Evidently, while the rest of the world have continued to tap the
gains of traditional medicine in boosting healthcare and their economies,
Nigeria has unfortunately continued to drag her feet on exploring the vast
potentials of this vital alternative to western medicine. In this report, the
duo of Jimoh Bashir and Rowland 'Shuwa explores
issues militating against herbal practice in the country and the way forward.
There is no gainsaying
the fact that long before the advent of the European rule, Nigerians relied
solely on indigenous medicine which was peculiar to each culture, and so there
was no uniformed traditional medicine in the country.
The oracle was an
established source of investigations to the ill health of the people and the
solutions. This practice is pervasive and it influences all activities. No
wonder, despite all the challenges it has faced it is still in practice till
date.
But this ancient
medical system was riddled with so many misconceptions, half-truths and
outright fallacy.
Apart from this, our
health system, which is closely knitted in the belief system of the people was
largely bedeviled by ignorance and superstitions. Practitioners were unkempt
and the herbal concoctions were dished out without measure and in utter
disregard to hygiene.
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| An olden day typical herbal practitioner |
In taking over the
health sector market in Africa, orthodox medicine took no prisoners and the
locals were more than helpful in ditching their age-long health practice which
had helped to keep them alive for centuries. It got so bad that in a gazette in
1974, oral herbal medicine was banned in the country. This dealt a death blow
to traditional medicine and greatly affected the practice for many years after.
However, looking
around in present day Nigeria, the array of ailments bedeviling us and the
seeming helplessness of orthodox medicine is gradually returning the people
back to the roots. And this renaissance is not limited to the country, it cuts
across the world.
 |
| Professor Paul Ojo Fatoba |
Prof. Fatoba, who
disclosed that majority of Nigerians patronize traditional medicine explained
that it is cheaper and more effective than orthodox medicine. He however,
reasoned that the reason many people are against it is because of religion.
In his words, “there
are so many diseases that cannot be treated in orthodox way except herbal
medicine is used. But I want to say here, when you are talking about herbal
medicine, there are two things that are different that we do mix together and
that is why some religious people would say it’s not right.
“In the Bible, the
book of Genesis says that plants were created for humans and for our
usefulness, health and life. God instructed that we use them in curing and
maintaining our health. So, it’s not against the Bible. But however, because
some plants have mystical power… that is when you now conjure. When you are
conjuring, or you are bringing incantations into it that is where some people
say you are going the other way.
“But when you put this
plant and that one together, squeeze them together, make infusion and drink it,
you have not introduced anything, no extraneous materials. Or you go ahead and
cut the bark, the leaves of a plant and put them into earthen pot and boil, its
concoction. You have not sinned. That is normal. Every plant is medicinal. It
depends on the knowledge you have about it. Even food is medicinal. And plant
is the primary food.”
He explained further
that religionists reject the spiritual aspect of traditional medicine because
it is in variance to their beliefs.
While affirming
that spiritual attacks do exist, the professor stated that no medical school
teaches how to combat spiritual attacks, and so most orthodox doctors rarely
spot a spiritual attack when it is presented to them in form of illness and so
don’t know how to solve most of the spiritual issues that confronts the
people.
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| Dr. Olukunmi Lanre Olaitan |
Speaking in the same
vein, the Acting Head of Department, Health Promotion and Environmental Health
Education in the University of Ilorin, Dr. Olukunmi Lanre Olaitan attested to
the efficacy of herbal practice.
“As an individual,
judging with what is happening in Canada, I am aware that there is Comparative
Alternative Medicine (CAM) in Canada –and it is approved by the government of Canada.
They work at par with the orthodox medical practitioners over there, in fact,
they complement.
“When you are sick in
Canada, you can decide to go to CAM instead of going for orthodox medicine.
They have their nursing homes too. But in that place, it is being regulated.
You have prescription, unlike here. If we upgrade it to the level of regulation
here, if they combine them, it will go a long way to help the health care
system of Nigeria, because there is a course we offer in this Department. We call
it Comparative Healthcare System.
