I have not been too keen to participate in the alternative medicine discourse in Nigeria due to the high sparks that are elicited by both sides of the divide. As a health practitioner trained in a conventional medical institution,at least I have my own little pinch of negative bias about traditional medicine. But as a Nigerian who grew up in a rural village in Eastern Nigeria, I also saw some benefits of traditional medicine. My grandfather was a 'dibia'...a traditional medicine doctor' who practised his art till his ancestors (so to speak) invited him over. My eldest uncle who took over the practice as a young man told us how our grandfather appeared to him in a dream and took him round the neighbourhood, to identify the different herbs and shrubs that he used to cure different ailments. And my uncle would take us along to the spots to dig up the roots or pluck leaves of the herbs whenever he wanted to prepare the 'concoctions' and remedies for his clients. Sometimes we helped him to pound the dried roots, which are sometimes bioled to drain out the medicinal contents.
I would lie if I say the remedies didn't work. Just that so many of them were more bitter than bitterleaf, so to speak. We knew when the guys who had gonnorhea or other STDS came around...the consultation is done in utter secrecy and hushed tunes to protect the 'integrity' of the client, but because I and my cousins were conversant with the different combinations, we put one and two together to decipher their differential diagnosis! There was little or no ritual...like incantations and killing of fouls as part of the treatment plan, as the killing of fouls and goats were strictly a religious affair though traditional medicine is a part of the African Traditional Religion.
My uncle died in 2006 years ago at the age of 90 but none of us in the family continued with the family tradition. We have two medical doctors and a physiotherapist in the extended family but none of us took up the pains to identify the herbs and shrubs that uncle used to heal so many of their ailments. As an undergraduate, I had told myself I'd study those leaves and send them to labs for biochemical analysis but I never did...and that repository of medical knowledge from my grandfather went down the way of the tomb...which Dr. Myles Monroe said is the richest place on earth!
I was in Lagos with a Japanese Team much of August to discuss with Lagos State Ministry of Health on how to design a project to strengthen the quality and spread of maternal and child health services at the primary and secondary care levels. We had discussions with Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi, the Chairman of the Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board...a LUTH-trained medical doctor who branched into traditional medicine. He shared extensively on the plans made by the board to train and retrain practitioners. We interviewed Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) whom he had trained in anatomy, physiology and basic hygiene and other procedures. He prepared standardized modules for the lectures which all the practitioners must go thro before they are certified by the Board. After the 8weeks training, the TBAs are sent to collaborating General Hospitals in Lagos for clinical posting where they work under the supervision of midwives and trained nurses to gain knowledge on how to improve their practise. We read commendation letters from the MDs of the hospitals stating how the TBAs acquited themselves during their postings.
Such efforts should be commended even though the premise upon which traditional medical practise is based slightly might differ from the empirical base of orthodox medicine. Dr Bunmi has elaborate plans on how he plans to integrate traditional medicine into the health system of Lagos State, despite the challenges and snags on the way.
Felix Obi is a Health Expert with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Abuja, Nigeria.
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