(Being the conclusion of the interview - started yesterday - between Nigeria Natural Health Online's editor, Dumbiri Frank Eboh and the MD/CEO of Quincy Herbal Slimmers, Dr Mrs Quincy Olasunbo Ayodele who is also a WHO expert in the development of African traditional medicine. In this segment, Dr Ayodele speaks on the apathy of African governments to the practice of traditional medicine in the continent. She also makes the shocking revelation of how Nigerian herbal practitioners sell their formulas to foreign companies because they cannot afford the capital requirement of regulatory agencies.)
What is the present crop of leadership of the national association of Nigerian traditional medicine practitioners (NANTMP) and how have they being pushing the cause of traditional medicine in Nigeria?
As you well know, I was
the pioneer secretary – general of NANTMP and when I was on seat, we put a lot
of things in place. We worked with NAFDAC to make sure that herbal medicines
are registered correctly. We also work with Advertising Practitioners Council Of
Nigeria (APCON) to make sure that there were no more spurious claims by practitioners.
We worked with a lot of government agencies. All that happened when I was on
seat; right now, I have moved up. I am now a WHO
expert in the development of African traditional medicine. I’m sure the current
executives of NANTMP are there doing what they can do. They must be able to
tell us how far they have gone. And we are waiting for them to tell us what
they have done. But as a herbal medicine practitioner in Nigeria, I want to use
this opportunity to appeal to Nigerian government to pass the Traditional
Medicine bill into law. When I was the secretary - general of NANTMP, we had a
lot of practitioners registered. So the professionals are there, the plants are
there and we are ready. The Nigerian Herbal Medicine Industry is ready for
commercialization but what is delaying us now is the traditional medicine bill
which the Nigerian government is yet to pass into law. If that bill is passed,
it will augur well both for the practitioners and the economy. We would be
exporting our herbal medicine and thereby earn good foreign exchange for the
country because there is money in traditional medicine.
Recently, the Nigerian government announced that it was introducing herbal medicine as a course of study in Nigerian universities. As an expert in the field, what advice would you give to the government on how to implement this policy?
Well, let me inform you
that, I was part of the team that prepared the WHO document
on Collaboration
and Integration of herbal medicine into the existing health care system of
African member Nations. I believe the Nigerian Minister of Health has that paper, everything
on how to go about it was spelt out in that paper, including even the remuneration
of herbal practitioners in the country. I happen to be the person that wrote
the paper on the collaboration of herbal medicine practitioners and orthodox
medicine practitioners. It is a strategic frame work aimed at making the two
types of medicine to complement each other. I believe the various ministries of
healthy in each Africa member states have this paper and am sure they are doing
something in that respect. In that document, we stated that traditional
medicine should be put in the curriculum of universities across Africa, not
just in Nigeria. I have a copy of that document here in my office which
stipulates how Ministers should go about the integration. We even held a
meeting with all Ministers of State before the paper came out. That meeting
was held in Angola. But the only thing that is delaying that of Nigeria is the fact
that the federal government has not been able to pass the Traditional Medicine
Bill into law.
At what stage is this bill? Is it that it has been pass by the National Assembly and the President
has refused to give assent to it?
The bill is still at
the National Assembly. I think they mentioned it once on the floor of the house
but we are still waiting for them to mention it more so that they can begin the
process of passing it into law.
As a WHO expert, what
does your area of coverage entail?
It entails the development
of African Traditional Medicine in practice, Practitioners and Products. We
meet together to robe minds, plan and strategize on how to develop Traditional
Medicine in Africa. It also entails how to develop the practitioners in Africa
and how to develop the products in Africa. It’s a whole lot of work. We meet,
plan and come up with a communique on particular issue. For instance, there was
a time we planed for a decade of traditional medicine in Africa but now we have
extended it because we didn’t finish what was expected within that decade. We
have now renewed it for another ten years. So we are now moving forward for the
next ten years.
As somebody who started
from the local, to the National and now at the African Continental level, you
must have pass through some challenges in the course of your journey up. What
are some of the challenges facing the Traditional Medicine Industry in Nigeria
and Africa at large?
Again, I will
speak as a WHO expert on the development of African Traditional Medicine. There
are some challenges that we discuss during our meetings. One of these is the
Traditional Medicine Bill. Only about six member states have so fast pass that
bill into law and this is not good for African Traditional Medicine. It’s a
major challenge facing the practice of Traditional Medicine in Africa. If only
member states can pass this bill into law, then we would have move the practice
very, very high more than at the level which we are now. Imagine Nigeria has
not pass the bill into law and Nigeria is considered to be the largest industry
as far as Traditional Medicine is concern in Africa; and yet it has not pass
that bill into law. Nigeria is suppose to be leading for others to follow but
sadly that is not how it is in this case. So am using this medium to ask
Governments at every level to pass that bill into law. In fact, African
Governments should pass the Traditional Medicine bill into law now! There is also
the challenge of training of practitioners. We have a lot of practitioners that
are illiterate yet their practice is okay. You cannot say because they are
illiterate they don’t know how to treat some ailment with herbal medicine. So
we have to train them to meet global standards in herbal medicine practice. We
don’t want to continue to produce our products in the local way; we want to
produce them with international standards while still retaining the Africa
identity. African traditional medicine is for Africans by Africans. Our own
medicine is peculiar to us in Africa and there is a way we develop it.
What do you have to say about the influx of foreign herbal medicine brands, specially those from Asia, into Nigeria?
The truth is that
even though our practitioners are well versed in the act of traditional medicine
practice, they can not get their brands registered because of the exorbitant
cause of registration. Many practitioners cannot afford to pay for registration.
Is not just the cost; the standard infrastructure that must be put in place is
also a very big challenge to many practitioners who do not have the required
capitals to set up such structures. How can you ask somebody who knows how to
cure simple stomach ailment with simple herbs to set up factory before he can
be registered? Where will the person see that kind of money to set up such a
factory? You are require to have water tank, treatment tank and other
facilities that are too costly for many traditional to afford. So what most
traditional do now is that they sell their formulas to foreign companies,
especially those from China and America. These foreign companies will now
manufacture it and bring it back to be sold in Nigerian market. It’s a pity! If
only their regulative agencies could have an alternative way that will not
require a road side herbal practitioner - who actually know the practice but does
not have the huge capital to get registered – to be frustrated into selling his formulas
to foreign companies, It would go a long way in helping indigenous practitioners.
Let government look for another way of getting this people registered. Government could for
instance, assess the efficacy of such product or services and when they have
being proving to be effective, they could be registered while government
provides the facilities in such a way that registered herbal practitioner
could come and rent. These would end this shameful act whereby Nigeria practitioner
sell their formulas to foreign companies.
Now, let’s bring the interview to a close by looking once more at Quincy Herbal
Slimmers. Where do you see Quincy Herbal Slimmers in the next five or ten years?
God as always been on our side. He was the one
that started the journey for us and he will never leave us. He has brought us
this far and will take us much further than this in the ten years or more. And by the
special grace of God, Quincy will be a very big brand comparable to Coca-cola.
Quincy will be to the Herbal industry what Coca-cola is to the soft drinkS industry.