“This is to look at
orthodox medicine and the alternative medicine – where they meet, and how they
can complement or help each other. So, if truly we say some of the traditional
medicines are working, by the time we combine the two, we have two good things
that are working. It will help us in Nigeria,” he said.
In a recent interview
with BusinessLine, a member of the Board of Directors
of the Sami Group, and Marketing Director, Sabinsa Corporation, New Jersey,
Shaheen Majeed disclosed that the world herbal trade has grown to $120 billion
and is expected to reach $7 trillion by 2050.
Also, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has adopted a strategy to promote traditional medicines
between 2014 and 2023 that aims to support member states in developing
proactive policies and implement plans to strengthen the role of traditional
medicine in the health sector.
This renewed interest
in trado-medicine might be hinged on the fact that it has a lot of potential in
arresting most of the ailments especially in sub-Sahara Africa that orthodox
medicine does not have a cure for.
But unfortunately,
while other neigbouring African countries like South Africa, Ghana and Morocco
have developed and maintained institutional mandates to fast track the
co-ordination of research and development, promotion and documentation of
traditional medicine, Nigeria is still blind to the promotion of traditional
medicine.
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| Local Agbo seller |
Thus, Nigeria, which
is blessed with rich natural vegetation, many of which are unique to our clime
and found nowhere else in the world, has not shown sufficient commitment to the
promotion of trado- medicine or tapping into its vast revenue potentials. For
instance, the traditional medicine bill which has been gathering dust in the
National Assembly since 2006 and has not seen the light of day is gradually
becoming an antiquity in the Hallowed Chambers.
The bill which sought
to protect traditional medicine and regulate access to genetic resources, when
passed into law, would among other things, lead to the establishment of
traditional knowledge and genetic resources management board to grant
authorization for the exploitation of genetic resources and associated
knowledge.
But as government
continues to show apathy to the promotion of trado-medicine, practitioners have
resulted to self-help by forming groups and associations to boost their
practice. Phytotherapist Association of Nigeria (PAN), Iwarefa New Dimension
and Association of Traditional Medicine Practitioners, (ATMP) are some of the
leading associations promoting trado-medicine practice in the country and in
Kwara in particular.
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| Chief (Dr.) Abdulwahab Okunrinlol’Orun |
In an interview with Witty
Virtual News recently, the President of Iwarefa New Dimension, who is
also the National Coordinator for Phytotherapist Association of Nigeria (PAN)
and the Vice Chairman of Kwara State Association of Traditional Medicine
Practitioners, (ATMP), Chief (Dr.) Abdulwahab Okunrinlol’Orun disclosed that,
“We decided to come together to assist one another as practitioners of
traditional medicine. We aim to build a closely knitted family of traditional
medicine practitioners that will help one another to solve some of the teething
ailments confronting the country.”
Speaking on the
differences between traditional and orthodox medicine, Chief Abdulwahab, who is
also the CEO, Okunrinlol’Orun Trado-Medical Herbal Home argued that while
traditional medicine is indigenous to us, orthodox medicine is alien and should
only be used to improve our indigenous medicine.
“Every country or
society has peculiar disease or ailments exclusive to them. What foreigners use
to cure the ailments in their place is what they introduced to us here, called
orthodox medicine. And that is why they will tell you most of these orthodox
medicines don’t cure some ailments totally. But our own traditional medicines
can do that totally without any side effects unlike orthodox medicine”.
Buttressing this,
Prof. Fatoba explained that, “orthodox medicine has side effects, and that is
why they will always caution you not to take more than the prescribed dose. If
it is safe, you can take more at a time. Orthodox medicine only suppresses
ailments, and do not cure it. The side effects are more dangerous and why?
Herbal medicine is organic materials and they are bio-degradable, because the
life span will break at a point. But for the orthodox medicine, it will
continue to store in the body.
