Kepukepu: Most of the federal roads in southeast are receiving attention lately.
Good to hear. But when are we going to learn to properly maintain our roads though!!
That's the main reason why our roads fail so quickly. We never cut the bushes by the road or sweep the sand off the roads, which allow water to pool by the edge of the road when it rains. And everybody knows that stagnant water is the worst enemy of roads.
salbis: The rot in Nigeria immigration service passport offices is massive. Even with all these measures Nigerian passport will still be acquired by some foreigners.
True! The mechanic workshop near my house in Ologolo, Lekki is almost entirely Benenois!! What's really to stop them from getting Nigerian passport? Many of them have Yoruba like names and many of them speak Yoruba.
Just implement the HDMI initiative of Fashola under Buhari. The concept was good, roads already earmarked etc. Umahi doesn't need to re-invent the wheel!!
Let the bidding for the roads be open and transparent, not this one he is inviting Elumelu and Dangote separately.
Okirinwankwa76: Wrong time to fall sick in Nigeria, as cost of medicines skyrockets
cost of medicines …Patients lament, skip medications, seek alternative treatment …Experts worry, propose urgent solutions
In Nigeria, falling sick can be challenging in normal times but seeking treatment is currently a double blow as the financial implication has become increasingly unbearable for many Nigerians.
The cost of basic drugs, such as antibiotics, analgesics, anti-diabetics, and key medications for chronic conditions, has doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled in some instances, leaving many patients struggling to access the healthcare they desperately need.
The alarming rise in drug prices, its impact on healthcare access, and the urgent need for solutions have become overriding to ensure that falling sick does not become a financial death sentence.
Hardest hit by the exponential surge in prices of drugs are the poor, notably those on the minimum wage and below, those without steady sources of income, and particularly those without reliable health insurance, like Idowu Akinyemi, a single mother. When Idowu, who is living with diabetes, went to purchase her insulin, she was shocked to discover the price had gone up for the second time within a fortnight.
“The last time I purchased my insulin, it was around N3,000, but now when I went to check at the pharmacy, it is over N5,000, almost double,” lamented Idowu who noted that with each passing month, the cost of her insulin climbs higher, forcing her to choose between medication and feeding her children.
Dokun Bolarinwa, diagnosed with high blood pressure, said he had been on regular treatment, but noted that the soaring price of his medication was gradually forcing him to default in adherence to the guidelines of his treatment.
“I’m a retired civil servant with no stable income. Over the past few years, I have been managing my condition with family support and goodwill, but these days, things are tough. I’m already skipping certain medications because I cannot afford them, and if care is not taken, I may be forced to abandon treatment altogether.
Ade Ogun who bought a medicated cream for his skin rash was amazed when he discovered the drug had doubled in price a week later. “I bought a tube of Nixoderm for N500, but when I went back to the the same shop to purchase another one some days later, the price had gone up 100 per cent. It was an unexpected increase,” Ade noted.
Funmi Olaoye, a housewife and mother of an ashtmatic child was also concerned about the high cost of drugs. “My son needs medication for his asthma, but I can barely afford half the dose. It’s a constant struggle,” she lamented.
Among factors contributing to the increase in drug prices are rising production costs, delays in global supply chains and local supply challenges, as well as the declining value of the naira.
400-500% price increase
Findings from a recent survey by SB Morgen showed that over the last four years, the prices of different categories of paracetamol-based analgesics, common cold medicines, such as Actifed, and antibiotics, and antimalarials, rose dramatically.
The report found that between 2022 and 2023, Ampiclox and Amoxil recorded 340 per cent and over 400 per cent increases respectively, while antimalarials such as Lonart DS recorded cost and selling price increases of 110 per cent and 92.3 per cent respectively between 2019 and 2023.
From Vanguard’s investigations, the prices of all routine drugs in Nigeria have gone up astronomically. The most affected categories include genuine antibiotics, analgesics, anti-malarials and a number of prescription and specialized drugs.
A random check of prices in some pharmacies and in the open market in Lagos revealed that prices of all the popular genuine brands of antibiotics, including Ciprofloxaxin, Azithromycin, Amoxil, Ampiclox and Augmentin, have gone up by 50 – 150 per cent since the beginning of the new year.
Experts say accessing affordable insulin is crucial for managing diabetes effectively. However, it was gathered that the rising cost of insulin presents a significant challenge for people living with diabetes.
