By Austin Emaduku
A couple of days ago, the news broke on the net of a court decision presided over by Her Ladyship, The Honourable, Justice, Mrs. Adebayo Oyebanji of the Lagos State High Court in a nine-year old case between one Dr. Fajibi and Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC). The celebrated landmark case has once again brought to the fore the failure of the institutions of state and the value the Nigerian state place on the lives of its citizens. It is at times like this that one wonders if the Nigerian state exists at all for the benefit of its people. Whether those saddled with the responsibility of governance understand the enormity of the duties of their offices
Permit me to do a compressed summary of the case as reported in the online media.
In 2007 a gentleman who goes by the name Dr. Fajibi bought huge quantity of Coca-Cola, Fanta Orange, Sprite, Fanta Lemon, Fanta Pineapple and Soda Water brand of mineral drinks from the NBC in Nigeria and exported same to England. On arrival in England, the drinks were tested and found unfit for human consumption. Reason: the drinks contain “poisonous levels of Benzoic Acid and Sunset additives. Please, note the phrase “human consumption”.
The entire consignment was thus confiscated and destroyed. Dr. Fajibi thereafter sued NBC for negligence and sought to recover the 12 million Naira he spent on purchasing the drinks from the company. According to the report, the only defence that NBC had to offer in court was that Dr. Fajibi never told them that the drinks were for export as they do not produce drinks for export but for local consumption only. They had no defence to offer as to the poisonous content of the drinks. The implication being that if they knew that the products were to be exported to England, they would have probably included less amount of poisonous acid! So, the level of poisonous acid needed to poison people in the UK is a lot lower than the level needed to poison people in Nigeria. Different levels for different “humans”
The court in delivering its judgement berated NAFDAC for failing in its duties to the Nigerian consumer thereby putting the lives and health of those it is established to protect in danger and was subsequently fined a substantial cost. As it turned out, Fanta and Sprite contain excessive levels of ascorbic acid and sunset yellow that it is harmful when taken with vitamin C. NAFDAC was thus ordered by the court to compel NBC to issue this warning to consumers by having it written on its bottles within 90 days.
It is instructive that it took the court to tell NAFDAC how to perform its duties. Never mind that the case lasted nine years in court to the knowledge of NAFDAC who should have taken notice of the British Health and Safety Authorities action, assuming it was initially unaware or ignorant of this fact and to have acted to save the Nigerian consumer even before the court arrived at its decision based on the facts available to it. So, while the case lasted in court for nine good years Nigerians were left alone to continue with the consumption of toxins.
As I read the report, I made a mental picture of the countless number of times during visits to hospitals where I saw patients swallow drugs with Fanta and Sprite which often than not always included vitamin C! There is hardly any drug prescription in Nigeria that excludes that important vitamin. Am sure most Nigerians reading this are familiar with this sight in our hospitals and homes and must have probably been partakers in the past.
I had therefore braced myself for a huge public outcry against the bottling company in the wake of the landmark judgement. I equally primed myself for a march to the nearest NBC factory to demand that they shut down until they comply with safety regulations. This very morning, I saw NBC vehicles distributing Fanta and Sprite. The products are still very much on the shelves, but I have not been able to summon the courage to visit the hospitals to see people take their prescriptions which include Vitamin C with Sprite and Fanta for I am afraid that I will see a child ingesting poison. Children are more at risk in this regard because of their hatred for drugs. Parents most times want to cajole them by offering them Fanta and Sprite because of the sweetness which is suitable to the taste buds of children.
The judgement in question was delivered on the 15th day of February, 2017. It is therefore doubly worrisome that a clear one month after, NAFDAC, the food safety watchdog that was seriously indicted in the judgement has yet to make a statement one way or the other despite the gravity of the issues raised; neither has it appealed the judgement. No statement of reassurance, advice or warning to the populace. Neither has the Federal Ministry of Health nor the Federal government reacted to the judgement against NBC.
In saner climes, there would have been a recall, confiscation, destruction and suspension of production of the offensive product pending when the right standards are complied with. Not in Nigeria; the people are left to continue consuming the poison. Perhaps, until it presents a national health emergency, then we will run helter-skelter and then vote huge sums of money that should be channeled into more benefiting endeavours to battling the outcome.
In a land where people know their rights and value their own lives, there would have been multiple law suits and some heads would have rolled for incompetence and criminal negligence.
Now, cancer was listed as one of the ailments that Fanta and Sprite can cause. Shouldn’t the factories of the Nigerian Bottling Company have been closed in the wake of this landmark judgement?
Of late, there have been a progressive rise in vital organs disease/failure and sudden death of otherwise healthy people. Why do we treat human lives with so much negligence in this country? Imagine the number of people who consume these products: adult, children, men, women, young, old and the progressive poisoning that is done to their body and the damage to their health.
Imagine the hard earned and scarce resources spent in hospitals to treat agonizing ailments nobody knows their causes we don’t know. Imagine the pain, grief, horror and suffering that you see in the eyes of those with ailments causes of which you don’t know. Imagine the sorrow that follows in the case of death resulting from such ailments. Imagine promising lives cut shot and children orphaned with uncertain future.
Why are we so docile as a people? That judgement should have elicited public outcry that should have forced some action, but who knows, maybe too much consumption of unwholesome substances has done something to our brains.
As it is, I guess we will just have to go on consuming these poisons!
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