“On the other hand,
the after effects of orthodox medicines remain and form into tissues and
remains in the body. When you take your drug, though it will solve the problem
to a level, but again, the side effect is there, because they are synthetic
materials.
“How do they get it?
Everything is from plant, basically from plant. Once they use a plant, and it
is effective against a disease, they go to the laboratory to find out which of
the substances that is active. When they get it they synthesize it, put starch
and put small active element into it, which we swallow as drug.”
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| Dr. (Alfa) Abubakar Sadauki ‘Mark One-One’ |
Speaking in the same
vein, the CEO, Sadauki Mark-One-One Enterprises, Dr. (Alfa) Ibrahim Abubakar
Sadaoki ‘Mark One-One’ lamented that Nigerians don’t value what they have.
While affirming the contribution of orthodox medicine to the development of the
nation’s health system, Alfa Sadaoki frowned at the overdependence of the
country on orthodox medicine at the detriment of trado-medicine.
“Before the arrival of
Europeans, our forefathers took care of themselves and others with roots, barks
and leaves. No matter the aliment, they took care of it with the natural gift
of God through herbs. But with civilization, we threw all these away. And most
of the orthodox medicines as we know have side effects, because of the
chemicals they use.
“In China, most of the
supplements they bring to us here is their own traditional medicine in their
country. Even the orthodox medicines we use here are traditional in some ways
but synthesized not the natural way,” he said.
Alfa Sadaoki, who is a member of Phytotherapist Association of Nigeria (PAN) and Iwarefe New Dimension further disclosed that he established his herbal home as a way of preserving the rich values of traditional medicine which is gradually been forgotten. “We are throwing away valuable things; we have lost some of our potent traditional medicine through the death of our forefathers and their inability to teach their children because of civilization. This is what I want to preserve by establishing my own herbal home.”
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| Alhaji Hassan Adebayo (Baba Koriko) |
“This is also
applicable to our traditional medicine where we treat people with barks, roots,
leaves and other supplements. Traditional medicine is well recognized by the
World Health Organisation (WHO), and if given the right support by the relevant
authorities, traditional medicine can cure any disease that defies solution in
orthodox way and cures it permanently too.
“Traditional medicine
is a wide range, as we have bone setters, traditional birth attendants and
others, all of whom deals in barks, leaves and roots. According to available
reports, 95 per cent of pregnant women in Nigeria visit traditional healing
homes, despite that they go for ante-natal care at the hospitals. A lot of our
people believe in this practice so much.”
On the acceptability
of herbal medicine in the country, Alfa Sadaoki disclosed that the availability
of herbal medicine and the high volume of patients patronizing it have
contributed to the reduction of patients on sick beds.
He explained that
although people complain that herbal medicine doesn’t have dosage, yet they
continue to patronize the local agbo seller. While stating
that people are well informed about herbal medicine, he disclosed that orthodox
medicine only suppress some infections like gonorrhea but after six months or
thereabout, it will grow again.
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| Mr Abdulrasheed Adeoye Adepoju Goje |
On his part, Mr.
Abdulrasheed Adeoye Adepoju Goje, a banker turned traditional healer, lamented
that Africans relied on western countries to cure some indigenous ailments like
malaria, which is a major disease in Africa whereas most of the local
traditional practitioners have the natural herbal solutions to cure it.
He said the inability
of leaders to look inwards and identify the many potent potentials God had
deposited in nature has made it impossible to tap into these hidden potentials.
He explained that since his return to herbal practice, it has been a great
blessing to him, his immediate family and friends.
“In my own little
corner, I have tried to impact so many lives through this practice but I
believe that with unity and government intervention, we will be able to do more
and in the nearest future. We may even export our traditional medicine.”
All the traditional
healers who spoke to Witty Virtual News agreed that for the
practice to grow and become well accepted by all and sundry, government must be
ready to make policies that will encourage people to patronize
traditionalists.
