Yemi Elebuibon, Osogbo, Osun-state born World famous Ifa priest and herbalist has declared that African traditional medicine, otherwise known as alternate medicine is capable of preventing and curing 75% of all health challenges and ailments that trouble Nigerians and Africans at large.
Elebuibon, who was a guest speaker at a symposium on Alternate Medicine which was organised in Abeokuta by the newly- created Ogun State Alternate Medicine Board and tagged, “The Effect of Alternate Medicine and Practice in Combating Present World Health Problems”, said the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic should be a blessing for Africans to go back to the drawing board and begin to explore and exploit abundant potentials offered by the alternative medicine to prevent and cure the health challenges.
While demanding supports for Ogun state from the Federal Government and several donor agencies, locally and internationally, the traditional medicine expert, said, “Let me congratulate people of Ogun state and the government of the day for taking this bolder steps to join the rest of the world in search for alternate medicine in solving citizens health problems since COVID-19 had taught the world a lesson.
“It is necessary for us to look inward and make use of what we are endowed with for the treatments of any diseases or ailments, in accordance with our customs and traditions. It is time for us all to come back home and embrace our own things, especially our rich culture that many of the countries of the world are looking up to.”
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Declaring the symposium open on behalf of Governor Dapo Abiodun, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, Deputy Governor, said necessary arrangements for the development and operationalisation of alternate medicine practice in Ogun state had been put in place, including laboratory facilities and research centres to ensure that the right diagnoses and drug prescriptions are being made to allow effective prevention and treatment of health challenges referred to the practitioners of alternate medicine.
Also, the Commissioner for Health, Tomi Coker, who was represented at the event by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Tayo Lawal, asked the practitioners to create room for cross-fertilization of ideas with orthodox medicine counterparts for result-oriented efforts.
Earlier, Nurudeen Olaleye, Chairman, Ogun State Alternate Medicine Board, lauded the initiative of Governor Dapo Abiodun for the creation of the Board for the benefits of the residents and visitors to the state, assuring that the Board would strive to achieve the purpose of its establishment and engage in traditional medicine researches that would better the lots of many people in the state.
