Alabukun, one of the oldest drugs in Nigeria and even still very relevant and popular today. However, not many know the Jacob Odulate aka Blessed Jacob, a Nigerian pharmacist, inventor and entrepreneur, the brain behind the brand.

The Alabukun powder is like St. Louis sugar, a product deep in Nigeria's pop culture. Without any advert or commercial, Alabukun remains insanely popular among generations in Nigeria. It has remained relevant through the years and it is very much a household name.

The medicinal powder which is cheap was discovered by a man called Jacob Sogboyega Odulate. He was born in 1884 in Ikorodu. When he was 14 years old, Odulate was determined to make a name for himself. He trekked from Lagos to Abeokuta in three months.

He then start his pharmaceutical business in the rocky city. In 1918 Jacob Sogboyega Odulate, the Blessed Jacob, sat at the work table in his laboratory, writing the notes which contained the formula for what would ultimately be known as his famous patented medicine, Alabukun Powder that is used to treat everything from a migraine to Myocardial Infarction. 

Odulate's laboratory was located in Sapon, Abeokuta in Ogun state. It was there he mixed ingredients from Liverpool which include acetylsalicylic acid and caffeine to create the powder. A packet of Alabukun is said to contain "760 mg of acetylsalicylic acid and 60 mg of caffeine making a total of 820 mg."

The success of Odulate's drug is down to the fact that it is a mix of European and traditional medicine. Throughout its 10 decades of existence, Alabukun has never been advertised but it is still very much in demand.

One reason why Alabukun was not advertised was because of its ingredients. It would have made it impossible for it to be in commercials. Pharmacists would have forced the drug out of business.

Another reason for Alabukun not having commercials was because it was wildly popular when it came out. There was a huge demand from consumers.

The enduring success of the Alabukun brand is now interwoven into the fabric of modern Nigeria medical history. The Alabukun Powder in particular is displayed and sold in thousands of pharmacies, markets and roadside stalls all over Nigeria. In many states in Nigeria, Alabukun powder is considered to be the obligatory cure-all for almost every ailment. 

In neighbouring countries such as Benin Republic, Ghana and Cameroon, the eye-catching Alabukun brand is to be seen advertised everywhere. Alabukun products are sold in several towns and cities in the USA, the UK, in Europe, Brazil, Jamaica, even as far away as China. You can buy Alabukun products on-line, off-line, under-bridges and over-expressways.

Apart from making the drugs, the energetic Blessed Jacob also produced other brands like Alabukun mentholine, other preparations and an annual journal called Alabukun Almanac which was widely distributed in Abeokuta and eventually all over Nigeria between the 1920s and 1950s.

He died in 1962 at age 78.


Alabukun is 102 years old this year. No Nigerian product comes to mind that is a century old and still relevant.

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Cc. Dominique

Igbo amaka!

I knw no wetin my mama see for dat drug till day.

Odulate's laboratory was located in Sapon, Abeokuta in Ogun state. It was there he mixed ingredients from Liverpool which include acetylsalicylic acid and caffeine to create the powder. A packet of Alabukun is said to contain "760 mg of acetylsalicylic acid and 60 mg of caffeine making a total of 820 mg."

So Alabukun is made up of Aspirin and Caffeine!

Little wonder one can’t have the liquid formula due to the instability of Aspirin in water.

I did take the drug while I was young to relieve me of headache.
Alabukun powder was so potent anagelsic then. I don’t know about now cos it has been long I took it.

My mum used the hell out of that drug, Alabukun.
It is an NSAID, too much of it can damage the kidney.

ojun50:
I knw no wetin my mama see for dat drug till day.

That drug is so potent an anagelsic.

It is always hard for our parents to leave or deviate from what they are used to. They are so conservative

Amotolongbo:
That drug is so potent.

It is always hard for our parents to leave or deviate from what they are used to. They are so conservative

headache or pain she take the drug, I hardly see her with another drugs, at a point in time some 1 ask if she drinks and I said No, the person now said the drug is meant for people who drink too much I just left there because I know she doesn't drink.

ojun50:

headache or pain she take the drug, I hardly see her with another drugs, at a point in time some 1 ask if she drinks and I said No, the person now said the drug is meant for people who drink too much I just left there because I know she doesn't drink.

That is the effect of the caffeine in it

Perhaps she is addicted to the caffeine in it

More inventors like this are needed in Nigeria.

heykims:
My mum used the hell out of that drug, Alabukun.
It is an NSAID, too much of it can damage the kidney.

That is the Aspirin.

The Aspirin is NSAID, not the caffeine

Legendary drug


Alabukun and 7up are...

rubbish medicine

Damn Niggarr

He was a real Niggarr

Wow
My family and I really consumed Alabukun oh. It’s no Alabukun no get advert but e dey sell like garri ijebu.
Other medicines like After 5, Yellow Fever, Karaole competed with Alabukun sha.
Pls is Alabukun still N10?
I will check aboki shop this evening to get one
Op help us with Mr Jacob’s Photo na
If you have not read the book Atonement you are missing.
Contact me for resume writing, cover letter, LinkedIn optimization, read my signature and call me NOW

This kind of man could have made something for Corona assuming he still lives....

His legacy leaves on

People that knows, Biko can alabukun be used for arthritis ?

Alabukun® the greatest analgesic of all time.

Bí àrá é kò bá yá lehín ójó mèji, lóri dókitá ré.

Wow. Yoruba Ajoke