Ruth Kadiri, the Nigerian actress, has sounded the alarm over the rising circulation of counterfeit goods in the country.
In a recent video posted on her Instagram page, Kadiri urged the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to strengthen its monitoring of products sold across the country.
The Nollywood star also called for stricter inspections and swift punishment for those manufacturing and selling fake products.
Kadiri warned that the trade in fake food, drinks, medicines, cosmetics and household items has become a direct threat to human life.
“Every day, people buy food, drinks, medicines, cosmetics, household products, believing that they’re safe, but sadly, they are poorly produced, contaminated, harmful, and mostly fake. This isn’t a business problem; it’s a threat to human life. Imagine little children battling kidney failure,” she said.
“NAFDAC, please pay attention to the lives of Nigerians. Lots and lots of people are sick and are not getting better.”
The actress recounted a disturbing experience with garlic she had bought, which changed colour shortly after she blended it.
“I bought garlic, blended it, went upstairs and came back, my garlic had turned green,” she said.
That incident, she said, deepened her concern about what goes into the products Nigerians consume daily, especially packaged drinks given to children.
She urged consumers to be more careful at the point of purchase by checking expiry dates and NAFDAC registration numbers before buying anything.
“You might be saving a child from kidney failure, you might be saving a child from heart failure, and you may be saving a family from losing the life of their benefactor,” she said.
The actress stressed that the damage caused by counterfeit medicines extends far beyond individual buyers, leaving many sick people unable to recover.
“Lots and lots of people are sick and are not getting better because the cost of fake products, the cost of fake medicine, is much more than we can ever ask or think,” Kadiri said.
“If you deal in fake products, you can rest assured that you will be caught and you’ll be treated like a criminal, in fact, like a hired killer that you are.”