Insulin prices in Nigeria have been steadily increasing in recent times with ranges, depending on the brand, pharmacy, and location.
Findings show that for insulin, from rapid-acting, intermediate-acting or long-acting, the average depending on the type, ranges between N4,000 and N18,000 per cartridge/vial.
A silent rage of people grappling with undiagnosed or inadequately managed chronic diseases, such as cancer, is also underway as chemotherapy drugs have seen a 300 per cent price increase in recent times, pushing them beyond the reach of most patients.
Access to essential medications as anti-depressants is also restricted as they can cost up to N10,500 per month, leaving many resorting to traditional remedies or simply going untreated.
Data from the Global Cancer Observatory show that over 100,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed annually in Nigeria, yet only five per cent of those affected can afford treatment.
Statistics from the World Health Organisation, WHO, backed by the Nigeria Association of Psychiatrists, reveal that an estimated 20 per cent of Nigerians suffer from mental health issues, but access to treatment is severely limited.
The consequences of the price hike are serious, with many Nigerians skipping doses, rationing medication, or even abandoning treatment altogether due to the prohibitive costs.
Women, children hardest hit
Those bearing the brunt more are the vulnerable groups, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with underlying or pre-existing health conditions and those that require regular medication.
Experts say the consequences of this development could be devastating and could lead to undesirable complications, delayed diagnoses, and even preventable deaths.
The lack of insurance coverage is also there. Most health insurance plans in Nigeria do not cover chronic ailments comprehensively. So in most cases, the patient has to pay out of pocket.
Already, worries about affordability of treatment and drugs from delays in treatment or skipping of doses leading to complications, worsening health outcomes, and even becoming common.
Health watchers blame the development on a combination of factors, including depreciation of the naira, global supply chain disruptions, and increased drug production costs.
Beyond the high drug prices, they warn that left unchecked, the crisis could cripple the already overburdened healthcare system and worsen existing health inequalities.
In a conversation, President of the National Post Graduate Medical College of Nigeria, Professor Akin Osibogun, said scarcity of genuine drugs will likely have significant effects.
“These include poor control of disease conditions due to non-availability of essential medications, such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, among others, and this will result in the conditions becoming complicated.
“There will be escalation of costs of making drugs, even more unaffordable by the poor and the underprivileged further widening. There will be increased opportunity for faking of drugs, which may have increased adverse effects on the health of Nigerians and patients may turn to untested alternative treatment modalities.” he remarked.
Increased morbidity, mortality, looming
Also reacting, the Chief Medical Director of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Prof Adetokunbo Fabamwo, said high cost of drugs was undesirable for the welfare of the average Nigerian.
“Nigerian citizens are already impoverished and cannot even afford to buy food to eat, if they are sick and need to buy drugs; in the near future we will have increased morbidity and mortality. So people will not be able to comply with their drug prescriptions. People will get sicker, and some of them may even die,’’ he said.
Also, people with mental health conditions are not also spared, according to a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr Stephen Oluwaniyi.
He said: “As far as management of those who already have mental health conditions is concerned, many of the conditions are what we call chronic disorders, in the sense that they need to continue with maintenance treatment, taking medications in one form or the other., apart from the cost of transporting themselves to the hospital, they have to pay for medication.
“Now, an individual who has been struggling to spend N2,000 per month to obtain medication now requires to pay like N4,000, You know, a time comes that he or she may not be able to get the medication.
‘’Some of these disorders, once your medications are not consistent, symptoms tend to recur, which means the individual may become further incapacitated, may not be able to experience optimal state of mental health.”
He explained that he or she might not be able to continue to work or be productive in one way or the other.
“So, the high cost of drugs is negatively affecting the treatment of people with mental disorders. There’s no doubt about that. And again, I want to appeal to the authorities to make sure something is done quickly about this trend of medication costs skyrocketing. And that also points to the need why health insurance in Nigeria has to be robust.
“Some of these individuals with mental health conditions are not even working. So, for such individuals, there should be a way of providing for them, probably making some of these medications more affordable. If possible, free,’’ he added.
On his own part, the Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, Lagos, Dr Adedamola Dada, said a lot was needed to be done to address the situation.
“There are drugs available in the country. It’s the cost that has increased, in line with most things that are importation-dependent. And as with everything, Nigerians in the drug business are also taking advantage, seeing that there are limited options and little competition.
