In continuation to last year Nov./Dec. 2023 edition piece interview with Pharm. Olusola Akande, some part of the interview applied to situations of 2023 and however may not be held strictly to 2024
situation for instance the foreign exchange realities of 2023 comparable to the prevailing forex situations. Other areas may point to the current energy cost (diesel, petrol etc.) as a major contributor to the difference between then 2023 and now. I hope you’d enjoy the rest of the interview.
That could also make you a bit more competitive against the Indians and the Chinese. Okay. Let’s look a little bit away from the industry. Let’s look at your responsibility as a marketing director. Yes. In those areas, what do you see as challenging in your responsibility? Especially as a Marketing Director?
Now, the greatest challenge in marketing is the marketing cost. Marketing is an expensive venture. It’s not cheap. For example, if you have over-the-counter products and you want to promote them, you may decide to use above-the-line strategies like Billboards, BRT exposures, TV, radio, social media, etc. By the time you go into that, you will realize that these things are not cheap. Sometimes you sit down and watch TV adverts, to you, an interesting advert has just been watched but to the person who paid, it could be an expensive venture. And one thing about marketing is sometimes consumer behaviours cannot be predicted, so the money you are spending is not guaranteed to return especially if your plans and executions are faulty. So, there’s an element of risk involved. You need to do a lot of brainstorming before you embark on any marketing project.
The cost is a big challenge for most companies, especially pharmaceutical manufacturing companies where you always have limited resources being competed for by many other issues like Forex, procurement of API, machines and equipment, etc.
In that area, we’ve spoken of promotions in the marketing sphere. And there is distribution. Before we go to distribution, there is a new media. The one we call new media is social media. Everybody knows that has democratized almost everything in the media. So, one can see what one wants to see. And sometimes, the ease of seeing it is much more enhanced. I can see it in my bedroom. I can see it in my toilet. Not waiting to see it on the conventional TV screen, or come to a special place to see it on the TV. Are you not exploring that area? Is it not competitive with the mainstream media?
Yes, we are. Well, let me say it’s more cost-effective. It’s not free. But it’s more cost-effective when it comes to stuff like that. But when you want to do an encompassing promotion, you need to explore all the avenues, including social media or new media and traditional media. That you are doing new media should not stop you from using traditional media, because you want to reach everybody, especially if it is an OTC product. For example, last year, we ran a campaign for one of our products – Neurogesic ointment. It’s an ointment for managing pain. We did BRT promotions, TV advertising, radio promotions, and social media campaigns. You need to do everything. An Okada man most likely would not get your advert on Facebook or Instagram, but they can see it on BRT. So, it depends on the product and who you are targeting.
Okay, let’s look at distribution. Since we’re talking about marketing and distribution, obviously it’s your responsibility to push these products to them. I don’t know your process though. There is the land which comprises the road, and the rail, and there is the air. Let’s leave out the sea. In those areas, where do you have the most challenging distribution channel? How challenging is it and which process did you use in surmounting the challenge?
Initially, we were distributing our products ourselves. We have trucks. All our products were being exclusively distributed by our trucks. We have a whole unit that is in charge of that. But because of the challenges associated with this like truck maintenance, managing the drivers, etc., we decided that we needed to outsource the distribution process to external logistic companies. We engaged them to start taking these goods to our various depots. All you need do is give them the address, and they will take the products there. We have an agreement with three or four logistics companies. They go as far as the Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and South-south parts of the country to deliver our goods. This process has impacted our efficiency. So that is that for the road.
Another challenging one is when you want to export, you know we do export. So, for example, when you want to export through the sea, your product could be at the port here in Nigeria for weeks. All manner of stories may come up: The ship has done this, there is no space, and there is no this and that. So sometimes, when we don’t have any other choice, we explore the air. But the air could be expensive too. If they ask you to supply at a particular price and you base your calculations on the sea freight, and at the port, you have a challenge and you want to switch to air. By the time you input your cost, you realize that the price you quoted may not be profitable. You can’t tell them, it’s N20 today and tomorrow you change to N50. You may end up losing money not budgeted. So, these are some of the challenges we face.
All right, is there any additional thing you want to say about the marketing area? Is there anything we’re leaving out that you want to speak of?
