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The acceptance and use of plants and roots for cure and control of ailments has suffered a chequered fate- from the ancient times when they were the only remedies known to man, to the time when they were treated with suspicion and considered as fetish, to contemporary times when man is revisiting herbal remedies because some germs have developed strains that are resistant to modern antibiotics. Besides, the dangerous side effects of some orthodox drugs now cause doctors to question the benefits of prescribing them at all. This has created a window of opportunity for herbal medicinal packages to come gain acceptance in hitherto highly intolerant quarters.

Today, traditional medicine is universally accepted as an alternative source of Medicare. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognizes Traditional Medicine as ‘including diverse health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plants, animals and or mineral based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises applied singularly or in combination to maintain well-being, as well as to treat, diagnose or prevent illness’. A good case for indigenous medicines is that considering the prevalence of mosquitoes, if Africans did not have their own remedies for malaria before the advent of the white men, the first white people who came to Africa would not have met any living soul. NNMDA facts and figures have it that over 85% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa and about 80% of Nigerians patronise Traditional Medicine. For most of these people, it is the only known source of healthcare delivery; IT IS AVAILABLE, ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE. In many parts of Africa, the number of traditional health practitioners far outnumbers that of allopathic doctors. To buttress the reach of TMPs, statistics show that we may have a ratio of 1Medical Doctor per 20,000persons as opposed to 1: 200 for TMPs. The National Demographic and Health Survey Report (NDS, 1999) indicate that 63% of births in the country is handled by Traditional Practitioners.

According to TamunoOkujagu, Director General of the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency, NNMDA, “Specific figures or percentage patronage and national spread of traditional bonesetters and traditional massage therapists are not available, but it is a known fact that they play key and increasing roles especially in view of high number of accidents and fractures occasioned by the increased use of motorcycles as a means of transportation. It is estimated that 70-85% of fractures and trauma injuries are managed by this category of traditional healers”. In 2008, the then chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Food and Drugs Administration and Control Agency, NAFDAC, Professor Dora Akunyili frowned at the proliferation of herbal medicinal packages and their misuse of NAFDAC registration numbers. In her statements at the time, she said that the medicinal packages had only been certified safe for human use but were yet to pass tests for efficacy.

This represented another plus for the herbal formulations since the maximum control Agency had even come to recognise their existence and certify to the harmlessness of some of them. It was now left to the consumers to decide whether they were getting cured by those medicines or not.A survey I personally conducted at that time in Lagos amongst the educated class showed that they all believe in the efficacy of local herbs, especially for primary healthcare. Recently, the Minister of Health, Professor OnyebuchiChukwu, announced that the Federal Government is working on incorporating traditional medicine studies into medical school programmes in the country.

All these prove the acceptance of herbal medicines in the country. “We are documenting Medicinal plants in Nigeria in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) procedures. The documentation includes the scientific names, names in the local languages, medicinal uses in the local communities, conditions for cultivation, phytochemistry and other potentials. This is for teaching and learning for students of pharmacy, Botany and all those who wish to use plants for healthy living as well as for conservation and cultivation. It is also a key resource material for Traditional Medicine practitioners for use in their formulations and entrepreneurs who wish to go into herbal drug formulation”, says the NNMDA.

A good Percentage of Modern Drugs is Plant Derived and World Health Organization estimates that there are about 21000 plant species with Medicinal Value and a good percentage of these are believed to be available in Nigeria with our vast Biodiversity and Bio-resources. This is therefore an area of cache waiting to be unearthed by discerning entrepreneurs, especially because many Nigerians now spend huge sums on imported herbal brands from America, Europe and Asia. Interestingly, some of those formulations are prepared with herbs sourced from Nigeria!

Cultivation of local herbs as a deliberate and focused business venture is a viable foray. It is a specialised area of agriculture that would yield good returns not only for supply to local herbal medicine manufacturers, but also for export. This is one more area where entrepreneurs can tap into to create new wealth and generate employment. All the present-day herbal medicine manufacturer need do is to shed the old garb of mysticism, seek information, embrace contemporary best practice rules and adopt attractive packaging. These done and we too can sell our herbal preparations to the rest of the world. The market is brimming with potentials!

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