Democratic Rule 1999-2003 and Yoruba Traditional Healers: A study
of Government Policies on Alternative Medicine in Kwara State.
By
Oyeronke Olajubu, Phd
Department of Religions
University of Ilorin, Ilorin
Kwara State, Nigeria
Abstract
Healing is a pertinent phenomenon which, commands continuous assessment in
the society. Like all other components of the African living experience, healing is
attended by multiplicity. Consequently, a method that combines orthodox and
traditional/alternative medical tendencies features prominently among the people. Until
recent years, practitioners of traditional/alternative medicine have been people with little
or no Western education but the situation has since changed. Presently, educated
individuals-some in the field of medicine-practice traditional/alternative medicine.
Prior to the present democratic dispensation, traditional/alternative healers
displayed certain characteristics and were involved in some controversies concerning
claims on healing, especially on HIV/AIDS. These controversies bother on the suspicions
that attend healing claims by practitioners of traditional medicine in the society. Such
suspicions are usually products of skepticism about the effectiveness of traditional
medicine because of its close affinity with religion rather than Western science. Such a
stance emanate from the erroneous assumption that nothing about religion is or could be
scientific. Recent development in the academia has proven that the relationship of science
and religion is more cordial than has been acknowledged for some time now. Worthy of
mention in this regard are the analysis of religion and environment and healing practices.
Indeed in the health sector, Western medicine has come to realize the essence of religion
in the alleviation of certain conditions in psychotherapy patients. The importance of
religion in the quest for health is even more relevant in Africa.
Religion remains a crucial component of the examination of any phenomenon in
Africa especially health and healing. While some traditional/alternative healers are
Afrelist, others are Christians, while some are Muslims. The major tool used by these
healers is the herb but in the Yoruba religious parlance, herbs are not just natural shrubs,
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they are spiritual entities as well. Every herb has a name, an oriki (praise name), exhibits
certain characteristics and has taboos attached to it. How do the healers handle these
salient features of herbs despite their different religious affiliations?
This paper is an attempt to assess the status of traditional/alternative
healers/healing in Nigeria since 1999. Attempts will be made to present both sides of the
coin i. e the perspective of the practitioners and concerned government agencies. A
second aim for this paper is to examine the possibility of and modalities for integrating
orthodox and traditional/alternative medicine where possible.
Our sources for this work rest solely on primary agencies through interviews
conducted with traditional/alternative healers and officials of the Ministry of Health in
Kwara State.
1. Healing and Religion in Africa
In Africa, sickness is an attestation to the fact that an individual is out of tune
with nature and the supernatural, which is represented by the deities. The physical
signs are therefore a part of the story and not the whole story. Consequently,
diagnosis and prescriptions for healing take this crucial point into cognizance. Again,
a person’s conception of sickness is based partly on the physical symptoms; this is
also influenced by some environmental factors, the most important of which is the
interpretation of symptoms provided by the cultural environment in which an
individual thinks and acts. Moreover, the treatment of a disease cannot be divorced
from its interpretation. These facts underscore the close link between religion and
healing in Africa1.
In traditional systems, the line between religion and medicine is not sharp;
therefore the supersensible world and its agencies occupy a significant place in the
African’s conception of disease and healing. Elements utilized for treatment portray
this clearly. These include the use of incantations, fruits, water and other elements
such as salt and sugar2. Among the Yoruba, varieties of incantation employed
include, Ofo and madarikan, favorite fruits for healing purposes are coconut, banana,
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and oranges. Coconut is employed for its water, because the Yoruba belief that just
as no one knows how water got into the coconut, the supplicant will become
invincible after such a ritual is performed. Banana and oranges are used because of
their sweetness. Water used for healing is often times fresh and cool and the preferred
time of fetching such waters are the early hours of the day from a flowing stream.
Indeed, rivers are usually inhabited by goddesses whose areas of specialization
include the healing of different types of diseases. Examples of such are rivers Oba
and Osun in Osun State of Nigeria. It should be noted also that the religious affiliation
of the patient does not affect his/her preference for traditional medicine. The basic
reason for trying traditional medicine is experience; especially reports by some close
associates of the patients that traditional medicine works.