They disclosed that
high blood pressure, diabetes, ulcer, typhoid, malaria and gonorrhea are some
of the most common ailments confronting members of the society presently,
stressing that they have been treating these aliments easily with herbal
medicine. They attested that these aliments are better tackled with herbal
medicine as it is more effective and cheaper.
They opined that the
Federal Government needs to assist traditional medicine practitioners in order
to grow, and to practice their trade in line with orthodox medicine practice.
They also appealed to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and
Control (NAFDAC) not to be too harsh on them pointing out that a
baby does not grow in a day. They sought for ample opportunity to grow, so that
as to prepare their products in line with orthodox practice.
The practitioners
further stated that a lot of them have done thorough research, attended
seminars and workshops on how to prepare and package products. According to
them the usual allegation that they don’t have measurements for their products
is a bygone as some of them are qualified doctors, lawyers and knowledgeable.
They therefore appealed to governments at all levels to assist them.
Stressing the need for
government to be proactive in supporting traditional medicine, Chief Abdulwahab
Okunrinlol’Orun explained that associations have made many efforts to educate
government on the vast potentials inherent in the practice to no avail. He
lamented that governments, both federal and state, is fixated with oil revenue
and does not seem ready to explore other means
He said, “We use barks, leaves and roots; they can support us to have Botanical Garden, where we have various herbs, roots and leaves which we normally use. We can also export some of these. Also, government can regulate and monitor our products and also export some of them. Government can generate resources through these ways.”
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| Herbal ingredients |
Buttressing this, Baba
Koriko stated that they have held series of meeting with the supervising
Ministry, the Ministry of Health on the way forward. He stated that herbal
practitioners need Botanical Garden, to preserve barks, roots and leaves which can
also be a source of revenue for the government too. He also said there is need
for laboratories and other equipment, for practitioners to do various tests.
While supporting the need for government to create a botanical garden for herbal practice, Mr. Goje pointed out that indiscriminate bush burning and deforestation has endangered much of the medicinal plants.
He stated that, “the
major raw materials in herbal practice are leaves, barks and roots and these
are what make up a forest. So, deforestation is a major threat to our practice
and many potent medicinal plants are gradually going into extinction due to
this unfortunate occurrence. So we plead with government to come to our rescue
in this regard."
But giving an
evaluation of the state government’s efforts in the promotion of herbal
practice, the State Coordinator of Herbal Health unit at the Ministry of
Health, Ilorin, Mr. Tunde Lawal explained that since his appointment on July
20, 2016 he had tried all within his power to bring practitioners together
under one umbrella.
He stated that he
discovered that problems such as leadership tussle, disunity, illiteracy, lack
of internal democracy and failure to key into government policies were some of
the teething challenges facing the practice.
Mr. Lawal however,
disclosed that after series of town hall interactions with the different
associations the issue of leadership tussle was resolved, cross fertilization
of ideas was introduced among practitioners, unity among practitioners was
improved and there was increased in participation in government policies from
20% to 65% as at 2016. He said due to series of activities participation has
now increased to 85%.
 |
| Mrs. Roseline Ajayi |
In her part, a Deputy
Director and State Coordinator, NAFDAC in Kwara state, Mrs. Roseline Ajayi
disclosed that government is already doing much to encourage and motivate
traditional medicine practitioners to grow.
"The National
Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is a federal
agency under the Federal Ministry of Health that is responsible for regulating
and controlling the manufacture, importation, exportation, advertisement,
distribution, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices,
chemicals and packaged water in Nigeria," she said.
The State Coordinator who gave a summary of the mandate of the agency told Witty Virtual News that the agency registers herbal products and that the requirements are not exactly the same thing as orthodox medicine except for those who are big enough to undergo it.
The State Coordinator who gave a summary of the mandate of the agency told Witty Virtual News that the agency registers herbal products and that the requirements are not exactly the same thing as orthodox medicine except for those who are big enough to undergo it.
