PEOPLES GAZETTE
Following the astronomical increase in the prices of drugs, some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have resorted to herbal concoctions commonly referred to as “agbo” to treat various illnesses.
Agbo is made by combining different herbs, roots and plants believed to have medicinal properties.
The prices of many prescribed and over-the-counter medications have steadily increased, making these drugs unaffordable and unavailable.
Correspondents confirmed this from some pharmacies visited in the FCT where some drugs were reported to be scarce or unavailable, such as Augmentin, multivitamins like Omega H3, Ventolin inhaler and Fleming antibiotics.
A pharmacist who spoke anonymously said, “GlaxoSmithKline(GSK) products are now scarce and expensive since the company announced its exit from Nigeria.
“For the GSK products, we have the example of Paracetamol which a single card was being sold at N200, but now has increased to N400.”
In one of the big pharmacies visited, Ventolin inhaler sells at N8,870 against N2,000, while Augmentin sells for between N23,000 to 25,000 as against N3,000 to N5,000 it was sold before the GSK exit.
Nicholas Adah, a cleaner, said he was advised by his friend to take agbo after sharing his symptoms with him.
” My friend told me to take agbo after I told him how I was feeling. I took his advice, and they prepared the one for treating typhoid for me, and I feel a lot better,” he said.
Wasiu Ahmed, a vulcaniser, said: “Why would I go and spend money that I do not even have to buy medicine from a chemist when I can take agbo?”
A taxi driver, Sunny Adeniyi, said he preferred to take agbo to treat his ailments because it is effective and cheaper than orthodox medicine.
“There is no money to go to the chemist or hospital because everything in Nigeria is expensive. By the time I buy fuel, I won’t have money again,” Mr Adeniyi said.
