Filmmaker and actress Mary Njoku has publicly challenged the Director General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, over food safety and fake products in Nigeria. According to Kemi Filani News, she did so in a social media post, where she said she could never forget the laughter of the NAFDAC head during the food safety controversy.
What Mary Njoku said
Njoku asked whether Nigerians are really safe now, or whether the country is stuck in its familiar loop of public outcry without resolution. Her post, as quoted by Kemi Filani News, read:
"Good morning. How far with the NAFDAC mummy whose laughter during the food safety controversy I will never forget? Are we actually safe now? Or is this the usual Nigerian cycle where we cry out, nothing gets resolved, and bigger problems come along to bury the old ones? Someone, please update me. Have we illiterates finally earned the right to eat safely, or must we first acquire a PhD in food safety to compensate for the regulators?"
The NAFDAC interview behind the post
The report says her post followed an interview a few days earlier on Business Day TV. In it, Adeyeye reportedly described Nigerians as very ignorant, and tied some food safety problems to people's weak grasp of pesticide instructions and of what regulatory agencies are responsible for. The full interview was not among the supplied sources.
Reacting, Njoku accused the NAFDAC chief of pushing the weight of her job onto ordinary citizens. She asked whether Adeyeye was doing her work properly or waiting for the public to do it for her.
A pattern of public commentary
The report notes that Njoku, wife of Jason Njoku, has lately weighed in on several national and social issues. She lamented that Nigerians are growing so accustomed to bad news that they no longer expect anyone to be held accountable, with the internet moving from hashtags and outrage to demands for justice and then silence.
She also urged pastors to stop offering spiritual answers to problems that need practical action. During the Oyo State kidnapping of children, she wondered whether Nigerians have become numb to constant reports of banditry, kidnapping and insecurity.
On industry, the ROK Studios boss said sectors that should compete globally are trapped in a Nigeria-versus-Nigeria contest, with people tearing one another down over who becomes the local champion instead of building together. She also asked Lagos Lamborghini owners where they drive such cars given the city's traffic.
Commenting on the King Mitchy and VDM saga, she asked whether her generation can focus on what matters for its future, and whether people have collectively chosen distraction over direction. She further advised against yielding to outside pressure, saying that once someone has some fame or money, others start dictating how to live, and the same people can turn away when things go wrong. She urged people to stop outsourcing their happiness and to put themselves first, noting that life is short.