You know, when it comes to marketing you must always remember you operate in a highly competitive environment. The Pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive now, especially with the imported brands. If you have a locally manufactured Antimalarial for example, you have other locally manufactured brands to compete with, and also imported brands. So constant innovation to keep abreast of the current market situation is very necessary. You need to be creative in your marketing strategies and always know who you are targeting for a particular product and then deploy the necessary marketing tools to achieve that. You know, we have two types of products, over-the-counter and ethical products or what people refer to as POM (prescription-only medicine). With the POM, you reach the end-users through a third party which most of the time are the professionals; Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists, etc. So you reach the end-user through those people. In that case, there’s a different marketing strategy for that. But if it’s an OTC, you may not need professional recommendations or prescriptions to reach them just like our mosquito repellent gel, – Reptogel. The way you market those is different. You need to be innovative. You need to streamline your marketing process and tailor it to what your needs are so that at the end of the day you hit the right target.
Before we go further, let’s look at business clime in 2023. We are well into the fourth quarter. What are your expectations of the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry before the year 2023 runs out? Are there targets the industry set as a group that you desperately will need to see achieved before the year runs out? As it relates to you as Drugfield?
Yeah, of course. Organizations at the beginning of the year always set targets and goals that they intend to achieve for that year. If you look at 2023, as a country, we had a general election. We had a transition from one government to another. When the new government came, they introduced certain policies that disrupted so many things. For example, the removal of fuel subsidies, floating of Naira and having a single Forex rate. These disrupted many plans most companies had at the beginning of the year. Then, as an industry, we met with NAFDAC recently and there are some goals we set before NAFDAC. The ease of getting our Dossier approved is the number one goal of most manufacturers now because this will determine how many products you can register. They have a window that is opened every quarter and there are limited numbers of dossiers each company can submit per quarter
Is the industry trying to defend that collectively, or is it an individual cry?
Most of the time, it’s an individual cry but once in a while, when we have an opportunity to interface with the regulator, we always mention it and it becomes a collective issue. The PMGMAN has a management team led by the Chairman and we also have an executive secretary. So, we interface with NAFDAC from time to time and this has helped.
All right. Let’s look at the economic policies. From what you’ve said so far, the economic policies have roughened the waters. Do you agree that this present economic policy is capable of moving the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria forward? Do you agree, do you believe or do you think it can move the industry forward from where it is? Maybe given the kind of targets you have, and maybe given the projections the pharmaceutical industry– (as an umbrella word) has.
Well, if you look at some of these economic policies, they have their pros and cons. And I’ve listened to different arguments, both for and against. So, it depends on which side of the divide you are. (interjecting)-Of course, you will be on the side of favour for your industry. Yes, but if you look at some of these policies objectively, before this administration came on board, the last figure we heard that was spent on subsidy was about seven trillion, – fuel subsidy. Whether it is real or not, that’s the money purportedly taken out of the system for that purpose. Which sane country will continue with such? None. How can you spend seven trillion Naira on subsidies? And the seven trillion means the money you are spending on fuel subsidy is more than your budget for health, more than your budget for education, more than the defense budget, and more than any budget. No budget has seven trillion. I mean, it’s senseless. If you look at the election time, all the major contenders unanimously agreed that the subsidy has to be removed. However, the removal of subsidies will come with a lot of consequences. That is where the pharmaceutical industry comes in. The purchasing power of people is being eroded every day. These are the people we expect to buy our products. We have found ourselves in a situation where people go to hospitals only when they are seriously sick. Stuff like medical checkups to prevent being sick or early detection of diseases are taking the back seat because most people can’t afford them. Medical checkup? I have not eaten and you’re telling me a medical checkup. (Reaching out for some products). We have some products that are cosmetic in nature. We have an aftershave. Neo-Presol is an aftershave lotion. With a product like this, if you have not eaten, will you want to do aftershave? Some of these economic policies have affected the purchasing power of the average citizen. Nobody is saying you should not take away the subsidy, what palliative measures are you putting in place to alleviate the suffering of the masses? Fine, the subsidy has gone. But what are you bringing on board? Are you increasing people’s salaries beginning with minimum wage, as a reaction to the fuel subsidy removal? These are stuff they have to sort out. Then, the second major policy, at least so far in this government, is the issue of Forex. We all know that having a dual exchange rate window breeds corruption. People were getting a dollar at about N415 official rate from CBN and selling at above N700 on the black market. And if you’re highly connected, they could give you up to $2 million, or even $3 million. That was why they were saying the former CBN governor was just churning out billionaires who have no offices. So, nobody wants such to continue. Now the way they have floated the Naira, letting the forces of demand and supply determine the price is good but affecting the manufacturing industry. For example, some forward letters of credit were opened when the dollar was around 415 official rates with the hope of paying the suppliers in 90 or 180 days. The suppliers had released the goods only for the naira to be devalued before then. So, as a manufacturer, you had received the API, used it to manufacture your products, and based all your calculations on 415, only for you to pay the supplier at a higher rate. In that case, you need more naira to pay off the supplier.