According to her,
because government wants to encourage those starting small they are allowed to
do a sort of temporary registration so as to encourage them. She explained that
this temporary registration is called listing and all this requires are a hygienic
environment and vessels to process the products. The product must also carry a
disclaimer saying, ‘This claims have not been evaluated by NAFDAC.’
In her words, “For
herbal preparations, we need a dedicated premise –the reason is, we want to be
sure the preparations and packaging are done in hygienic environments. We want
to be sure the premise is safe from external interference that can bring
contamination of one form or the other.
"Again, we also
want to be sure that the facilities they are using are standard. We don’t want
the use of mortal in the house to do some grinding and blending because the
particles of the mortal can be transferred into the product.
“There is also
requirement for the type of vessels we want them to use. Our requirement is that,
it should be stainless steel vessels. They can improvise -not necessarily
imported ones. It should not be something that can react or absorb. All the
containers must be stainless steel, to avoid contamination.
“And there are some
documents too, that are required. One of the documents is that, we expect the
applicant to have Corporate Affairs certification. This is because NAFDAC is a
corporate entity. We will not deal with an individual but a corporate entity.
They must have corporate image. We also expect the applicant to have a batch
formulation.
“We also expect the
applicant to have a brand name. Both the Corporate Affairs certification and
the trade mark for the brand name is not processed in NAFDAC, but it’s our
requirement for dealing with any applicant.”
Mrs. Ajayi however
disclosed that where the agency usually has problems with traditional medicine
practitioners is with batch formulation as they will not want to disclose their
batch formulation for fear of it been replicated by someone else.
She explained that the
reluctance of practitioners to disclosed their ingredients on the ground that
they inherited the recipe from their ancestors and will not want another person
to replicate it. She stated that the agency tries as much as possible to assure
them of the safety of their formula because, “If you are not ready to tell us
what you have mixed together to arrival at your product then it is a bit
difficult. This is because, whatever you have claimed to use will be subjected
to laboratory test. Whether your product will pass the test or not depends on
what you have mixed together and the quality of each agent if it corresponds
then it can go. But if it does not correspond it can’t.
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| A local herb seller with his wares |
“If you make a claim,
and we verify it in our laboratory and it fails, we will communicate you;
invite you and brainstorm together, after which you can re-present. We call it
compliant directive. The fact that a product fails lab test does not close the
case. It can be re-presented,” she said.
According to the Kwara
State Coordinator of NAFDAC, another challenge faced in registering herbal
products is the level of education of some of the practitioners. She said most
of them are illiterates and not ready to go through the processes no matter how
simple it is made.
She mentioned the
inability of most of the practitioners to separate herbal drugs from
spirituality as another teething problem faced in registering some herbal
products. “They will tell you that their drug needs some incantations. And we
don’t have laboratory to determine the efficacy of incantations.
“Our own is purely
science. They will say that they will use incantation to invoke certain spirits
for the drug to work. We are scientists, and so, the evidence has to be
scientific. We don’t do spiritual analysis here.
“Another very
important issue is that they will tell you one drug cures many diseases. Some
will list up to 28 conditions that it can cure. That’s another very big
challenge that we have. Some of them go to the extent of buying orthodox drugs
like man-power, blend it and put it in a solution and tell you it’s their
product,” she disclosed.
While stressing the
need for practitioners to up their game by adding value to what they are doing
she pointed out that Chinese products were once at the same level Nigerian
herbal products are presently but because they subjected themselves to the
regulations and requirements of the government they have been able to soar.
Mr. Goje agreed that
practitioners have a long way to go and is of the view that practitioners need
to continue to up their game for the profession to become generally accepted by
all and sundry.
He explained that as a
practitioner his desire in life is to revolutionalize the industry and make it
more attractive. According to him, one of the reasons why practitioners don’t
have public acceptance is because they are too crude. He stated that his plan
is to see how he can modernize roots and barks for the cure of mankind.
