THE RISE OF FAKE PRODUCTS IN NIGERIA: WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE BUYING?

There was a time when the word “fake” in Nigeria mostly brought to mind imitation clothes, shoes, phones or designer products.Today, the question is becoming much more serious:What if the product we are calling fake is something we are eating, drinking, applying to our bodies or taking as medicine?That is the disturbing reality behind Nigeria’s growing counterfeit and adulterated-products problem. Recent public concern has focused on everything from fake toothpaste, cosmetics and beverages to adulterated food and medicines. NAFDAC said it received 225 complaints about suspected counterfeit products in August 2026 alone, while the agency has also acknowledged concerns surrounding adulterated palm oil and other food products. And palm oil has become one of the most disturbing examples. When palm oil becomes a laboratory experiment A viral conversation around adulterated palm oil has left many Nigerians asking how something as ordinary as cooking oil could become another source of anxiety.NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, acknowledged concerns about palm oil adulteration involving azo dyes and other potentially hazardous contaminants, particularly in traditionally packaged palm oil sold in open markets. The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency has also warned consumers about increasingly sophisticated palm-oil adulteration and said market surveillance was being intensified. But there is an important point Nigerians should understand: viral videos and homemade experiments may raise an alarm, but they do not automatically prove that a particular product is dangerous. NAFDAC has stressed the importance of laboratory testing and regulatory investigation before claims about specific products are established as fact. distinction matters. The public deserves warnings when there is a genuine risk — but it also deserves evidence.The bigger problem Palm oil is only one part of the story.NAFDAC has reported concerns involving products ranging from food and beverages to cosmetics and medicines. The agency said it has seized or destroyed more than ₦1.5 trillion worth of fake and substandard products since 2023, according to its Director-General. That gap deserves serious attention. Fake products are also destroying legitimate businesses There is another victim in this crisis: the genuine manufacturer.A legitimate company spends money on research, production, workers, quality control, packaging, registration and compliance.A counterfeiter can imitate the product, exploit the established brand name and sell something cheaper.The consumer loses trust.The legitimate manufacturer loses money.And the counterfeit seller makes a profit.It is a business model built on somebody else’s reputation — and potentially somebody else’s health.Nigeria cannot normalise this . Nigeria already has regulations for recalling, handling and disposing of adulterated and unwholesome food products, including products affected by contamination, unsafe additives, adulteration and food fraud. NAFDAC The issue is whether enforcement, surveillance and coordination are keeping pace with the problem.A country should not require its citizens to become detectives every time they go shopping.Food should be food.Medicine should be medicine.A trusted brand should actually be what it claims to be.And when someone deliberately puts people’s health at risk for profit, the consequences should be serious enough to make the business of counterfeiting far less attractive.Because at some point, this stops being about fake products.It becomes a question of how much a human life is worth to the person selling them.