Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), has called on Nigerians to embrace locally produced herbal medicines and reduce the country’s dependence on imported traditional remedies from countries such as China and India.
The university expressed concern over Nigeria’s continued reliance on foreign herbal products despite its abundant indigenous medicinal resources and growing research capacity, describing the situation as a challenge to the country’s economic and medical self-reliance.
ABUAD stressed the need to build public confidence in locally developed medicines, strengthen scientific research into traditional remedies and establish effective marketing strategies to improve the acceptance and competitiveness of Nigerian pharmaceutical products.
The call was made at the AB Pharmaceuticals Business Summit, organised by the university in collaboration with pharmaceutical marketers. The event featured the presentation of three products developed by the institution: AB Mal, ABUAD Virucidine and AB Health Animation 250mg.
Speaking at the summit, the Deputy Director of AB Pharmaceutical Services, Afolabi Oluwatoyin, said the initiative was inspired by the vision of the university’s founder, Aare Afe Babalola, to promote locally developed medicines and strengthen Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry.
She explained that the initiative went beyond commercial interests, noting that its broader objective was to advance local pharmaceutical research, production and national self-sufficiency.
According to Oluwatoyin, Nigerians have continued to patronise imported traditional medicines, while locally developed alternatives struggle to achieve similar levels of public acceptance and market penetration.
She said changing this trend would require a deliberate shift in public attitudes and stronger marketing partnerships to take indigenous pharmaceutical products to consumers across the country.
“The ultimate reason we are here today is to establish a marketing plan that will help us take these products to the Nigerian people,” she said.
Oluwatoyin lamented that Nigerians had invested considerable resources in promoting imported traditional medicines, particularly products from China and India, while locally developed alternatives received comparatively less attention.
She called for a renewed commitment to promoting Nigerian-made medicines, stressing that meaningful change could begin with the determination of individuals and institutions willing to champion local innovation.
She added that Babalola’s motivation for developing ABUAD’s pharmaceutical products was rooted in his desire to see Nigerians benefit from medicines produced within the country rather than depend heavily on foreign alternatives.
The deputy director also highlighted the financial implications of importing large volumes of medicines, arguing that Nigeria needed to invest more in domestic pharmaceutical research, production and distribution to retain a greater share of its resources within the economy.
In her address, the Vice-Chancellor of ABUAD, Professor Smaranda Olarinde, also called for measures to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported pharmaceutical products.
Olarinde emphasised the importance of building a supportive ecosystem that would bring universities, pharmaceutical companies, regulatory agencies, healthcare professionals, investors and consumers together.
She noted that stronger collaboration among these stakeholders would help transform research findings and promising pharmaceutical innovations into commercially available products that could benefit Nigerians.
The vice-chancellor’s position underscored the need to bridge the gap between academic research and commercial production to strengthen the country’s pharmaceutical sector.
In his response, the Chairman of the Association of Pharmaceutical Products Marketers of Nigeria (APPMAN) in Ekiti State, Peter Ajayi, commended Babalola for his contributions across various sectors.
Ajayi pledged the association’s support for the university’s pharmaceutical initiative, assuring that its members would work within their capacity to promote the products and expand their reach among prospective consumers.
The summit highlighted the importance of local pharmaceutical innovation, effective product marketing and collaboration between academic institutions and industry stakeholders in advancing Nigeria’s drive towards greater self-reliance in medicine production.
