Nigerians are increasingly exposed to dangerous antibiotic and pesticide residues in meat, vegetables, eggs and fish, fueling antimicrobial resistance that experts warn is killing tens of thousands yearly and worsening into a national health emergency.
A Daily Trust investigation reveals that widespread misuse of antibiotics in livestock farming and unregulated agrochemical use in crop production are contaminating Nigeria’s food supply, weakening the effectiveness of vital medicines, and contributing to tens of thousands of antimicrobial-resistance (AMR) deaths each year. Officials and experts—from the NCDC, WHO, the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development and others—warn that AMR in Nigeria has reached a level of “urgency,” with multi-drug and pan-drug resistant pathogens now prevalent, hospital outbreaks rising, and children and the elderly most at risk.
Farmers often self-administer antibiotics to animals without observing withdrawal periods, while many crop pesticides also drive resistance, despite regulations banning such practices. As experts call for stricter enforcement, better surveillance, public awareness and responsible antimicrobial use, they caution that without coordinated national action, AMR will continue to “steal health and hope from current and future generations.”