The War Against Counterfeit Medicine: My Story

Acknowledgements

xix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My gratitude goes to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who gave me the opportunity to serve as the Director General of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), despite stiff opposition from the political class. His support in this fight for life is immeasurable. I am grateful to the late President,AlhajiUmaruMusaYar’Adua,forcontinuingthissupportandhiswife,TuraiYar’Adua, who whole-heartedly supported NAFDAC, identifying fully with the fight, just like the late wife of the former president, Mrs Stella Obasanjo. I gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Mrs TitiAbubakar, wife of formerVice President,AlhajiAtikuAbubakar; Mrs OluremiTinubu, wife of the former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other government functionaries who at one time or the other encouraged my team and I. I owe a debt of gratitude to the three Health Ministers under whom I served: ProfessorsA.B.C. Nwosu, Eyitayo Lambo andAdenike Grange. IthankDrAndyAndemandChiefIkeNwade,bothpastChairmenoftheGoverningCouncilof NAFDACandallCouncilmembersfortheirencouragement. I appreciate various State Governors, traditional rulers and other government agencies, especially theArmy,Police,Customs andthe National DrugLawEnforcementAgency(NDLEA). Iappreciatethecollaborationandsupportofnumerousinternationalorganisationsandgovernments including, WHO, UNICEF, IAEA, PATHS, DFID, UNDCP, INCB, USFDA, FAO, the Islamic Development Bank(IDB),the EUandthe IndianGovernment. In recognition of the fact that no individual achieves or performs well in isolation, I would like to acknowledge the sweat, sacrifices and tears of the hardworking NAFDAC staff, whose dedication to duty made it all possible. I particularly appreciate the various contributions made by many NAFDAC staff in the course of collating information for this book. Having commended the hardworkingNAFDACstaffthatmadethesuccessespossible,worthyofspecialmention,however, arethefollowingindividuals: Pharmacist Dioka Ejionueme, the courageous NAFDAC Director of Enforcement. He led many successful operations but the most profound was that which led to the closure of the Onitsha bridgehead drug market. The task required a lot of intelligence, discipline and courage because Onitsha drug market is considered asthe most notorious drug market inNigeria. Mrs Chinyere Ukaegbu, a very hardworking and courageous officer who as a Deputy Director approached me when I assumed office as the Director General of NAFDAC inApril 2001 to inform me that Nestle had imported some containers of expired skimmed milk in January 2001. Encouraged by her guts, I took over the case and with her unbending stand, I was able to see it toalogicalconclusion. PharmacistIjeomaNnani,anintelligentandcourageousladywholedtheoperationsofmoppingup fake products in Kano markets. It was during one of those operations that our officer, Mr Momodu, sustained multiple leg fractures. Mrs Nnani’s life was so threatened that she had to sleep in different places to avoid being tracked down by the criminals. In retrospect, I feel very grateful that Mrs Nnani was posted to Kano. We needed a strong, incorruptible character like her to sanitise food and drug production and distribution in Kano. She was also the catalyst behindtheestablishmentoftheNationalPharmacovigilanceCentre(NPC). Pharmacist Adeline Osakwe, who took over the Pharmacovigilance Centre from Mrs Nnani, an assignment she has continued to handle with passion. Mrs Osakwe also proposed the NAFDACessaycompetitionforNigerianhighschoolstudents,acatalystfor theestablishment xx xxi of the NAFDAC Consumer Safety Club. The annual essay competition and the club have been institutionalised. Mrs Jane Nzeoma, a food specialist and Deputy Director, who coordinated the entire CODEXrelated activities of NAFDAC. When Jane learnt that I was writing this book, she kept insisting that I devote a chapter to documenting our many activities on food. She kept saying: “We have done so much on food that people do not recognise, because of the prominence given to drug issues.” I took her advice and that gave birth to Chapter 15, Focusing on Food. I would like to use this opportunity to pay special condolences to the family of Mr Emeka Onuekutu,the driver ofthe passenger bus whowas killedbythe assassins’ bullets aimedat me. The contributions of Nigerian drug manufacturers/importers, banks, various traders’ associations andother stakeholderswereequallyphenomenal. The support of the vibrant Nigerian press for all NAFDAC activities was unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. The prayers of the good people of Nigeria in Churches and Mosques across the country was our source ofstrength I thank my very good friend Mrs Kate Isa for her friendship, support and contributions to the writingofthisbook. My deepest appreciation and love go to the six apples of my eye: Ijeoma, Edozie, Somto, Njideka, Chidiogo and Obumneme, and to my husband, Dr ChikeAkunyili – thank you very muchforyourwonderfulsupport. Above all, I am most grateful to God who graciously protected me, making it possible for me to livetotellthisstory. Dora N. Akunyili...