So, in any case, it was like an emergency. It wasn’t expected. It’s about two months now from the time the shock came; you would have recovered from it so far. Because of the way you’re talking, some of those shocks have been absorbed by the publication of what the corporate world lost in the process. Well, I’ll see it as a shock that has been absorbed. Is there any process you’re putting in place to either recover or to get back on track?
Yeah. The only way to recover and get back to the line is to adjust your price, which is also not too good because the purchasing power of people is being eroded daily. Invariably, the consumers would have to pay for it. You can’t sell below your production cost. Almost every company has adjusted prices. That’s the easiest way to react to that.
Let’s look at the now almost popular trend in Nigeria, the one we call JAPA syndrome. In the earlier days, we experienced a massive brain drain, especially at the medical level; Doctors, Pharmacists, Nurses, and other medical practitioners especially experienced the worst exodus. However, some non-professionals are also migrating. But now it’s expanding, it’s cutting across the board. Is it affecting the pharmaceutical industry? And how has it affected it? Contrasting it with an average fresh graduate who wants to go abroad, are the existing pharmacists moving in droves the same way as the doctors?
I don’t think there is any industry that is not affected by that JAPA syndrome. On a lighter side, I was saying jokingly with one of my friends that JAPA had been in existence for so long. JAPA is in the Bible. Remember how Abraham went to Egypt, how Isaac went to Israel. Even God instituted JAPA when he said to Abraham; leave your father’s house and JAPA (general laughter). It’s an old practice. But it took a dangerous dimension towards the end of Buhari’s regime because people are now doing it for economic survival. In the past, people would travel simply for the experience of it. I’m a doctor in Lagos, let me go and practice in New York and experience other climes. But when you want to travel abroad just for mere survival, that is where the issue is. And people are now doing that in droves.
The BREXIT matter that happened in England is not helping matter because when the UK exited the European Union, many of the citizens left. So, they needed people to fill in the gap and they saw Nigerians, Indians, Chinese, and other Africans as cheaper alternatives. At the time they were recruiting nurses in Nigeria. They used to set up desks in designated centers in Nigeria to recruit them. That was so daring. Even Saudi Arabia came, and Nigeria didn’t do much. Then COVID-19 affected Canada a lot. So, they also realized that they needed a lot of foreigners. They have a very large land mass in Canada but few people to fill in some of these areas. They also need a lot of people in their country. You realize that 70% of those who JAPA either went to the UK or Canada.
So, this affected so many industries. There was a guy in one of the banks who told me that many of his colleagues at work have travelled. In my place here, (pointing to the window opposite him), one of my managers, just last week, has JAPA. Our export manager and one of our brand managers, have also JAPA. There is no asking the question of how it is affecting you. And these are people you have trained for 10yrs, 15yrs, and more. The last guy that left spent about 15 years with us. Each time we had clinical meetings in the hospitals, the brand manager was the one who would go to the hospital to do the presentation for the medical professionals. He has gathered the experience over the years. He knows the right answers to every question. Where do you want to get such a replacement? Even if you employ somebody now, you have to start from A for Apple, and B for Ball. It is a big challenge.
It will affect other pharmaceutical companies in the same way. So, are you doing anything to forestall that? Like giving more incentives in your capacity.
In our capacity, I don’t think there is much we can do to stop that because the reasons why people are doing that are far beyond what we can offer solutions for. It is largely for economic reasons. Some will tell you lack of infrastructure, lack of this and that. When people are pushed to the wall. – (interjecting) -Infrastructure comes even tertiary. The primary thing is pay pocket. Yes, they are all interwoven. You can say I don’t like the road, I don’t have water, and electricity is not stable. But if I have enough money, I can make myself comfortable; I can get myself some electricity. But let me tell you how they are related. In Drugfield, on power alone, we spend several millions of naira every month. If the government is giving us regular power, and we are just paying less every month, the balance we could use to increase our staff salary. Those who have more money in their pocket would think less of JAPA.