“The solution is fundamental, we need to start producing our own drugs locally using high-quality APIs to guarantee drug security, and we also need to eliminate or substantially reduce out-of- pocket payments for health care. These are the things the Federal Ministry of Health is doing now – fundamentally tackling the problem, and soon enough, it would yield results,’’ he said. Speaking further, Dada noted that when patients were unable to afford their drugs,their condition does not get treated.
He said: “A healthy nation is a wealthy nation. Personally, however, I am not one for all this noise about the cost of drugs, it’s not the only thing whose prices have gone up. I think we should rather exert our efforts and energy at finding a long-term and enduring solution to it, and that’s what Ministers Pate and Alausa are doing now.
“We all need to support them, rather than use the problem as an albatross. It’s a surmountable problem and I am totally convinced that the approach they are taking on this will fundamentally change the game but like all programmes, it will take time.”
It’s heart-breaking
But Dr. Aisha Abubakar, a paediatrician lamented: “I see children suffering from preventable illnesses because their parents can’t afford medication. It’s heartbreaking.”
Also worried was Dr. Olufemi Ademola, a pharmacist and pharmacy owner. He said: “We’re caught between our oath to help and the reality that many patients can’t afford basic drugs.”
He revealed that some customers are now buying smaller quantities of drugs as a way of conserving funds and even resorting to buying unregulated street drugs.
Kenechukwu Okoli, another pharmacist is worried about the impact on chronic illnesses, saying “diabetics, hypertensives, even cancer patients say they are forced to choose between medication and other basic needs.”
Seun Adegoke, a healthcare economist, emphasized the need for long-term solutions.
“Investing in local drug production and promoting generic alternatives can bring down costs in the long run,’’ Adegoke said. On her part, Faith Solomon, a mental health advocate said: “Mental illness is often misunderstood and stigmatised in Nigeria. Even when people seek help, access to affordable medication remains a major barrier. This leaves many trapped in a cycle of suffering.”
Expressing concern for the well-being of Nigerians, health watchers are calling for urgent action to address the issue of high drug prices, even as they urge the government to prioritise healthcare accessibility, intervene in implementing price controls, support local drug production, and strengthen public healthcare infrastructure.
Among solutions proposed include improving access to affordable health insurance, encouraging the use of safe and effective generic drugs to reduce costs, educating communities about the issue and advocating policy changes.
bentenny: 😂😂 Travel there and see! Also attend occasions or go to a gym! Them full there! Crazy world!🙂
Lol, na Lagos i dey o. Don't mind me. Of course I know crazy things girls do, but of course we hear about new things everyday.
I just heard recently that the reason a lot of our girls go to Dubai is for 'poo' parties.
Apparently its a thing in Dubai, where rich men invite girls over to their villas and have parties where feaces (hence the name poo) will be smeared over the girls, while they strip and dance.
How crazy is that!!?? But trust Naija girls na. If its for $10k, they'd gladly do that. And be forming they have a Big God!!
bentenny: Wait ohh...so a random chick after admiring you now says she would like you to have a 3sum with her and her hubby and you are politely declining and shining teeth with her🙄🙄
Imagine a guy offers such request to me....no matter the occasion,nah my stern facial expression go make am disgracefully walk away.....what nonsense!
I won't be surprised if she actually did the 3sum with them! Some chilling gists I get from friends in Lagos about what some ladies do just to survive is terrible! Nah wa ohh
CameroonPepper: Is that the same olosho that I saw pole dancing on Twitter?
Maturity is knowing that you don’t have to behave like two sexually starved id1ots on your wedding reception to prove that you you are in love with each other. If my daughter does this in my presence, I’m excusing myself and going home. pic.twitter.com/rWP7CFpwux
Lighthome: So, you believed this nonsense scraps of skit making. Nigerians have taken skit making to a very low level all in the means of making money. Too bad for the country and the black race
Looked very real to me. The person talking sounded like she was from Thailand, Vietnam, China etc and those folks can get very kinky as well.
Many of them have never had sex with a black person before and the lady being propositioned is pretty and voluptuous.
abbey621: So our government thinks it is smarter than the U.S govt? Even UAE are gradually phasing it out by introducing alternatives but 9ja everything is done abruptly! Anyways anything that amplifies the suffering of the people is always the main aim of the Nigerian governemnt so we need not be SHOCKED!
