ABUAD Pushes Nigerian-Made Herbal Medicines in Bid to Cut Imports

Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), is seeking to expand the market for Nigerian-made herbal medicines, calling for stronger support for products developed locally rather than continued dependence on traditional remedies imported from countries such as India and China.

The university's effort centres on turning its pharmaceutical research into products that can reach more Nigerians, backed by effective marketing and partnerships with industry stakeholders.

At a two-day AB Pharmaceuticals Business Summit held in Ado Ekiti on Saturday, ABUAD presented three of its pharmaceutical products namely; AB Mal, ABUAD Virucidine and AB Health Animation 250mg, as part of efforts to increase their visibility and distribution. The summit was organised in collaboration with pharmaceutical marketers.

Oluwatoyin Afolabi, Deputy Director of AB Pharmaceutical Services, said Nigeria's reliance on foreign herbal products represented both economic and medical dependence, particularly given the country's indigenous medicinal resources and growing research capacity.

She recalled that Nigerian communities relied on remedies derived from local resources before orthodox medicine became widespread. Yet, she argued, locally developed products have not received the same enthusiasm as their foreign counterparts.

“We have served the Indians enough, and we have served the Chinese enough,” Afolabi said, criticising the extensive promotion of imported traditional medicines by Nigerians.

She explained that the summit was intended to establish a marketing strategy and business relationships that would help ABUAD's products reach consumers. The initiative, she added, reflects the vision of the university's founder, Aare Afe Babalola, who wants Nigerians to increasingly rely on medicines developed and produced within the country.

Afolabi warned that the volume of imported medicines entering Nigeria daily represents a substantial drain on the country's economic resources. She called for greater investment in locally developed medicines, alongside stronger production and marketing efforts, to reverse the pattern.

She also argued that changing established attitudes did not necessarily require a mass movement, noting that one determined individual could initiate a transformation.

ABUAD Vice-Chancellor, Professor Smaranda Olarinde, said reducing pharmaceutical imports would require closer cooperation across the healthcare and research sectors. She advocated a system in which universities, industry, regulators, healthcare professionals, investors and consumers work together to move promising innovations from laboratories into the marketplace.

Peter Ajayi, Chairman of the Association of Pharmaceutical Products Marketers of Nigeria in Ekiti State, commended Aare Afe Babalola for his vision across different fields. He pledged that the association would do what it could to help the university's products reach prospective consumers.

ABUAD's campaign highlights a challenge facing Nigeria's pharmaceutical industry: developing local medicines is only part of the task; building the partnerships and market access needed to bring them to consumers is equally important. The university's latest initiative seeks to close that gap and give Nigerian-made products a stronger place in the country's medicine market.