Over 9,000 pharmacists have abandoned Nigeria in the four-and-a-half years leading up to December 2025. An additional 850 emigrated in the first half of 2026. These skilled professionals, critical to national health, are primarily relocating to Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, according to the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN).
The Exodus and Its Cost
This exodus represents a severe brain drain, deepening a worsening workforce crisis in Nigeria's pharmaceutical sector. ACPN National Chairman Pharm. Ezeh Ambrose Igwekamma warned Nigeria's pharmaceutical sector faces continued shortages of specialist pharmacists. This includes vital areas like hospital, clinical, manufacturing, community, public health, and pharmaceutical administration. The fortunes of the profession continue to plummet, Igwekamma stated, citing data from the PSN National Secretariat. This mass departure leaves the nation's health system vulnerable. It directly impacts the well-being of the Nigerian people.
Elite Failure and Supranational Burden
The crisis is exacerbated by a "not-too-impressive reward system" and a "poor drug distribution system" within Nigeria. National Drug Distribution Guidelines, enacted 11 years ago in 2015, aren't fully enforced. This results in undefined public drug procurement policies. ACPN insists establishing a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy is key to solving the crisis. Currently, only the West Africa Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP) handles this training at a sub-regional level. Nigeria disproportionately funds the WAPCP, covering over 95 percent of its subsidy gap in foreign exchange. Most other countries, including Ghana, have abandoned the WAPCP for their own national colleges. This leaves Nigeria to shoulder the burden of this supranational institution. Igwekamma called on governments at all levels to confront structural deficiencies affecting pharmacy practice and national drug control.
Reclaiming National Sovereignty
ACPN urges the federal government to undertake sweeping reforms. These include amending the nation's fake drug law to impose stiffer penalties. They also advocate for establishing a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy and creating a Drug Management Agency. This agency would strengthen medicine distribution across the country. The proposed Drug Management Agency would institutionalize the Drug Revolving Fund system through legislation. This would streamline public procurement and distribution of medicines through a central pool. The National Council on Health resolved about 2 years ago, in December 2024, that all public procurement of medicines should use the Drug Revolving Fund. This requires clearer legislative backing. ACPN calls for 20 years’ imprisonment for first offenders of fake drug laws. They want life imprisonment with asset forfeiture for subsequent offenders. Existing sanctions are too weak to deter charlatans and discourage investors. The 2018 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime national survey, citing 2017 findings, revealed extensive abuse of psychoactive substances across Nigeria. More than 21 million Nigerians are abusing various substances, according to United Nations records. ACPN attributes this persistence to dysfunctional family environments, youth unemployment, poverty, peer influence, and inadequate public awareness. These reforms aim to raise a pool of skilled pharma experts for the next level of the "great nation they seek to build," as Igwekamma put it. This is a clear call for national self-determination in healthcare.