The pharmaceutical business is believed to be one of the lucrative businesses in Nigeria, and Kano, as the commercial nerve centre of northern Nigeria, has its fair share of the market. Daily Trust Saturday takes a look at how the business is faring in Kano, particularly the hub of the commercial activity, which is Sabon Gari Market.
Sabon Gari Market is the hub of pharmaceutical business in Kano, which serves the state, neighbouring states as well as neighbouring countries. Retailers troop to the market daily to purchase either in bulk for distribution to other mini retailers or simply to stock their patent medicine stores.
A countless number of people are making ends meet in Sabon Gari market through pharmaceutical business, from the importers, distributors and retailers, to the shop assistants and labourers.
A trader in the pharmaceutical market, Malam Salisu Zakar, told Daily Trust Saturday that there are three categories of pharmaceutical products traders deal on in the market.
“You see, our products are prescription drugs which are usually used by the doctors to treat patients. If you consult a doctor, he will examine you and prescribe some drugs for you. Most of these drugs are imported from some countries, or produced by some international pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Novartis, Roche and Evans and others.
“Others deal in what we called Off the Counter (OTC) drugs such as Panadol, Paracetamol and all these simple drugs that are not usually on prescription; one can just purchase them without any prescription.
“There are also others that we call ‘Order drugs’. These are pirated drugs. Someone will take one genuine packet of the drug to a company either in Nigeria or other countries and ask them to produce an imitation of that product. Such products are usually fake or substandard,” he explained.
Mr Anayo Clement said he deals with only made-in-Nigeria products. “I sell products from local manufacturers such as Sure Life, Asad, Tuyil, Emzor and the rest, and you know the market is dictated by the economic situation of the country, so we thank God with the little we are making,” he said.
Another trader, Alhaji Auwalu Muhammad, said pharmaceutical business pays well. “Like any other business, there are secrets in this business known only to those in the business. I cannot tell you what I am making out of it, but I tell you it pays,” he said.
A customer, Kabiru Musa, said he has been in the business of patent medicine business for many years and he started as an apprentice or shop assistant.
“I am here to purchase medicine for my shop, and I come to this market every day to buy goods. I started as an assistant and learnt the ropes of the business. Now that I am running my shop, I am making ends meet out of it,” he said.
Mrs Lolo Silver is a supplier to some of the wholesalers. “I am a supplier of JVI Company and we distribute registered products. We don’t deal in fake or substandard products and we thank God the business is moving smoothly in Kano,” she said.
Alhaji Husaini Labaran Zakari is the chairman of the Nigerian Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPMED), Kano State branch. He explained that the pharmaceutical market in Kano is an extended one which comprised the Sabon Gari Market, Malam Kato, Alasawa House, and Niger Street among other places.
He said the business in Kano is going on well and Kano is gradually reclaiming its trust in terms of pharmaceutical business which was lost when former governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso descended on the market as a result of his war against drug abuse in the state.
“Before the coming of Governor Kwankwaso, many people from most of the West African countries used to come to Kano to purchase pharmaceutical products, but because of the impact of certain illicit drugs like Tramadol and the likes, which the government was fighting in collaboration with us, some people diverted their attention to other places like Lagos and Onitsha to purchase their pharmaceuticals.
“But Alhamdulillah, with the intensive assistance from this government, the security forces, and on our part, we are doing our best. Business is gradually returning to Kano. The government, earning in terms of revenue decreased because of that problem, but we are currently working closely with the government through what we called ‘hands together’, and I believe with that plan, things will change for the better,” the chairman explained.
He said people come from as far as Bauchi, Maiduguri, and the Niger Republic to purchase pharmaceutical products, hoping that gradually things would normalize.
The chairman said hundreds of millions are traded in the market daily, noting that business is not quantified based on the number of trucks coming into the market but by the quality of goods which determine their prices.
He explained that the leadership has a local taskforce which conducts shop-by-shop unannounced surveillance inspection to check unwholesome practices, and any member found wanting would be investigated, fined or reported to relevant authorities as the case may be.
There is a collaboration between the federal, state governments and marketers, through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in which the federal government has given a license for a wholesale pharmaceutical centre, which is an exclusive pharmaceuticals market that will cater for wholesalers of pharmaceutical products. He explained that the arrangement had reached an advanced stage, and a similar arrangement is taking place in Lagos, Aba, and Onitsha.
The chairman said the market will be provided with a police post, alternative power supply and relevant agencies’ offices to ensure that only genuine businesses take place there, which is hoped would drastically reduce the menace of drug abuse in the state.
There were, however, attempts by previous administrations in the state to relocate the pharmaceutical marketers to other places which failed.
Now, only time will tell how the new PPP will succeed in moving the market permanently to another location.
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