Why Nigerians must stop using antibiotics without prescription, by Aisha Waziri Kidaji In Nigeria today, antibiotics are as common in homes as painkillers. Many people buy them from pharmacies, patent medicine stores, or even roadside vendors without a doctor’s prescription. Some take them for cough, catarrh, malaria, typhoid, or “just in case.” While this practice may seem harmless, it is quietly fuelling a major public health crisis, antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics are powerful medicines designed to treat bacterial infections. They do not work against viral infections such as the common cold, flu, or...