By Taiye Olayemi
The Patriots for the Promotion of Black Culture Foundation (PPBCF) has urged government at all levels to encourage the development of traditional medicine for local use and export.
Prince Ayinla Oniru, founder,PPBCF, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos, said that every part of Nigeria is blessed with herbs to cure numerous ailments.
According to Oniru, traditional medicine is an aspect of African cultural heritage that must be developed for global acceptance.
He noted that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, which sought to bolster the economy by prioritising Universal Health Coverage aimed at adequately tackling Nigeria’s health challenges, had not been achieved.
According to Oniru, the Federal Government should take giant steps to invest in training local herb sellers.
He advised Nigeria’s traditional herb experts to engage in constant research to enable them standardise their expertise and align with international best practices.
“To develop traditional herbal medicine for local use and commercialisation, collaborations between modern medical practitioners and traditional medicine is quite important.
“African herbs are our heritage and we have not been able to tap from its ennormous potential.
“As a traditionalist, I can tell you that we are yet to tap from our huge herbal resources, there are many local leaves, sticks that are of immense health benefit which Africans are unconscious of.
“We have herbs capable of curing fibroid, asthma, arthritis and many other ailments but our government have a lot to do to open this space up.
“If the space is opened up, then we can generate the needed revenue from herbal medicine as a country,” he said.
Oniru noted that the greatest setback for the growth of herbal medicine was faith-based as many believe herbs contain some fetish substances.
The founder, who said this perspective was not true, however, cautioned local herb sellers to desist from cutting corners and extorting their clients.
He said that they should rather make deliberate efforts to minimise cost of these herbs to encourage patronage.
The traditionalist also said that people’s inordinate consumption of sweet substances keeps them in bondage of health challenges.
He, however, advised Nigerians to minimise consumption of sugary drinks to stay safe. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
