experts on breastfeeding who we call lactation experts. They teach our mothers, especially the young ones breast feeding techniques.”

Another physician, Agnes Nwoke, dismissed the women’s claim in a report. She said there was the need to demystify the myth about the effect of palm wine or pap on breastfeeding.

According to her, breast milk production obeys the law of demand and supply.

“It is not the amount of fluid taken via pap or palm wine, it is the intensity of suckling and time of suckling that help the nursing mother to produce more milk.

“The more the breast is emptied, the more it produces or flows with milk.

“Also mothers should breastfeed more at night because the hormone called prolactin functions more at night as it contributes to high flow of breast milk,” she said.

Ms Nwoke said that palm wine contained alcohol on the average up to six per cent, saying it might have sedative effects which can make mothers and even babies sleep.

“When a nursing mother takes palm wine, the alcohol in the palm wine gets into the breast milk and it can make the baby agitated or sleep and unable to suck.”

Commercial bus workers’ union and its members were notorious for hooliganism and many untoward things. However, the narrative appears to be changing with the establishment of the Lagos State Parks and Garages Management (LSPGM), which now prioritises the welfare, empowerment and attitudinal reorientation of its teeming members. TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO reports

Life was hellish for Donatus Nwankwo before relocating to Lagos from Abia State. He has tried to lay his hands on several menial jobs, but the take-home pay couldn’t sustain his transport fare not to talk of maintaining himself.

A friend later introduced him to commercial bus operation, where he started as a conductor. This came with its own challenges. At times, the driver he worked with would decide to hire another person, dashing Nwankwo’s hopes of eking a living for some days until another driver hired him. In commercial bus operations, drivers are usually in charge of what the conductors get because they relate directly with the bus owners.

However, as time went on, Nwankwo’s efforts to get a bus to manage eventually paid off after several failed attempts. Yet, he was still struggling to meet up with the remittance to the bus owners. Last year, he got another bus with a good bargain. He was happy. But the joy was cut short barely two weeks after sustaining a leg injury, with his inability to raise enough funds for early treatment worsening his case.

Last month, Nwankwo was spotted at Ijegun by the media and publicity team of the Lagos State Parks and Garages Management (LSPGM) during a sensitisation and empowerment visit to the park. He was assisted after narrating his ordeals. Along many others, he was empowered by LSPGM. It was there that Nwankwo’s plight caught the attention of the Chairman of LSPGM, Musiliu Akinsanya (aka MC Oluomo). On November 7, Akinsanya announced the donation of a bus and N500,000 cash to Nwankwo, who plies Ijegun-Ijedodo route. Nwankwo, after receiving the bus and the cash at the secretariat of the agency, could not hide his feelings.

He said: “I can’t imagine myself being a bus owner. I had this injury last year. Two weeks after, someone assisted me with a bus. It has been difficult coping with the injury and remitting money to the owner. With this gift, I will have enough time and funds to treat myself. I feel happy and pray to God to bless Alhaji Akinsanya. I don’t know what to say. He is a God sent.”

Another bus driver, Muhideen Omotosho at Orile-Agege, said he never bought a brand new tyre in all the years he has been in the business. “The Parks and Garages Media and Publicity team gave me new tyres. It was like a dream because it has never happened before. I usually buy fairly used N2,500,” Omotosho said.

Wale Akintunde said he didn’t give the team attention when they approached him but he was happy that his Ikotun branch chairman prevailed on him to give a trial. “I’m so happy this afternoon. When the media crew came on October 17 to inspect my vehicle, I thought it was a joke sincerely. At first, I didn’t want to attend to them but my chairman now told me that I should tell these people what I need. So I felt I should give it a trial and I told them that my vehicle’s battery is not in good condition. They promised to bring a new one for me. To my greatest surprise, I was at the park when they said they are around and what I’m seeing is something I saw for the first time in all my years in transport work. I’m happy and my appreciation goes to our overall chairman, Alhaji Akinsanya, for this empowerment. I also want to give kudos to our branch chairman in Ikotun, and also to the media crew,” he said.

Unknown to many, LSPGM has been lifting many who are in need of assistance in the commercial transport business. More than 1,600 commercial bus drivers, conductors and traders at the parks and garages have benefitted from the empowerment programme initiated by Akinsanya since its assumption of the leadership position. Many doubted Akinsanya’s ability to lead the union when he succeeded Tajudeen Agbede as the Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in 2019. Reason: the union has over the years earned a bad image due to the crude ways among many members of NURTW, especially when changing leadership.