While agitating for a
central control for practitioners, he reasoned that the bane of any
organization is quacks and how the system deals with such misnomer. “Although
not having a body to regulate and monitor traditional medicine practitioners
has greatly affected us but as individuals and groups we need to set standards
for ourselves and be strict with quacks.
“It is an open secret
that citizens usually opt for self help in this country. So I believe that with
the little half hearted assistance that the government is giving us we need to
reinvent ourselves, study hard and be more scientific in our approach then and
only then will we be taken serious.
“Quacks will destroy
the little confidence people have in us, remember word of mouth travels faster
than anything so I believe that if we truly focused on our work and are united
government will be forced to reckon with us. Even all this media hype by
traditional doctors will not be necessary because that is one area that quacks
have hijacked to propagate themselves,” he said.
On his part, Professor
Fatoba believes that the get-rich syndrome militating against the society is
the reason for the proliferation of quacks in the profession. He frowned at
people who come into traditional healing with the mindset of making quick money
stressing that the profession is one of service to humanity.
But Baba Koriko
disclosed that efforts are ongoing in the associations in order to curb quacks
and ensure professionalism. According to him, “there is no job that does not
have entry requirements. For us, you must be educated a bit, and you must be
recommended by a member. You have to go through our training tests,
irrespective of whether you inherit the practice or not. After that, if you
pass, the Board of Trustees will issue you certificate of proficiency. And we
also conduct seminars and trainings for our members as regards our practice. We
also have Task Force in place, to check the activities of quacks and dubious
people.”
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| Divination |
Speaking on the
spiritual branch of traditional medicine, Baba Koriko disclosed that hypocrisy
and fear of rivalry is what makes most people to detest the spiritual branch of
the practice. According to him just like bone setters, birth attendants and
other branch of the practice exist so does spiritualists. “The funny thing is,
Pastors and Alfas belong in this group as they use water or oil to heal people.
Some of us use only incantations to cure people. It’s all spiritual. We also
have faith healing, for example, for snake or scorpion bite, they will just use
incantation to bring out the poison. We also do that with victims of gun shots,
but you must have a police report for us to do that,” he said.
On his part, Dr. Olaitan
believes that the spiritual aspect of traditional medicine is the main reason
why most Nigerians shy away from patronizing it. While disclosing that
Nigerians are religious but not godly he expressed doubt on the total
acceptance of the spiritual aspect of traditional medicine.
He explained further
that the believe of most people that traditional medical practitioners belong
to cults, even if they don’t, also contribute in no small manner to making some
avoid treatment with herbal medicine.
Speaking on the
effectiveness of herbal medicine, Alfa Sadauki stated that some ailments like
sickle cell can be cured with herbal medicine. He disclosed that he has a drug
that cleans and renews the blood and kill the germs and within six months the
condition will be corrected. He lamented that when there were no machines to
tell blood groups our forefathers still lived long but now that there are
different gadgets life expectancy is low.
On his apart, Chief
Okunrinlol’Orun who said aliments that orthodox practitioners believes can
never be cured are numerous issued a challenge to government and orthodox
doctors over the claim.
He stated: “Apart from
sickle cell the aliments that medical doctors say cannot be cured are numerous,
even diabetes. They say it can only be managed and cannot be cured. But we do
cure it. They can throw up a challenge on all the ailments they feel cannot be
cured and we will be happy about it. Why do we have a Teaching Hospital, is it
not to train upcoming doctors on how to treat people. It’s a 50-50 thing on any
treatment. It’s like experiment they should take up the challenge.”
 |
| Dr. Obalowu Ismail Aberi |
In his reaction, Dr.
Obalowu Ismail Aberi, Consultant Family Physician and Integrative Oncologist
described herbal medicine as, “a folklore medical practices passed on from
generations to generations. It is a form of alternative medical system, and it
is regional and ethno cultural designed. Most traditional medical practices
lacked adequate scientific proof of efficacy but are widely accepted and
trusted by people in the practice area. The most developed traditional medical
systems in the world is the Traditional Chinese medicine.”