That is the area I am going to. What you are doing to stop it?
If you increase somebody’s salary, and the next month they devalue the Naira again, and prices of things go up again, you are back to square one. What are people looking for? Nigerians are not asking for much. Let them be able to afford basic things. Let a young graduate be able to drive a car of his own immediately after he starts working. In other climes, for some of my mates, once you start working, you go and pick any car of your choice as a pharmacist. The same thing goes for a house. You don’t need to own 100% of the money to buy a house. But here, you want a young graduate who has just started working, whose salary is N200,000-Naira, to face every economic upheaval successfully, you know that can be very frustrating. I know how much I pay for my children’s fees for secondary school. In Canada it’s free, In the UK it’s free, -Free! Those are the things people are running away from. Except if you don’t want your children to become something better than average, to put them in a public school here in Nigeria is not the best. No matter how bad it is, try and put them in private schools, though they are very expensive. I don’t think primary and secondary education should be that expensive. That is the economic state and reality of our country now.
All right, let’s advance from JAPA. All around now, Alternative medicines are gaining ground. Much more ground than they used to, comparable to the pharmaceutical Drugs. In those days it used to be Herbalists. If it is not drugs, then it would be the herbalist and his Herbal concoction. These days there are alternatives. There is the advent of Supplements; both food supplements and some other kinds of supplements, and the trend is almost exploding. They are all struggling for market shares with pharmaceutical drugs. Is it affecting you negatively?
You know, when they say Alternative medicine, it means there was something in place before, and they now went to look for the alternative. That is why they call them Alternative medicine. And you don’t look for alternatives if you are getting the best result with the one you are using. Yes, Alternative medicine is gaining ground, and what most pharmaceutical companies are doing now is to join them in marketing Alternative medicine. – (interjecting: -That means if you can’t beat them, join them). So, they call them Nutraceuticals. -Some of those herbals and the rest, they call them all Nutraceuticals. – (interjecting:-I have also heard Herbaceuticals). So, you now have a situation whereby a company is subdivided into two, one is the pharmaceutical division; the other would be the Nutraceuticals division.
Okay, you’ve answered the second prong of the question of; what measures are you taking. You’ve also confirmed that you are also joining the alternative medicine race. Now, there is a general belief, -maybe not general. But the understanding is that the Nutraceuticals – (like the Herbal and nutritional Supplements) – help enhance full recovery from the ailment processes, through the restoration or reversal of health conditions. While drugs have the one duty of management of health conditions, but not reversal. Is it true? Since you are fully into it now, I believe you should know enough about the effects and benefits of Nutraceuticals.
Many of these Nutraceuticals make use of natural plants, while most pharmaceuticals use synthetic Chemical compounds. In the recent past, campaigns started that these chemical compounds have side effects, they have consequences, so why don’t you go natural? That’s how the shift towards the use of Nutraceuticals started. But the problem or the limiting factor with most of these Nutraceuticals is that there has not been enough research and studies to back up some of these claims. If you take an anti-hypertensive drug, maybe Amlodipine, for example, and you open your internet, you’ll see a lot of work that has been done on Amlodipine both locally and abroad. Clinical trials were carried out and the likely side effects on Whites, blacks, or Caucasians are all available. So, a lot of work has been done in this regard. Unlike the Nutraceuticals where you have limited research. I’m not saying there is no research. Some research you have them carried out on whites. Some are not carried out on Africans. And sometimes race or colour affects the effects of some of these drugs. As I earlier said, especially in this part of the world, the belief system also matters in some of these things. Some people would say if I take it, everything will just go, while some people will take it and have no effect. So, there is not enough data to make any conclusion on some of these Nutraceuticals.
If the old days, Professor Dora Akunyili –of blessed memory- is still alive, probably, there would probably have been more push for Nutraceuticals. Because one of those times in her days, I watched her speak on drugs as against herbs. She was explicit about it; you know she was a pharmacologist. While she didn’t say to leave drugs and focus on herbs, she tried outlining the advantages of the two: – Organic herbs against pharmaceutical drugs. She said: that while that herb will blend with your system because it’s organic like the human body is, the other one is like a foreign body sent into your system. And after some time, it will just take up residence in the body. So, it’s not actually like it’s a lie that there are side effects.
