Danjuma
As many will recall, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) recently announced that it is leaving Nigeria after 51 years of doing business in the largest African market. This is a disturbing development as it can potentially set a crippling tone for other multinationals. The sad reality is that little or nothing has been done to ease the difficulty of doing business in Nigeria. The ever-increasing petrol and diesel prices, multiple taxation, epileptic power supply, rising interest rates, foreign exchange volatility, bureaucratic bottlenecks, extortive proclivities of some regulators, insecurity, and policy inconsistencies have all combined to stifle the growth and development of many industrial verticals with the health space not sparred.
Risk of mirror effect by other pharmaceutical companies: If GSK’s action is left unchecked, it may be mirrored by other pharmaceutical multinationals in Nigeria. The cumulative effect poses a great danger to the health sector and, by extension, our nation’s economy.
In the light of the aforementioned issues raised, permit me to canvass some workable solutions going forward.
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