He disagreed with the
general notion of the efficacy of traditional medicine to cure some aliments
which orthodox medicines can only mange.
He however, agreed
with the allegation that orthodox doctors are against the recognition of herbal
medicine in Nigeria stressing that, “most orthodox doctors have reservation on
the way traditional medical practices are done in Nigeria because of the negative
effects usually associated with them. The new trend is to understand their
practices, encourage the good ones and condemn the deleterious ones.”
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| Add caption |
On how both herbal and orthodox medicine can complement each other so as to give an all round robust healthcare to the citizens, the Acting Head of Department, Health Promotion and Environmental Health Education in the University of Ilorin believes that since most herbal medicine has gone through laboratory test and certified okay by the relevant authorities, they should be absorbed by the orthodox system.
However, he is of the
view that it might be difficult as orthodox medical practitioners may be
skeptical about the merger since they are trained and their treatment process
is regulated and standardized and they will need to be convinced on why they
need traditional medicine.
Dr. Olaitan however,
pointed that issues like cancer and HIV/AIDS should make them to come together
as it is done in other climes since traditional medicine is believed to have a cure
for all these aliments. He however, disclosed that the merger is already
working in some aspects like bone-setting as orthopedic surgeons easily refer
patients to traditional bone setters.
In his words, “The
issue of kidney disease that makes people go for medical tourism abroad, most
of our money now is landing in India, because that’s where Nigerians now go for
treatment. But if they have the ones that are working, I believe combination
therapy will work more than monotherapy. For years, orthodox medicine don’t
have cure for AIDS, cancer, diabetes and others but traditionalists will tell
you all these ailments have been affecting our forefathers and they have been
treating them. Don’t you think our orthodox medicine is not complete, so to
say?”
Buttressing this,
Professor Fatoba disclosed that orthodox medical practitioners need to do away
with pride and embrace traditional medicine so as to make their work more
effective. He explained that though orthodox practitioners carry out surgery
for bone fractures and fibroid this is not so in traditional medicine.
He opined that
orthodox medicine is a palliative measure to manage an ailment as it does not
cure completely like the traditional medicine and stressed the need for the
government to take a definitive stand. He pointed out that until we integrate
the two into our system Nigerians will continue to suffer. He however stressed
the need to ensure serious monitoring of some traditional practitioners who
might want to take advantage of the situation.
According to him,
“Many of these pregnant women that have complications in the hospitals and go
through operations before they deliver, it can be taken care of in the herbal
way without the operation. Depending on the disease, treatment in the traditional
way is better, but for Nigeria to move forward there should be the
harmonization of the two. The two should work together.
But what is killing
us? Who will be the master? A good medical doctor will have to dance to the
tune of nurses at the hospitals. The nurses, most of them, combine the two,
especially those involved in child birth.
If the two groups of
personnel are lumped together, Nigeria will benefit economically. Government
has something to do on that. They should bring about legislations that will
bring the two parties together. It is possible.”
Speaking on the
relationship between traditional healers and orthodox practitioners, The CEO of
Okunrinlol’Orun Trado-Medical Herbal Home disclosed that there are some aspects
that are outside the purview of his herbal home and these are referred to the
hospital.
According to him, his
herbal home does not carry out surgery nor carry out some tests. He stated that
these and others are referred to orthodox practitioners but lamented that this
gesture is not reciprocated by orthodox practitioners.
But Dr. Obalowu Ismail
Aberi who identified collaboration between orthodox doctors and the traditional
medical practitioners as a way of developing the healthcare system believes
that the best way for traditional medicine to be developed to world standards
is by incorporating it and other alternative medical systems into the teaching
of medical doctors in their undergraduate training and setting up research
institutes that will be focused on research and development of local herbs and
remedies.
As the country
continues to look for alternative sources of income to oil in boosting our
economy it might be beneficial to look the way of traditional medicine as the
actual practice is unique and can be exported. Also, the potentials of
medicinal plants can be harnessed.
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