UAE that's phasing it out gradually, when you go there, is this how their gutters and canals are filled with the stuff?
emenezer: Rather than ban the sale, why not regulate and monitor the disposal of these packs... The ban won't stop plastics from being littered around the streets.... Humans drop them off there
Regulte and monitor? In the Nigeria? Seems you don't know the country you live in. If you don't come down hard on Nigerians no policy works. We have zero self regulating mechanisms in our brains. W are the most difficult people to manage.
CharleyBright: Hmmmm. This is not Good news for those big butts women that use take-away plates to steal party rice in owambe parties.
But Lagos state govt are not even serious. Instead of seeing opportunity in the threat situation, and create mediums thru which they can create wealth and job opportunities by recycling these take-away plastics wastes, they want to kill the industries that manufacture the products. Our leaders are bereft of innovative ideas that will spur development. Mumu govt with mumu decision.
If there is an opportunity to recycle them, why not setup the factory. When will Nigerians realize it's not the job of government to set up factory for everything.
mrvitalis: I don't know what metrics he is using but for me naira is over valued at 1300
If I were president I would devalue to #1700 then aggressively defend it there as I would have the liquidity to do so
Key thing is we need to identify key areas we have global comparative advantage.. ( what we can produce cheaper than most part of the world or what we have the potential to produce cheaper than most of the world) and heavily provide credit facility to this sectors
Driving export, increasing for example earnings
If we remove the subsidy on electricity and invest 700bn as loans to bank at 3% interest rate to be given to only players in the cassavacassava/ sweet potato to ethanol industry... I believe we can catapult that industry to a multi billion dollars industry creating millions of jobs and getting our investment in 10 years max
Easier said than done. Your plan would unleash definite poverty and inflation in the country by way of increased price for petrol, diesel, electricity, medicines, food and everything else we import. However your plan to drive export is not guaranteed to succeed. So you would have given Nigerians 100% poverty, with 25% probability of success in your export drive.
Also you wrongly assume that the people you give 3% loans to will use it for the purpose given. You should know that Nigerians outside government are just as crafty as those in government.
If I receive N100mln at 3% to farm cassava that has some risk - the crop yield might not be as expected, there might be disease that ravages the crops, herdsmen could mutilate my farm etc. I might as well invest it in FGN bonds of 16% that have zero risk.
All in all, its very unlikely that the gains from just cassava/ethanol will make up for the poverty unleashed on Nigerian by $/NGN rate officially going to 1700!!
Overall, I agree with the principle that we need to identify key sectors of advantage for export focused industry. But your road map to getting there is where I have an issue.
For now what Nigeria needs is stability in the exchange rate. Not necessarily that it appreciates or depreciates. If there is the confidence that in 6months, 12 months, 24 months the rate wont be much more that 10% up or down in either direction, then we can slowly but surely build our economy back.
The Ekimogun Day, an annual carnival in Ondo town, Ondo State, an event that incorporates dances, marches and impressive cultural extravaganza may have come and gone, but the memory it created will last for a while.
It was the day popular socialite, Dr. Olakunle Churchill brought the event which had top dignitaries to a standstill when he invoked a rain of dollars on the legendary musician, King Sunny Ade.
At the annual festival which brings together all sons and daughters of Ondo town from across the world, the calm and action-packed Churchill was sighted nodding his head to the sweet tunes of King Sunny Ade as it was blaring from the speakers.
Sensing that he was ministering to the needs of his audience, KSA as he is often referred raised the tempo, leaving Churchill with no option than to reach out to his well laid variety of currencies, picking wards of dollars and immediately stood up.
He gently walked to KSA on the stage while a crowd of supporters followed him.
While he was exhausting the wards of dollars, he was sending message across for more supply, leaving the stage with a heap of dollars.
Churchill is known for spicing up social gatherings with his ability to invoke rains of dollars.
All the pictures show he is holding Naira mind you!!