But Akinsanya promised to change the narrative during his inaugural meeting with the leadership of the union across the state. He said the union under his watch will embrace peace and collaborate with the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to build a better public transportation system in the state. He quickly put in place a resolution mechanism to resolve the crisis and bickering among members of the union. This helped in bringing some warring parties to a round table for an amicable settlement. The mechanism helped in restoring sanity to the parks and garages.

A few months after, the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19) struck, forcing the federal government to declare lockdown for some weeks. Shortly after the lockdown was lifted, Akinsanya immediately rose to the occasion by delivering foodstuffs, nose masks and sanitisers to thousands of commercial bus drivers and hundreds of lucky passengers his team met at the parks and garages. He followed the gesture up with donations to some past union executives, especially those who have retired.

Not done, Akinsanya also rendered financial assistance to drivers. His vision to ensure the welfare of the commercial bus drivers led to the formation of a media unit. The unit had hardly commenced their work when the crisis between the Lagos State chapter of the union and the national secretariat almost grounded the union’s activities in the state. Members of the union overwhelmingly agreed with the Lagos State chapter executive to quit their affiliation with the national body of NURTW.

Sensing an impending crisis, the state government announced the proscription of the union and established LSPGM with Akinsanya as the chairman. Akinsanya wasted no time in mobilising the media unit and equipped it with the necessary tools and manpower to commence work. No fewer than 21 graduates in different areas of disciplines needed were immediately employed to carry out the onerous task. He got Kehinde Olorunoje, who holds Masters in Public Administration from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), to head the unit as the Chairperson of Lagos State Parks and Garages Media and Publicity. The unit was saddled with the responsibility of leading a team to change the face of the commercial bus operation.

Olorunoje wasted no time in leading her team to parks and garages where they engaged the drivers and conductors on their challenges and how to improve their operations. At first, Olorunoje, who had her first degree in Political Science from the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), said the drivers were sceptical about their activities because they had never witnessed such before, but later cooperated with the team.

“We understand their initial refusal to grant us an audience because it is strange to them. We interacted with them, took time to inspect their vehicles and promised to provide some of the things they were lacking. Many of them were shocked when we return to their parks and garages distributing materials like new tyres, batteries, jacks fire extinguishers and C-cautions among others. They were like, is this real? We told them it was real and free. Some of them busted into tears; they said in their years of being in the business, this is the first time of seeing people looking after their welfare,” she said

According to Olorunoje, the team had visited over 40 branches in Agboyi Ketu, Agbado/Oke-Odo, Agege, Alimosho and Ajeromi-Ifelodun, among others. “We don’t just sensitise them, we also empowered them with materials. Within four months of our visitation to 40 branches, over 1,600 have benefitted from the empowerment. We have distributed over 300 pieces of tyres, 115 batteries, 126 Jacks, 132 fire extinguishers, 180 C-Cautions, 100 engine oil, 300 brake oil, 400 waste bins and 100 big umbrellas among others.

“The drivers lamented the incessant disturbance by government agencies and we discovered that many don’t have the necessary documents required to drive on the road. So, we got their details and helped them get those documents – driver’s and vehicle license, roadworthiness and insurance papers. Many of them have heaved a sigh of relief and have been praising our Chairman, Alhaji Akinsanya, for coming to their rescue,” he said.

Olorunoje said another reform introduced to make the drivers accountable are the Special Identity Card for the drivers and the Bar Code pasted on their vehicles. These, she said, among other things, would checkmate untoward activities among some commercial bus drivers. According to her, the initiative will curb kidnappings and other criminal activities perpetrated by some commercial bus drivers.

“Today, the drivers are happy, saying Ko se le ri (meaning, this has never happened before). In fact, many drivers are calling Alhaji Akinsanya Mr Ko se le ri. The issue of insecurity is a major concern to the Alhaji Akinsanya-led team; hence, he cannot fold his arms and allow charlatans to turn garages and parks into criminal hideouts. Our goal is to leverage technology to detect some criminal elements using the parks and garages to perpetrate crimes. We want to make the parks and garages safe for commuters. We will make them hell for anyone with criminal intention,” she said.

Both Oladimeji Alade and Oluwakemi Olaosebikan, Deputy Chairman and Secretary of the Media Unit, respectively, explained how the Special ID Card and Bar Code work. Once the commuters scan the card and bar code, it will bring out certain information about the drivers and the park or garage for commuters to determine the safety of the bus, they said.