Worthy of mention also is the role played by the healer in Africa. The healer
constitutes an integral part of the patient’s healing. (S)he could be a diviner and/or
custodian of tradition. The healer is expected to possess ample knowledge of herbs,
their names, taboos and uses3. In the same vein, certain deities are perceived to be
custodians of herbs in Africa, the healer is expected to know and be on good terms
with such a deity; an example is Osanyin among the Yoruba. Oftentimes, healing in
Africa predicates on or is related to divination. Hence, healers by the nature of their
training acquire some divination knowledge. The Ifa geometric configuration is an
established example used by the Yoruba. Some scholars postulate that traditionally,
every healer is invariably a diviner and his/her profession is maybe incomplete
without the ability to use any of the available methods of divination (Dopamu 2000).
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Three types of healing have been identified in Africa: healing that is purely
spiritual, based on ritual, incantations and the mental application of certain
understood natural laws; healing that is purely physical based on the use of herbs
without any ritual component; and a combination of the two types mentioned above4.
A large number of healers in Africa however practice the three types of healing with
no marked distinction as remedies depend on the type of illness which each client
manifest at the time of consultation. Present practices of traditional healing however
seek to encourage the use of herbs for healing, especially with the desire for
traditional medicine to be enhanced. Towards this end, some traditional healers have
been able to produce herbs in tablet, caplet and capsule forms. These healers are
knowledgeable in traditional and alternative medicine and their activities have
resulted in the establishment of traditional healing homes and maternity centers.
2. Traditional/Alternative Medicine in Nigeria Prior to 1999
A greater part of Nigeria’s independent years has been spent under military
rule. The present democratic government came into power in 1999. Prior to 1999
however, traditional and alternative medicine was in existence in Nigeria.
Traditional/alternative medicine enjoyed some patronage during the period
under review. Patients flocked to these practitioners due to expressed dissatisfaction
with orthodox medicine and sometimes due to the resistance of certain illnesses to
western drugs5. Certain explanations may be proffered for the patient’s preference for
traditional medicine. It would seem that diseases with rapid response to treatment by
Western medication are usually taken to the hospitals. Conversely, diseases that are
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slow in responding to treatment and terminal illnesses are usually brought to the
traditional medicine practitioners. These include illnesses such as cancer, psychiatric
disorders and stress related diseases. Another significant factor is the economic
capability of the patient. Where the cost of healing in the hospital goes beyond the
reach of the patient, recourse may be made to traditional medicine. Undeniably, there
are some recorded cases where patients revert to traditional medicine largely when
Western medicine appears inadequate and unable to help.
Again, traditional/alternative medicine experienced government recognition
and encouragement at the federal and state levels. The Babangida administration is
especially noted for its efforts in this regard. A board of traditional medicine located
at Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos under the leadership of Dr. Lambo
was put in place by the administration. The duties of the board included the
encouragement of practitioners to make known their efficacious herbal preparations
and if possible to have a sample of such preparations deposited at the board’s
headquarters. In addition, the board was to encourage research into the components of
herbs and their usefulness.
Advertisements of herbal preparations for the healing of different illnesses
were encouraged in the media during this period. Practitioners, who specialize in
specific areas such as pediatrics, gynecology, and orthopedics, advertised their
products and services on radio, television and the print media.
Herbal trade fairs were held throughout the country to intimate the public of
available services for the healing of diverse aliments. The first of such fairs was held
at the Tafa Balewa Square in Lagos, in 1987. The first herbal trade fair in Kwara
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State held in 1998 at the stadium complex, Ilorin. Military government officials
usually declared these herbal fairs open to show their support. Military governments
also provided logistic support for such herbal fairs. Furthermore, official patronage
was accorded traditional/alternative medicine by the military governments.
Illustratively, we may consider the case of Mr. Abalaka who claimed to have gotten a
cure for HIV/AIDS. Military men who returned from peacekeeping missions in
foreign lands were taken to him for treatment. The reported success of this enterprise
remains unconfirmed, since I was not able to speak to any of the officers so treated6.
3. Traditional and Alternative Medicine in Nigeria 1999-2003
The emergence of democracy in 1999 saw the coming together of
practitioners in traditional/alternative medicine, in a more determined manner. This
move was however not without some problems. Some practitioners reasoned that the
aim of such a move could subvert the weaker ones and dispossess them of their herbal
prowess. However with education, transparency and accountability on the part of the
leaders, such ill feelings eventually became a thing of the past.
The present democratic dispensation has also witnessed a definite
advancement in the connection between traditional medicine and technology.
Practitioners now produce tablets, caplets and capsules from herbal preparations.
