Traditional medicine practitioner tasks gov't on HIV/AIDS

June 12, 2007 :: Suleiman Mohammed,Lagos Daily Trust,Abuja,

A herbal medicine practitioner, Dr. Nasiru Abubakar, has called on government at all levels to identify with traditional doctors in its quest for cure of various diseases afflicting the human race, particularly the HIV/AIDS scourge.

Dr Nasiru, a native of Toto in Nasarawa state who was in Lagos for a meeting convened by traditional medical practitioners told Oodua Trust that before the advent of orthodox medicine, native doctors who specialised in the cure of different categories of diseases were in charge of health delivery in the society.

"It is the same herbs that we use that drug manufacturing industries processed and packaged for consumption and application on the sick", he said in an interview. He argued that there was no disease that has no cure. He added that most cures for diseases are easily discovered by traditional medicine practitioners "but the credit always goes to the so-called researchers in western nations.

"After the discovery by traditional medicine practitioners, the orthodox doctors take such samples for laboratory test and later claim credit for the discovery. We need to work together and share the credit," he said.

Dr Nasiru who is the proprietor of Adose Herbal Centre, Gangaren Tudu in Keffi, Nasarawa state said diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, measles and diarrhoea among others could be easily treated by traditional medical practitioners otherwise known as native doctors.

He said of recent, there were many discoveries for cure of the dreaded HIV/AIDS by some native doctors in the country but government failed to either recognise them or put them to test.

Dr Nasiru who claimed to have made similar discovery of recent said he had personally submitted his findings to the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research ( NIPR ), Idu, Abuja for test and verification since 2004, "but they insisted in knowing details so that they can steal my work", he said.

He said though he was ready to cooperate with the institute, "I don't think it is right for me to just reveal my secret to them. Some of our members had their works and discoveries used by some government agencies without any recognition", he alleged but could not give further proof.

He lamented that the Nigeria government failed to draw up concrete policy on the development of local cure for various diseases as it was the case in Asian countries like China, Indonesia among others.