“My Wife Had Headaches From Oranges Preserved With Chemicals” – Ex-Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo

Former Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has raised concerns over the use of dangerous chemicals in ripening and preserving fruits, recounting how a laboratory test found his wife’s freshly squeezed orange juice “not fit for human consumption.”

Yemi Osinbajo, who spoke at the Open Day for Gardeners’ Seminar themed “Leaving the Earth Better Than We Found It”, held in Lagos on August 28, with a video of the event shared on his YouTube channel on Wednesday.

Osinbajo said his wife, Dolapo, developed frequent headaches after she began drinking freshly squeezed orange juice every day.

“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 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 reference 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, where 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 using chemicals to preserve their produce.

“They 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 National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) facing increased pressure as Nigerians use social media to expose food, drugs, cosmetics and other cosumer goods suspected to be dangerous.