What began as a healthier lifestyle choice eventually raised questions the former vice-president said his family never expected to ask.
Former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has recounted how his wife, Dolapo, began experiencing frequent headaches while maintaining a daily habit of drinking freshly squeezed orange juice.
He spoke at the Open Day for Gardeners’ Seminar in Lagos on 28 August. The seminar, themed “Leaving the Earth Better Than We Found It”, formed part of the fifth edition of the Open Day for Gardeners, held at the Ecobank Pan African Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.
A video of his remarks was subsequently uploaded to his YouTube channel on Wednesday.
According to Mr Osinbajo, his wife had stopped drinking Coke, Fanta and other carbonated drinks many years earlier and had developed a habit of drinking a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice daily.
“Dolly, my dear wife, likes to have a full glass of freshly squeezed orange juice every day. A very healthy habit, by the way. And, you know, especially because she stopped drinking Coke, Fanta, or any of those carbonated drinks. She just stopped completely many years ago. And she would look at my own Coke-drinking habits, you know, with a lot of disapproval.
“I mean, look, you should be doing something healthy. But then, after a while, she started having some strange headaches, drinking her fresh juice every day. Very strange headaches,” he said.
The former vice-president said they initially did not suspect the orange juice because they considered it a healthy drink.
“Then she checked everything she was eating or drinking. We were wondering what could be the cause of this. Of course, it couldn’t possibly be the healthy orange juice.
“It must have been something else. But after nothing showed up, she sent one of her freshly squeezed orange juice batches to a lab for testing.
“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,” he said.
Mr Osinbajo did not disclose what the laboratory found in the orange juice.
Mr Osinbajo also raised concerns about substances some farmers and produce sellers use to treat fruits and vegetables.
He said some farmers use dangerous pesticides on fruits and vegetables, while some sellers use chemicals to ripen or preserve produce.
“Apparently, farmers use dangerous pesticides for fruit and vegetables, you know, and sellers, fruit sellers, vegetable sellers, use very dangerous chemicals, sometimes to ripen or preserve fruits and vegetables,” he said.
Mr Osinbajo specifically cited calcium carbide, which he said was frequently used to force fruits to change colour and appear ripe quickly.
“Calcium carbide is used very frequently to force fruits, such as bananas, mangoes, pawpaws and tomatoes, to change colour very quickly, to look ripe very quickly,” he said.
The former vice-president also cited studies which he said examined the use of chemicals by fruit and vegetable sellers in different parts of Nigeria.
“There was a study in 2024 in Ado-Ekiti. They found that half of the 20 fruit sellers interviewed, small study, admitted using calcium carbide,” he said.
“Another study in Uyo found that 25 per cent of fruit sellers used calcium carbide. These were the ones, of course, who said, who agreed that, yes, we do, 25 per cent.”
Mr Osinbajo also cited a 2023 Lagos survey involving 50 fruit and vegetable retailers.
“In Lagos here, there was a survey done in 2023. Fifty fruit and vegetable retailers in Lagos were surveyed.
“They just picked 50 of, you know, those who were selling fruit and vegetables. Twenty-two of them admitted to using chemicals to preserve the produce,” he said.
He went on to list substances he said were being used to preserve or ripen produce, including calcium carbide, Sniper, DDT and brodifacoum.
Mr Osinbajo warned consumers against assuming that produce was safe simply because it appeared fresh.
“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,” he said.
The former vice-president called for stronger regulation and enforcement, as well as greater public awareness about food safety.
He said farmers and traders should be educated about safer alternatives, while consumers should pay greater attention to the produce they buy.
“Consumers must learn to ask questions, wash produce properly, and report suspicious practices,” he said.
“One of the things I think we have to bear in mind all the time is that it is you and I, people like you and I, who take on these causes and campaign in our local communities and ensure that things change.”
