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Former head
of state, General Yakubu Gowon
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… As Jega
Bags Napharm Lifetime Award.
Former head of state,
General Yakubu Gowon, has tasked newly inducted fellows of the Nigerian Academy
of Pharmacy to join hands with the federal government to eradicate the spread
of fake and substandard drugs in the country. Speaking at the induction
of 22 new fellows of the Academy last night in Lagos, Gowon who was the special
guest of honour at the induction and awards night commended the new fellows for
having run a good race.
“I
welcome you to the elite group of the tried and trusted. What this means is
that a lot is expected of you because to whom much is given much is expected,”
the former military leader said.
Leadership report continues:
“One
area we expect from you is to stem the adulteration of drugs. Although NAFDAC
has done much over the years to curb it, unfortunately, a number of people are
still in this business, importing substandard drugs just to make profit out of
it. This menace has to be arrested, not only in Nigeria but worldwide.
“According
to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 50 per cent of global population
receives fake drugs and 70 per cent of people use it. Please join hands with
the security agencies to fight this menace. You will need to help our
government make our drugs safe.”
Gowon
also lauded the choice of Prof Jega for the award of NAPharm Lifetime
Achievement Award.
“Prof
Jega stood out. I was impressed with his conduct of the last general elections
and he made us proud as Nigerians with peaceful and successful management of
the elections. That election, to me, was one of the most serious, and needed
every Nigerian to make effort to keep our country together.”
He
further said while the election results were coming in, the conduct of former
President Goodluck Jonathan to accept defeat and congratulate his fellow
contestant, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, doused tension.
“He
also cooled frayed nerves by saying he was not going to challenge the results at
the elections tribunal. It shows that Nigeria can be strong as a united
country,” Gowon added.
He
also commended the Nigerian Academy of Pharmacy for its commitment to the
promotion of professionalism.
Meanwhile,
after his profile was read, Prof Jega went emotional and thanked the Academy
for selecting and giving him a lifetime achievement award him out of the
numerous other worthy Nigerians.
“It
is, therefore, a great honour for to receive this award. We had the privilege
to serve our country and we did our best. We are grateful to the Almighty God
for the privilege to serve,” he said.
“I
want to dedicate this award to my colleagues at INEC who worked tirelessly for
the success we achieved. We inherited an organization that was notorious. We
changed the perception of INEC.
“But
most of all, I dedicate this ward to the Nigerian voters who made sure that
their votes counted despite the challenges we all faced. The voters, civil
society organizations and development partners and the voters for their role in
ensuring the success we achieved. We must keep building on that success. All
stakeholders must join hands in building democracy and avoid a reversal of the
progress made.”
Like
Gowon, the former INEC boss challenged the pharmacists’ body to fight against
the purchase of non-prescription drugs over the counter. He said, “In serious
countries, drugs like Codein cannot be sold over the counter. We have the
serious phenomenon of our youths being hooked on these drugs. I believe it is
not out of the purview of those here today to begin to do something about this
issue.”
President,
Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, remarked that many
pharmacists would soon join the academy.
“Every
effort has been made by the organizers to ensure that fellows of the Academy
are drawn from the widest possible spread professionally, occupationally and
geographically.
“The product may not be
perfect, but it is a qualitative beginning by any standard. We must all know
that the government cannot provide all the things Nigerians need; pharmacist
must rally and support the government in nation building,” Adelusi-Adeluyi
said.
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