Yes, there are side effects. But the major problem with some of these Herbs initially was the issue of standardization. Even when we were growing up, if we had malaria, they’d tell us to just squeeze DOGO-YARO-(Neem) leaves and drink the water, just take one cup. But the issue is, what quantity of it do I need to drink to get the necessary effect? There has not been extensive research on many of them. -(Interjecting)-The Indians are high on that; they are researching them considerably. Yes, they are the biggest player when it comes to Nutraceuticals, I can tell you. They are standardizing it. Some of those herbal stuffs are the ones being standardized. -(Interjecting)-They call it Ayurvedic practice in India. Yes, Ayurvedic. China is also doing good work in that regard too…
Okay, so it’s not hard on the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria because you are already playing along. That’s the long and short of it, isn’t it?
But you know it’s easier to register Nutraceuticals in Nigeria. You don’t need a Dossier; you don’t need a Drug Master File. -(Interjecting)-why? …The manufacturing process is not as cumbersome as the pharmaceuticals. They are not chemical compounds that you need to do the profile pathway and all that comes along with it. There is something called a drug master file. If you want to register a product, you’ll be required to bring a drug master file of the API. The manufacturer of your API will supply the drug master file to NAFDAC. They call it DMF, – Drug master file. It’s going to show the pathway of how the API is synthesized, to be sure that the product is genuine knowing that the easiest way to make a fake product is for the API to be fake. Once the API is fake, the product is already fake. NAFDAC wants to ensure that the API is not fake, so they’ll ask for the DMF – Drug master file. But with Nutraceuticals, you don’t need all those documents, that’s why their registration is easier.
A few more questions here, we’ll be looking at the road. Okay Let’s look at the upcoming ones in school, where their eyes are set, what they are targeting, the scarcity and availability of various arms of pharmacy, we’ve spoken about all those. If you are a representative of probably the pharmaceutical M.A.N., or the entire pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria, and you have to advise them, what will you send out as a message to them?
Number one is focus. There are different aspects of the pharmacy profession, you have the hospital pharmacy, the industrial pharmacy, the community pharmacy, and the academic pharmacy, and you have various arms, like six or seven different arms of pharmacy wherein one could practice. Know where you belong, know what you want. Not that you do hospital pharmacy for three years, and say you are tired, you now go to community pharmacy for four years and say you are tired, you now say it’s industrial pharmacy you want to work now. Because I have friends that do that. So, you must know what you want from the onset before you leave school. You can only excel where and in what you have flair for, some people like marketing just like the way I’m doing now, and some people like taking care of patients, maybe community pharmacy is in their nature. Know where you belong, go for it, and stick to it. Stick to it until you become a master in that area. I’ve always liked marketing, and since I graduated from school, I’ve always done sales and marketing. So, for a young person, be focused, and know what you want.
Let’s tone it down a little more now. You’ve spoken about your children and how much you are putting into them. Are you influencing any of them to take up your kind of profession? Are you hoping to? Even if they’re -Probably- not up to the age where you would begin to influence them? Or maybe they’ve gotten to the stage where you could well influence them.
One of the things I like to imbibe in my children is for them to be independent. –(Interjecting)-Okay, that’s good in their thinking. Yes, to be independent-minded in their thinking, and just get guided. So I’m not an advocate of you must go and study this course. And I do not prevail on any of them to say you must follow my footsteps, No I don’t. My first daughter says she wants to study medicine in America, and I say okay God will help us. She said she wants to be an “ANESTHESIOLOGIST”. You see, God created us differently, and He created every one of us for a purpose. So, I don’t want to impose my purpose on their own. We are just caretakers; God is the original owner of our children.
Okay let’s look at your corporate social responsibilities as a company, if there is any. But I don’t believe there are, right?
As a company, yes of course we do a lot. -(Interjecting)- Are you willing to share some of them? Yeah! We have a foundation that is dedicated to that. They have staff, they have people running it. It’s being funded by the company – Drugfield; we call it “AJOKE FOUNDATION”.
The AJOKE FOUNDATION, do they have limitations? As in, do they have areas they don’t cover? Or anything they won’t get involved in?
