A herbal medicine specialist, Dr Umaru Ndagi, has urged government at all levels to promote the use of roots and herbs as alternative medicine for prevention and treatment of diseases.
Ndagi made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
“Our government should see it as a business that needs to be done; they should push for laws that will help to develop the business.
“For example, the Federal College of Alternative Medicine is in Utako; it has not functioned for a few years now.
“The Federal College of Alternative Medicine could have words with the Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO) in Oshodi and the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) to really make this herbal medicine go a long way.
“So I think government has a lot to do in this area and I think the only difficulty is the will power; if they have the will power they can do everything else they want in this thing I very much believe so.
“ Let me quote the former INEC Chairman, Maurice Iwu; some time last month there was a newspaper publication that said that herbal medicine alone can bring in as much revenue as oil.
“I am behind him 100 per cent on that postulation, he is 100 per cent right.’’
He urged government to initiate policies and laws that would make the sector attractive to potential investors and the unemployed youths.
On collaborating with foreign investors to raise standards in the sector, Ndagi said that Africans as a people had the capacity to achieve a lot without involving foreigners.
“We don’t have to involve foreigners in everything we are doing.
“If they see what we are doing they will see the benefit in it and they will come and say `please can we take part?’ It is not we that will go and beg them and say `please come and take part’.
“When they see it, there will be pharmaceutical companies coming to buy intellectual property, the knowledge of how you do this, `we will pay you to do research in this, will pay you to buy this tree from you’.
“It is going on at a very low scale. If government was really interested in investing more in this area the foreign companies such as Pfitzer, Marc, GSK, they will come and be begging us to get the knowledge we have.
“So I think we just have to do the right thing and I am sure that everything else will follow.’’
The herbal medical practitioner, therefore, urged stakeholders in the health sector to work closely with the government to take advantage of the opportunities offered by alternative medicine. (NAN)
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