It’s Wednesday, July 16, 2025, and the buzz around Nollywood is echoing beyond the film sets and red carpets. This time, it’s not about a blockbuster premiere, but about the potentially life-saving issue of medication quality in Nigeria. Actress and filmmaker Mary Remmy Njoku, the force behind ROK Studios, has taken to Instagram with a stark warning: she’s concerned about the efficacy of drugs sold in the country, and she’s directly calling on the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to take action.
Njoku’s heartfelt post details a personal experience that has left her questioning the safety of medicines readily available to Nigerians. The incident happened on a movie set, when she fell victim to food poisoning. In a moment of need, a staff member was dispatched to a prominent pharmacy chain to purchase Imodium, a widely used drug to treat diarrhea.
But here’s where the story takes a worrying turn. After three days of taking the medication as prescribed, Njoku found it had absolutely no effect. The symptoms lingered, leaving her frustrated and concerned. The plot thickened when her husband returned from a trip abroad, bringing with him the same medication. A single tablet from the foreign batch, Njoku revealed, worked within a mere five minutes.
This discrepancy, she explained, isn’t a one-off event for her. “This isn’t my first time noticing this kind of difference in both locally and imported drugs sold in Nigeria,” she wrote, expressing her deep concern about the potential public health risk.
“What exactly are we being sold in Nigeria? What’s going on with our drugs? This is a public health risk and NAFDAC must take it seriously. This is dangerous!” she exclaimed, ending her plea with a direct, urgent call to action: “NAFDAC HELP.”
As of the time of this writing, NAFDAC has yet to respond to Njoku’s post. But her story has undoubtedly sparked a conversation – a vital conversation – about the importance of ensuring the quality, safety, and effectiveness of the medications relied upon by millions of Nigerians. This is not just about a movie star’s personal experience; it’s a stark reminder of the potential consequences of compromised healthcare, and a call for accountability from those in charge of protecting public health.
