Now, can somebody tell me the difference between what this herbal
tea seller described above is doing from what the many Nigerian girls hawking
bottles of herbal brews popularly called “agbo” are doing? Well, the difference
might be in the fact that the Chinese herbal concoctions are masterfully
packaged and marketed. In fact, even our elite are proud to consume them. But
in contrast, our own herbal solutions are perceived as dirty and dangerous to
health; and no member of the elite would like to be seen patronising any of
those “agbo” sellers. But the irony is that Nigeria, and indeed Africa, has
more raw materials for these herbal medicines than China and all other
developed nations. We are blessed with so many bioresources that it is a pity
to think of the money we are missing in the global herbal medicine market,
estimated to be worth over $100bn. For the sake of definition, herbalism
(commerce in herbs) means the growth, collection, and sale or dispensing of
aromatic herbs, especially those considered to have medicinal properties.
It even goes beyond just herbalism; orthodox medicine depends on
herbs. According to the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency, it is
estimated that about 25 per cent of the drugs prescribed worldwide are derived
from plants, and such active compounds are in use. Of the total 252 drugs in
World Health Organisation’s essential medicine list, 11 per cent is exclusively
of plant origin. Nearly 80 per cent of African and Asian populations depend on
traditional medicines for their primary health care. In Nigeria, more than 80
per cent of the rural population use medicinal herbs or indigenous systems of
medicine. A comprehensive review of African medicinal plants listed more than
2,000 plant species that are used in traditional medical practice in various
parts of the continent. These rich arrays of plant species notwithstanding,
Nigeria, like most other African countries, plays very insignificant roles in
the estimated herbal medicine global trade. Laughably, China not only gives us
technology now, they give us herbs too.
So, to mimic the popular Nigerian lawyers’ catchphrase, “First
thing we do, let us kill all the (Nigerian) herbalists!” Well, it is also
important to point out that the origin of the expression is in William
Shakespeare’s book, “Henry VI”, where Dick the Butcher stated in Part II, Act
IV, Scene II, Line 73, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
Dick the Butcher was a follower of the rebel, Jack Cade, who thought that if he
disturbed law and order, he could become king. Shakespeare meant it as a
compliment to attorneys and judges who instill justice in society. On the same
hand, I recognise the importance of herbalists in our world, and it is high
time we utilised our own herbalists to attract some foreign currencies to
Nigeria, and also to create the much-needed jobs.
Interestingly, earlier this year, the Minister of Health, Prof.
Onyebuchi Chukwu, disclosed that the ministry was working on the integration of
traditional medicine practice into medical school curriculum in Nigerian
universities. Against this background, it is noteworthy to remember that
traditional medicine practitioners in Nigeria have been clamouring for formal
recognition and acceptance just like the orthodox medicine practitioners.
Therefore, at a first glance, this move by the Federal Government would seem
like the veritable jump-start needed to push the country into a herbal medicine
revolution. However, when we consider the fact that the Nigeria Natural
Medicine Development Agency, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, has
been in existence since 1997, we can see that the Minister of Health’s plans
might just be another manifestation of the unfortunate Nigerian federal fiscal
waste syndrome, where a lot of moves are made without any action.
To be sure, the mandate of the NNMDA reads thus: “This is
to enable government through the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology to
actualise its critical and strategic mandate to research, develop, collate,
document, preserve, conserve and promote the nation’s indigenous (traditional)
health care systems, medication and non- medication healing arts, sciences and
technologies and assist facilitate its integration into the National Health
care Delivery System, as well as contribute to the nation’s wealth and job
creation, socio-economic growth and development effort.” From this, it is
obvious that, had the agency, and in fact the Federal Ministry of Science and
Technology, been carrying out its gazetted functions creatively and
proactively, the nation would have by now become a major exporter of herbal
products. This is because we have all the raw materials, natural and human,
needed to attain any global height in herbal medicine practice, also known as
alternative medicine.
Granted, in developed countries there are schools and
colleges that offer courses in alternative medicine; the practitioners have the
title of Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine in front of their names. In 16
American states and six Canadian provinces, for example, the title refers
exclusively to a medical degree granted by an accredited naturopathic medical
school. But I do not think this is the time for Nigeria to complicate issues by
incorporating traditional medicine into its medical schools’ curriculum. The
poor students are already burdened with enough study modules and materials
while struggling under our peculiar harsh academic environment; they do not
need extra herbal lessons. What our government can do is to create special
medical schools, or/and special degrees, for natural medicine practice; and
then establish a comprehensive linkage with the NNMDA, which is basically a
research agency. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and
Control will then effectively team up with them in order to bring sanity to the
herbal medicine sub-sector.
By Greg Odogwu