Kenochi: Let me take sometime to educate Nigerians before some people will come here and start claiming that the Economy is failing Most operators in Nigeria's Upstream Oil and Gas Sector know that their game is up,there was a time Nigeria through the NNPCL had to resort to the importation of Refined Crude oil for close to 20 years.This allowed NNPCL and most Oil and Gas companies to participate in the controversy Oil Swap Most Oil and Gas Companies used this fraudulent practice to shortchange the country, they collected crude oil and brought back Refined crude oil and still collected subsidy. Nigeria was fair game and all this big Oil companies looted Nigeria dry Then something happened, the Dangote Refinery was mooted and this would put an end to this evil practice. Most Oil Companies knee that if this Refinery ever started their easy money was over My people, this is what is happening. I am confident that more Oil companies will leave the country because their access to free money is gone for good
Still selling good properties with good titles at the Ibeju Lekki Industrial Hub....kindly check my signature
Story for the God's. This is beer parlour gist. The oil swaps were with oil trading companies such as Trafigura, Glencoe, Vitol etc. The Shells and Chevron and so on that operate in nigeria did not participate in the swaps.
The main reason they are selling is Nigeria has lost control of the onshore oil and gas business with thieves and crooks taking over the Niger Delta. It has become impossible to operate. You produce 250,000 barrels of oil and only 100,000 gets to the terminal!! Does that make sense?
thesicilian: You can bookmark this page and come back to answer your question when either of your parents get to that age and state.
Lol, my parents are both dead! We are too emotional in this part of the world. In Nigeria a 90year old would be in vegetative state on permanent bed rest, but the Nigerian will be entering debt to continue to keep the man alive.
In Europe, in the same situation the Doctors will ask if you want to pull the plug and many will say yes. How can you ruin yourself trying to keep a 90 year old person alive!! if I had the resource of Michael Schumacher then fine!
How much is a barrel internationally? We sell as between 2x and 3x production cost. I don't post carelessly.
Neither do I! As clearly seen from the chart in the link below, Nigeria is amongst the highest!
Mind you, this is Unit Production cost otherwise called unit operating cost (UOC). Basically how much opex you spend per barrel.
There is also something called unit Development Cost (UDC), which is how much Capex you spend per barrel.
The two of them added together becomes unit Technical cost (UTC)!
UDC is relevant depending on which cycle your oil fields are. if you are a country where the capex was spent 30years ago, then UDC is less relevant.
But if you are a country experiencing significant decline from existing fields and you need to drill lots of wells to replenish and maintain production, no to even talk of increasing it, then UDC becomes very important - even if its not talked about a lot. And Nigeria falls in this category. We have offshore oil fields that 5 years ago were doing 180k barrels per day that have dropped to 100k barrels a day today.
gadgetplanetng: If the sell the crude oil to the refinery at a cost plus basis, we would have affordable fuel.
International prices do not take costs into consideration which is why some oil producers, especially the shale and co stop producing below a certain level.
Nigerian crude is cheap to produce.
Who told you Nigerian crude is cheap to produce? Its actually quite expensive. Let me tell you 3 things (amongst many that make our oil expensive to produce)
1. NDDC levvy - 3% of oil companies annual budget 2. Host community development Levy - 3% of preceeding year operating expenditure. 3. Insecurity - oil companies pay huge amounts per year to secure producing assets and staff who move in the Niger Delta region.
Only watched the first 20 mind and we seemed slow and lethargic. Did we improve later? Cos bard on what I saw, best we can do is second round. Way too slow in our build up play.
Enemyofpeace: they are planning to sell all the airports in Nigeria
And why shouldn't they? Can you compare the status of the murtala Muhammad International Airport which is managed by the government to mm2 which is privately managed? Mm2 has maintained its quality for over 10 years it's been privately managed, meanwhile if not for terminal 2 at mmia it would have been a disaster.
Lordswat: HONESTLY, MULTICHOICE NEED TO BE DEALT WITH, BECAUSE THE WAY THEY KEEPS INCREASING THEIR SUBSCRIPTIONS IS SO WRONG, HOW CAN THEY INCREASE TARIFF 3 TIMES WITHIN ONE YEAR, CAN SUCH A THING HAPPEN IN SOUTH AFRICA? NIGERIA HAS FAILED US WOEFULLY
Did SOUTH Africa devalue their currency by almost 100%?
Richtaiwo: I thought gas flaring has stopped. Why the flaring? Can't it be converted to a useful purpose? I understand gas flaring produces excessive carbon monoxide (CO) which destroys ozone layer leading to global warming.
Just Google why flares are necessary at refineries, chemical plants etc
Travel › Re: Construction Of Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Ninth Mile Axis (Pictures) by COMPAQ(m): 9:24am On Jan 26, 2024
