By Joyce Ekeh
A daily glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, considered by many as a symbol of healthy living, became a source of concern for the wife of a former Nigerian President after she began experiencing strange headaches.
Sharing the experience, the former President said his wife, Dolly, had always preferred freshly squeezed orange juice and had completely stopped drinking Coke, Fanta and other carbonated beverages many years ago.
“Dolly, my dear wife, always likes to have a full glass of freshly squeezed orange juice every day. A very healthy habit, by the way,” he said.
“She just stopped completely many years ago. And she would look at my own Coke drinking habits, you know, with a lot of disapproval. I mean, look, you should be doing something healthy.”
But the situation changed when Dolly began experiencing what he described as “very strange headaches”.
“She started having some strange headaches, drinking her fresh juice every day. Very strange headaches,” he recalled.
The family began searching for possible explanations.
“She checked everything she was eating or drinking. We were wondering what could be the cause of this. Of course, it couldn’t possibly be the healthy orange juice. It must have been something else.”
When nothing obvious emerged, Dolly decided to have the juice tested.
“But after nothing showed up, she sent one of her freshly squeezed orange juice batches to a lab for testing,” he said.
The laboratory result, according to him, was alarming.
“The results came back. It showed that the freshly squeezed orange juice was not fit for human consumption,” he said.
“This is freshly squeezed orange juice, not fit for human consumption. So, she had consumed it. She should have just stayed with Coke, right? So, I was looking like the better, you know, looking, you know, much better.”
Beyond the irony of the situation, the experience prompted a wider concern about what happens to fruits and vegetables before they reach consumers.
The former President said farmers and traders sometimes use chemicals that could pose serious risks to consumers.
“Apparently, farmers use dangerous pesticides for fruit and vegetables,” he said. “And sellers, fruit sellers, vegetable sellers, use very dangerous chemicals, sometimes to ripen or preserve fruits and vegetables.”
He particularly raised concern over the reported use of calcium carbide to accelerate the ripening of fruits.
“Calcium carbide is used very frequently to force fruits, such as bananas, mangoes, pawpaw and tomatoes, to change colour very quickly, to look ripe very quickly,” he said.
He cited studies involving fruit sellers in different parts of the country which, according to him, reported the use of calcium carbide and other chemicals.
He also referred to a 2023 survey of 50 fruit and vegetable retailers in Lagos.
“Twenty-two of them admitted to using chemicals to preserve the produce, 22 of the 50. That’s more than 50 per cent,” he said.
“So this is almost, you know, like an epidemic.”
According to him, the substances mentioned by some of the traders included calcium carbide, gamma-lin-20, Sniper, phosphite, DDT and brodifacoum.
“Phosphite is a highly toxic fumigant. It’s used for fumigation,” he said.
He added that brodifacoum, which he described as “a type of rat poison”, was also reportedly being used in the handling of fruits.
The former President warned that consumers should not assume that the freshness or natural appearance of food guarantees its safety.
“So the fact that fruit looks fresh doesn’t mean that it is safe,” he said.
“And the fact that a drink is natural doesn’t mean that something dangerous has not been added to it along the way, especially along the journey from the farm to the table.”
The experience, he said, underscores the need for stronger regulation, enforcement and public education across the food chain.
“This calls for stronger regulation, stronger enforcement. It also calls for greater public awareness,” he said.
“Farmers and traders must be educated about safe alternatives.”
He also urged consumers to become more vigilant rather than leaving food safety entirely to government agencies.
“Consumers must learn to ask questions, watch produce properly, and report suspicious practices,” he said.
“One of the things I think we have to bear in mind all the time is that it is you and I, people like you and I, who take on these causes and campaign in our local communities and ensure that things change.”
“Government regulation needs to be enforced, but in a country this size, we have to be active ourselves.”
“Individuals have to be active in our own communities to ensure that these things are reported. Suspicious things like this are reported.”