Some practitioners in addition to this also operate web sites from which information
is made available to the global public. These efforts became imminent due to the need
to present Nigerian herbs in well-packaged manner as is found in countries like India
and China. A clear dividend of such efforts is the marked increase in the patronage of
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traditional medicine. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 45% to
65% of the world’s populations patronize herbal medical centers more than orthodox
hospitals today. The specific focus of this paper is the situation in Kwara State and it
is to this we now turn.
Traditional Medicine in Kwara State
Submissions on the present condition of traditional/alternative medicine in
Kwara State may be perceived from dual perspectives. On the one hand is the perspective
of the government whereas the practitioners present another perspective.
The Government Perspective
The pharmacy section of the federal Ministry of Health oversees the activities
on the preparation and permission to market such drugs. I spoke with the director of the
directorate of food, drugs and pharmacy services on the present condition of traditional
medicine in Kwara State. According to her7, there are no organized structures on ground
concerning the practice of traditional medicine. Instructions were given by the federal
government to register all practitioners of traditional medicine sometime ago. This was
however stopped sequel to a directive that there was a pending court case between
government and practitioners of traditional medicine in Kwara State. The court case has
since been resolved but the Ministry of Health is yet to receive any instruction on the
resumption of the registration of traditional medicine practitioners. Therefore, all
traditional and alternative medicine practitioners in the State are viewed as operating and
advertising their products illegally because they have no NAFDAC registration and
approval. All herbal trade fairs are considered illegal as well. The situation will remain
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the same until practitioners of traditional and alternative medicine are registered, their
products verified and their advertisements approved by the federal government through
NAFDAC8.
The Perspective of Practitioners of Traditional and Alternative Medicine
While democracy is acknowledged worldwide as the preferred form of
governance under which individual rights and privileges are guaranteed, practitioners of
traditional medicine in Kwara State submit that their lot under the Military regime is to
be preferred to what they have experienced since democracy was instituted in Nigeria in
1999. The following argument underscores this submission.
Practitioners of traditional medicine have experienced suspicion being ascribed to
the use of herbal preparations by government officials and orthodox doctors. This they
view as an aspect of imperialism and dislocated identity. Orthodox doctors and
government officials encourage the citizens to patronize only Western medicine. On the
other hand where the herbal preparation must be used, the imported ones form China or
India are to be preferred. An example is “wonder kola”, a nut now making waves in
Kwara State as being capable of healing every disease that may afflict humanity.
“Wonder kola” is said to be a product from Cameroon. It is rare to see such publicity
being given to herbal products discovered in Nigeria.
The Board of Traditional Medicine put in place to encourage research and
regulate the practice of traditional and alternative medicine in Nigeria is presently nonfunctioning. Consequently, there is no unified body for the regulation and coordination of
traditional medicine in Nigeria. This affects the centralization of information to aid
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research into efficacious herbal preparations. Also, members are robbed of the
opportunity to keep abreast of new developments in their area of specialization.
Discouragement from the government is most explicit through the ban on
advertisement of herbal products given to the National Broadcasting Cooperation (NBC).
The first indication of this ban came to fore in Kwara State around March 2000, whereby
all radio and television adverts by practitioners of traditional medicine were barred.
However, after some length of time, NBC usually allows such advertisements to be put
on air and for this the practitioners are grateful9.
The National Agency for Food, Drugs and Administration Control (NAFDAC) is
a major sour point for the practitioners of traditional medicine in Kwara State. To begin
with, the consensus is that NAFDAC is ill equipped to ascertain the authenticity of herbal
preparations because the agency’s facilities are not fashioned for such a task. Again, the
requirement of NAFDAC that practitioners should disclose components of any herbal
preparation is suspect. This is because NAFDAC should ideally identify the active
chemical ingredients of these preparations and not demand that practitioners should state
these for them. In addition, NAFDAC is accused of trying to suppress and frustrate
achievers in herbal medicine due to strenuous and expensive requirements for
registration. Government has not made any budget provisions for herbal medicine, what
moral right does government have then to demand financial gains in the registration of
these products? Moreover there is the observation that a large percentage of NAFDAC
officials are practicing orthodox doctors and/or pharmacists. These NAFDAC officials
thus perceive traditional and alternative medicine practitioners as threats and spares no
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effort in frustrating every move made towards the enhancement of traditional and
alternative medicine10
4. Observations
The relationship of the present democratic government and practitioners of
traditional and alternative medicine would seem to be frost with controversies and
demeanor. We observe that the relationship is ruled by distrust on both sides and
suspicion of one by the other. Government is well intentioned by demanding that
all drugs-orthodox or traditional-be verified and standardized to ensure the health
of the citizenry. Practitioners agree with this assertion but queries the organ
designated for this job i.e. NAFDAC. Practitioners of traditional and alternative
medicine are convinced that NAFDAC in its present formation is ill equipped for
this job.
