Former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has raised concerns about the safety of fresh fruit and beverages in Nigeria.
He raised the alarm after a laboratory test reportedly found that freshly squeezed orange juice prepared by his wife, Dolapo Osinbajo, was unsafe to consume.
Naija News reports that Osinbajo disclosed this while speaking at the Open Day for Gardeners’ Seminar in Lagos.
According to the former vice president, his wife had stopped drinking carbonated beverages several years ago and had instead adopted fresh orange juice as part of her daily routine.
However, she later began suffering from unusual headaches despite what she considered a healthier choice.
After other possible causes were ruled out without explaining the headaches, a portion of the orange juice was taken for laboratory analysis.
The result, Osinbajo said, showed that the freshly prepared drink was unsuitable for human consumption.
He said: “She would look at my own Coke drinking habits with a lot of disapproval… But then, after a while, she started having some strange headaches, drinking her fresh juice every day.
“The results came back. It showed that the orange juice, freshly squeezed, was not fit for human consumption. This is freshly squeezed orange juice. Not fit for human consumption.
“So, this is almost, you know, like an epidemic. The substances that they named, that they use, aside from calcium carbide, include gamma-lin-20, which, as you know, is poison, sniper, phosphite. Phosphite is a highly toxic fumigant.
“The fact that fruit looks fresh doesn’t mean that it is safe, 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. So, this calls for stronger regulation, stronger enforcement. It also calls for greater public awareness.”
