• Says Wife Develops Headaches from Drinking Orange Juice
By Abiola Olawale
Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has sounded a major alarm over the widespread use of dangerous chemicals by farmers and fruit vendors to grow, ripen, and preserve agricultural produce.
Speaking at the Open Day for Gardeners’ Seminar themed “Leaving the Earth Better Than We Found It” in Lagos, Osinbajo shared a personal family experience that exposed hidden health risks in everyday “healthy” foods.
According to Osinbajo, his wife, Dolapo, had adopted a clean-eating lifestyle years prior by completely cutting out carbonated drinks in favor of a daily glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
However, she began suffering from unexplained, frequent headaches.
“Dolly, my dear wife, likes to have a full glass of freshly squeezed orange juice every day, a very healthy habit, by the way, especially since she stopped consuming any form of carbonated drinks many years ago,” he said.
“But then after a while, she started having some strange headaches from drinking her fresh juice every day. Then she checked everything she was eating and drinking, and we were wondering what could the cause of this be?”
He said they initially ruled out the orange juice because it was considered a healthy drink.
“We assumed, of course, it couldn’t be the ‘healthy’ orange juice,” he said.
“The results came back. It showed the orange juice, freshly squeezed, was not fit for human consumption.”
Osinbajo attributed the result to the use of harmful chemicals by some farmers and fruit sellers, warning that the problem could expose Nigerians to health risks.
His words: “Apparently farmers use dangerous pesticides for fruits and vegetables, and fruit and vegetable sellers use very dangerous chemicals sometimes to ripen or preserve fruits and vegetables.”
“Calcium carbide is used very frequently to force fruits such as bananas, mangoes, pawpaws and tomatoes to change colour and look ripe very quickly,” Osinbajo added.
The former vice-president cited studies from different parts of the country which he said had documented the use of chemicals among some fruit sellers.
He referenced a 2024 study in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, where, according to him, half of 20 fruit sellers interviewed admitted using calcium carbide. Similarly, another study in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, found that 25 per cent of fruit sellers reportedly admitted to using the chemical to ripen fruits.
Osinbajo further referred to a 2023 survey in Lagos, saying 22 out of 50 fruit retailers admitted to using chemicals to preserve their produce.
“These were the ones who agreed they do,” he said.
His call comes amid growing concerns over the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard products in Nigeria, with NAFDAC and SON facing increased pressure as Nigerians use social media to expose food, drugs, cosmetics and other consumer goods suspected to be dangerous.