Also, we observe government’s lack of financial commitment to the research
and development of herbal preparations and traditional and alternative medicine.
Government is yet to put in place any organizational or financial structure as a
contributing factor to the development of herbal medicine.
We observe that the educational qualification of some practitioners of
traditional and alternative medicine may compel the re-assessment of modalities
for the regulation of traditional medicine in Nigeria.
The media seems to be caught in the middle between the government and
practitioners of traditional medicine. While not usurping the functions of
NAFDAC, the National Broadcasting Cooperation would need some minimal
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guidelines on the advertisement of herbal preparations to avoid endangering the
health of the populace. This should be balanced with the need for financial
earnings to keep the cooperation on air.
5. Recommendations
In the light of our discussion above, we are persuaded that the following
recommendations would prove imperative.
Government should make its support for traditional and alternative
medicine explicit by making budget provisions for them. A unit of herbal
medicine should be established in the Ministry of Health at all levels of the
Nigerian polity. Alternatively, a school of herbal medicine may be established to
train people interested in the knowledge of traditional medicine. Such a school
would also serve as venue for continuous research into herbal products.
Herbal medicine and some elements of traditional and alternative medical
practice should be introduced into the primary and secondary schools curriculum.
Students would as a result grow up to appreciate herbal medicine with no
suspicion attached. In addition, medical students in the universities in Nigeria
should engage in meaningful research on a specific area of interest in traditional
or alternative medicine before they graduate.
A neutral establishment, separate from NAFDAC, equipped and focused
on the assessment of herbal preparations and the practice of traditional medicine
in Nigeria should be put in place. However, if NAFDAC is to continue as the
organ for the assessment of herbal medicine, then its membership composition
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should be reviewed to be 50% of orthodox and 50% of traditional medical
practitioners.
Practitioners of traditional medicine should make concrete efforts at
annexing the available technological facilities, especially the Internet to enhance
their products and practice. Such efforts would also serve as a means of
advertisement and education on herbal products as well.
There is need for legislations by the National Assembly on the status,
operation and prospects of traditional medicine in Nigeria, presently and in the
future.
Conclusion
That traditional and alternative medicine attends to certain needs of
Nigerians especially the Southwestern part seems beyond contention. What
remain are the correct guidelines and modalities for the operation of practitioners
in this sector and this is where government comes in. Effort is to be made while
deciding on these guidelines to carry along the practitioners of traditional and
alternative medicine. The citizen should be allowed to decide which sector his/her
healing should come from, whether from the orthodox doctor or from a
practitioner of traditional medicine or from a combination of both. Openness and
cooperation of all stakeholders in the health sector is what is needed to ensure that
Nigeria derives maximum benefits from the orthodox and traditional medical
practitioners.
13
O. E. Alana (1992) “The Impact of the Healing Miracles of Jesus on the Healing Methods of the Aladura
Churches in Yorubaland” Ph.d Thesis, Department of Religions, University of Ilorin,
Ilorin, Nigeria, p. 22.
2
P. A. Dopamu (2000) “Medicine and Magic Among the Yoruba” Paper presented at the Religion and
Science Conference, Ilorin, Kwara State.
1
T. M. Ilesanmi (1994) “Yoruba Incantation at the Service of Medicine and Herbalism” Cultural Studies in
Ile-Ife. Institute of Cultural Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.
4
Ibid. p. 25
5
Interview with Dr. Niyi Olanrewaju of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital.
6
Interview with Dr. Semiu Ademola, Director, Atewolabala Medi-herbal Center, No. 36, Pakata road,
opposite Prison Yard, Ilorin.
7
Interview with Mrs. Akinola, Director, Directorate of Food, Drugs and Pharmacy services, Federal
Ministry of Health, Fate, Ilorin.
8
NAFDAC refers to National Agency for Food, Drugs and Administration Control.
9
Interview with Dr. Semiu Ademola, Atewolabala Medi-Herbal Center, Ilorin.
10
Statement by Prince (Dr.) Akintunde Ayeni, Chairman of Yem-Kem Herbal home. Websitewww.yemkem.org
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