Yeah, we give scholarships to University, Polytechnic and Secondary school students – (interjecting)-That’s good to hear. Widows who don’t have means of paying some bills. It’s a whole department on its own. – (Interjecting) – But it’s not, it’s not widely known… Why the lack of publicity? Well, we make little publicity about this
No, I disbelieve that, I beg to differ rather. Because that alone could tie to the attraction to your drugs, or rather to your products. And it could also inform a particular liking to your line of products if you do the required publicity. Okay, let’s say I’m speaking from the mind of the public; If these guys are doing this much, then let’s patronize them because they are giving back. Some people may have that kind of mindset you know. That’s why I’m looking at tying it together
Yeah, I understand what you are saying. There are benefits inherent in advertising. But another way of looking at it is that you have a set of Indigent students that you want to help and to help them you go and bring cameras and Television to come and show them to the world that these are the indigent students I want to help. It may sound somehow to some people. God forbids! Assuming I’m an indigent student and somebody wants to give me a scholarship, and he’s going to carry the whole world to come and see, I may not like it. But that does not mean we don’t publicize, I mean, in our little way, we advertise our CSR.
But you can help that situation; you can help that situation by combining the indigent students with the non-indigent except you say it is only for the indigent students. Is your CSR only for indigents?
Well, there is a way they screen, though I don’t have all the guidelines I know they screen. Preferences are always given to indigent brilliant students, and Orphans; -(interjecting)-that’s when it comes to scholarships right? Scholarships, yes, if somebody is sick you don’t need any criteria, we just intervene. So, we do that a lot, we donate drugs even to government agencies -(interjecting)-They should be publicized. I believe they should be publicized. Yeah, we do some of these, for example, during World Glaucoma Day a lot of hospitals ran free glaucoma screening for patients, and we supported them with drugs. The last one we did, we partnered with the Lagos State Government, and we gave them some drugs too. Lagos State Government made some noise around these themselves. Many of these are on our social media handles.
Okay! There’s an area I left for the last. On your website, amongst some other features-, I just singled out the NAFDAC Excellence Award that is showcased there among other recognitions. How would you assess the recognitions or the awards that have been given to you in terms of encouraging or probably propelling you to work harder, or to give more?
Some of these Awards like the NAFDAC Recognition and all the like; are just reminders of the fact that at any point in time, we must stick to the quality of our products. Our slogan is quality products from a very sure source. – (Interjecting)- That’s very good. We know we got some of these awards because we are sticklers for quality, and the awards always remind us that we must not depart from that, we must always adhere to the quality of our products. So those are the things surrounding our recognitions and awards.
Okay, you are a member of the Pharmaceutical MAN –otherwise known as PMGMAN. If you happen to be the leader of PMG-MAN or of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria – I’m looking at the Apex body, which of them is the Apex body?
The PSN is the umbrella body because it comprises manufacturers, community Pharmacists, and industrial Pharmacists. Everybody is under the umbrella of the PSN.
If you happen to be the head – which is not impossible, what would be your target for change, what would you want done differently? From what you have experienced so far from the leadership and the industry, what would you want done differently? What would you push for?
There are so many things to push for, so it depends on the sector you are talking about. -(Interjecting)-I’m looking at the industry as an umbrella because with that umbrella you are responsible for all the sectors. Okay, for example, one of the things I would advocate for, which we’ve been collectively campaigning against, is the issue of drug distribution. There is an awkward drug distribution system in Nigeria. Look at the open market, drugs should not be sold in the open market. -(Interjecting)- Is it different from the Prohibition list you were pushing for? No, the prohibition list is the products that Local manufacturers can produce that should not be allowed to be imported. I’m talking about local distribution. Look at Idumota -I don’t know if you have been there before-, drugs should not be sold in such an environment. Look at Onitsha – headbridge, the same thing with Kano. There were attempts to stop drugs from being sold in the open market, and that those places should be relocated to a more decent and conducive environment. It’s only Kano that has attempted a change, they built a mall and asked that everybody should relocate to the place and they also gave a deadline, I was reading it. But Lagos and Onitsha, have refused to do that, and 60 to 65 per cent of the drug market is controlled by those two places. So, If I have my way as a PSN chairman or head, that’s one of the things I would push for. Most of the guys selling drugs in those markets are not even pharmacists. Most of them didn’t even go to school, they just saw drugs trade commodities like clothes, shoes, land, etc. It should not be so, -(interjecting)-Okay, That’s the major thing you will push for? That’s the major thing I would push for. Then when you talk of hospital pharmacy, how do you ensure that our colleagues in that area are not relegated when it comes to decision-making within the system, -remunerations, cadre, and all that stuff, which is a major challenge? When I was doing my internship at UCH the fight had been on before then, how can you give doctors an X-amount of salary and give pharmacists a Y-amount? The disparity is too wide, even up till now, so those are issues we have to fight for. Until recently a pharmacist could not become a consultant. The question is why not? -(Interjecting)-and what was the reason then? Well, you know the doctors will always fight back in a kind of battle of supremacy. So, when it comes to the industry, we talk of some of these issues I have mentioned – reduction in tariff, access to forex, Prohibition list, and so on. As a PSN chairman, these are the things I would push for.
