HERBAL MEDICINE AS A COURSE OF STUDY IN OUR SCHOOLS

Herbal Medicine Must Be Included In Our School Curriculum – Dr. Quincy

Dr. (Mrs) Quincy Sumbo Ayodele, the Medical Director of Quincy Herbal Slimmers, is one name in the Nigerian alternative health industry that has come to be one of authority in the herbal world, especially in the area of herbal slimming, her area of specialization. As a recognition of her prowess in the industry and her contributions to the enlightenment and uplift of herbal practitioners in the country, she was appointed the Secretary-General of National Association of Nigerian Traditional Medicine Practitioners, NANTMP, the umbrella body of all practitioners in Nigeria.
That is not all. Recently at the 2009 Herbfest, an annual herbal festival organized by the Federal Ministry of Health, held in Abuja, she was honoured with Special Recognition Award for the roles she has been playing in the development of herbal medicine in Nigeria.
In this interview with NNHO's editor, Dumbiri Frank Eboh, the herbal guru speaks on a wide range of issues as they affect the practice of herbal medicine in Nigeria and the way forward for the industry. She also sheds light on the function of NANTMP. Excerpts.

The State Of Nigerian Herbal Industry
The present state of the Nigerian herbal industry is definitely better than what it used to be. There is more awareness on the part of the masses who have now come to realize that natural medicines actually work. A lot of Nigerians now patronize herbal hospitals and use herbal products; they are getting better results from herbal medicines than from the orthodox. We, as practitioners, thank God for that. And we also thank the federal government for giving us a better recognition than they used to do, especially with the creation of the newly formed association, NANMTP, the umbrella body that is vested with the power to coordinate herbal practice in Nigeria. This has given us a lot of confidence that, for the first time in the history of herbal practice in the country, the government has given us a listening ear and has come out to support us in letting the masses know that herbal medicine is very effective.

Incursion Of Foreign Brands Into The Country
The Nigerian herbal market is now open to the world because of the awareness being created on the people. A lot of people have come to realize the potency of herbal medicines and with our population strength, the market is there for the products. Foreign manufacturers of herbal medicines have realized this. And because they are more technologically developed, they have the ability to mass produce; that is why they have massive presence in our market. That’s why our association came on board in the first place, we want to encourage practitioners to produce more so that they would not only dominate the local market but at the same time, export to other countries of the world. That’s one of our functions, and this goes a long way to generate foreign exchange for our country rather than foreigners coming to take our money to develop their countries. With the structures on ground, we will soon be producing Nigerian herbal medicines in Nigeria, made by Nigerians and exported .

Enlightening Illiterate Herbal Practitioners In Nigeria
NANMTP is for every herbal practitioner in Nigeria – whether illiterate or educated. We are carrying everybody along with us. The recently concluded Herbfest would let you know that NANTMP is not only for the educated. We want to do more of what the Chinese government is doing by making sure that both the educated and uneducated are given a chance to prove themselves. So long as you have the knowledge of herbal practice, you can be a member of the association. However, before you are admitted, you must pass our test. There are some laid down criteria we make them to go through before we take them as registered members. At the same time, our association has a plan to retrain them. We educate them in order to enhance their knowledge of the practice of herbal medicine.
That’s not all. We are also aligning with the federal government to open up schools and training centres for the uneducated practitioners in our midst and for upcoming young people that have interest in herbal medicine. We have the plan to see to it that herbal medicine is included in our school curriculum; even in JAMB, it should be included in their syllabus. This will make sure that on the long run, we have only educated experts in our midst. But right now, it’s for both the educated and the non-educated. We bring them in, train them up, teach them cleanliness, personal hygiene and every other thing that can enhance their practice.

About The Quincy Brand
We thank God for the lead position the Quincy brand has been enjoying since inception, in the Nigerian alternative health industry. The main thing is the vision. When we started, we had a vision; “If it is not Quincy, then it is not slimming”. It is a vision that has been with us and will continue to be with us because it has made us the leader in the Nigerian herbal slimming industry. Whatever it takes to make people slim down, we have it because we started herbal slimming in Nigeria. The vision was passed on to me, it is still with me and it will be passed on from generation to generation. That is why if it is not Quincy, it is not slimming because it is only at Quincy that you can have the real solution using herbal medication in such a way that the weight does not come back. At Quincy, we don’t keep our client for more than three months no matter how heavy that person is. You lose your weight and you don’t come back regaining the weight. We work on you, giving you the herbal medicine that is recommended by us. We train you, train your stomach, train your throat and teach you what and what you should be eating and doing even after leaving Quincy. That way, we make our own weight loss a lifetime affair for all our patients in such a way that they get used to it. This new lifestyle is so ingrained into them that, if they deviate, they feel guilty and retrace; they do not want to go back to the earlier lifestyle.
It’s not just about losing weight – anybody can do that – but maintaining it. It’s not everybody that can help you maintain it. That is what stands Quincy out.

The rest of the story is published in the hard copy edition. You can get a copy by calling the editor on 07031040178 or email: kimekwu2@gmail.com