That’s good, it’s what you people are fighting already. We are going home now. What are your likes, Let’s go!
Football. I love watching football. I grew up in Ibadan, so in my growing-up years, my dad was a diehard fan of the then-IICC. – (Interjecting)-Yes, I remember IICC. They’re now 3SC –Yes. IICC of those days. So right from my primary school days, my Dad used to take me to the stadium every Saturday, to go and watch football matches. So, I built my interest in football through that process. I have always been a fan of football right from my childhood up till now. I have travelled to Manchester a couple of times to watch matches. I support Manchester City so I used to go.
Are there dislikes? Within your personal preferences? Are there dislikes too?
Yes, in terms of personality, I dislike people who are not honest and people who are not straightforward. It’s very difficult to cope with them. Unfortunately, you have a lot of them around and they are all disguised. But I’ve developed a means of managing them. It pisses me off when you’re dishonest. Well, I guess I’m not the only one who feels that. But sometimes I remember that we are in a world that has a mixture of persons, a collection of different minds, and different understandings.
What’s your favourite food?
Rice and plantain. When it comes to food, I’m a very rare being. I don’t eat what most people eat – (interjecting) – Rice and plantain are usual. Yes, but I’ve never eaten swallow in my life -(interjecting)-W.H.A.T! That’s why I said I’m a very rare being. Okay! Hear this, I’ve never eaten meat in my life – I’ve never eaten chicken, turkey, Snail, etc.
Then what do you eat? Or have you been putting some wire and charging up your protein with electricity? (General laughter) What’s your source of protein?
I eat only fish. -(Interjecting)-Wow!!!, Fish only? Yes, exclusively fish. Only fish. Maybe recently I’ve started eating shrimp and prawns
You are a rare being indeed. What informed it? Is there any reason for that?
Yes. My mum told me that each time she gave me some of those things I would vomit. If she gave me Amala, I would vomit. I’ve never eaten pounded yam and all that stuff before. It’s not that I stopped; I don’t know how they taste. -(Interjecting)-And she allowed you to follow that path? She used to say leave him alone, when he grew up, he would change and start eating them. She probably thought she was helping me. I now grew up, and I don’t know how to eat them.
What’s your most attractive colour?
Sky blue. -(Interjecting)-Is there a reason for that? The skies are blue Do you like brightness? When I was growing up, I used to have a shirt, a sky-blue shirt, I loved that shirt. When I was in Primary school, I was turning ten years old. So, my dad told me that if I came first in the class, he was going to take me to London for vacation. I think I was in primary four then. So, I tried, I came first, and then he took me to London. I celebrated my 10th year Birthday in London. My dad was the General Manager of the Housing Corporation in Oyo state, just like the LSDPC of Lagos state. He bought me a blue shirt, in London, he also bought me a brown suit. I used that shirt for my birthday. Since that time, I fell in love with that color, -sky blue. -(Interjecting) – So that’s what informed your love for sky blue? Yes, that’s it. So that’s how I came to love sky blue, and it became my favourite colour. I love sky blue.
IN CONCLUSION:
Alright!!! Pharmacist OLUSOLA…. It’s been nice speaking with you. (Pharm. Olusola-. Thank you very much). If I were to speak on this strength, I would say let’s do it again. -(Big laughter from both sides)- But it’s not always going to be like this all the time. It’s been a nice day well spent with you; you’ve touched on various areas. I hope we’re able to explore the areas that are relevant to you and even beyond. Are there areas you didn’t touch? Because I made sure we captured every area that speaks of the company -Drugfield, Yourself, and the Pharmaceutical industry as a whole.
Prepared and Packaged By
ST MYKEL OGBONNAYA
Head of Corporate Affairs
Genmax Communications Limited
