BITTER PILLS
BY
CHRISTIAN AKPUNONU
PHONE: 08034118223
email:chrisuche3914@yahoo.com
Primary healthcare services delivery is an issue of serious concern in Nigeria and Africa at large. Poverty has been found to be one of the major factors responsible for various dangerous diseases and sicknesses that ravage human race especially the poorer and underdeveloped nations of this world. It is most worrisome that the scourge of several diseases assume insuperable dimension on daily basis that the pace of scientific and medical technological research so far seem not to be sufficient to stem down the tide of existing and new diseases that abound.
So, mankind is confronted with several incidences and affliction by these life shortening epidemic breakouts that available research and development capacity cannot contain. For this reason, orthodox medicine alone does not provide sufficient answer to the upsurge of primary healthcare needs of the teeming population particularly among the poor nations. To this end, alternative medicine is exploited as a veritable aspect of general Medicare to complement the effort. Nevertheless, research and development recently proved the efficacy of alternative medicine as an acceptable and somewhat reliable concept. Therefore, the question is no longer whether traditional (alternative) medicine is good and reliable rather the check in the process of its administration and the sustainability of the media of the practical knowledge transfer or impartation. The academia are challenged so much with the handling of the knowledge and skill impaction or transfer of the professional knowledge of the much needed alternative medicine, such that a conventional standard will be created to streamline or harmonize the operation of diverse practitioners globally. So far a lot of progress was recorded in less than proportionately few compared to the increasing number of uneducated, not-lettered, and untrained people entering into the practice especially for pecuniary advantage other than humanitarian purposes. Unarguably, there may be talented and gifted people into this trade or business of alternative medical services delivery but the influx experienced recently across the globe of people who take to the activities involving herbalism, trado-therapy, trado-pharmacy, occultism, etcetera is uncontrollably worrisome. For example, the Chinese acupuncture provides a typical success and remarkable milestone in scientific development of alternative medicines as a complement to orthodox medicine. Also, India and many other Asian and African Professionals have excelled in the field of alternative medicine given the degree of it’s acceptance and proven efficacy. The unrestrained, uncontrollable and non harmonized entry into the traditional medicine practicing poses a challenge to the process of integrating alternative medicine as an adequate healthcare services delivery outlet. In its entirety, alternative medicare as a supplementary to orthodox or conventional medicare is not a bad idea. It is the actual regulation and control of its administration process that poses a lot of danger to the society. The uncertainty of dosage and prescription is one of the many short comings.
Hence, this article takes a look at the alarming rate of influx of actors in this sector vis-a-viz the social implication with particular emphasis on Imo State. In the recent times, groups and members of Nigerians engaged in this business of traditional medicine troop into Owerri Municipality in their hordes for what was taken to be trado-medical trade fair to show case vagaries of diverse acts of alternative medication. The heartland state capital of Owerri within a space of short period of about two (2) or less years witnessed a tempo-raging phases of trado-medicine trade fairs some of which dragged on to the point of monotony. The psyches and emotions of the good people of Imo were overcharged with the cacophony of inordinate sounds, voices and jingles of high-pitched notes of persuasive audio as well as visual adverts buzzing and filtering out of Imo State owned radio and television stations. Wherever you are within Imo State, once tuned to IBC or orient FM Radio even Radio Nigeria Heartland FM, Owerri and television, campaigns, conversion and persuasion-ridden voices advertise one traditional herbal concoction or the other as panacea for uncountable ailments, diseases, afflictions, sicknesses of sorts. The strange thing out it all is that every one that featured any sample of these concoctions claim that own preparation is multi-cu e for a litany of endemic and pandemic diseases without definition. It is incredible that a particular combination or mixture of herbs which often come in forms of syrups, tables, capsules, powder and suspensions will cure countless sicknesses, illnesses, afflictions or diseases. Most wonderful aspect is the audacity and impunity with which these individuals boisterously claim excellence in the field to the extent of mesmerizing the helpless gullible multitude of audience gained through unrestrained campaigns (via the mass media). One wonders if there is any legislation or institutional framework extant to ensure proper regulation and control of the activities of these groups. Of great concern is the discernible fact that the city of Owerri and the entire landscape of Imo State presents the most conducive atmosphere where this lucrative trade flourishes unabated. The mass media, especially the electronic component are making heydays out of the uncontrolled activities of these business Moguls who are able and willing to pay what it takes to occupy the greater part of Imo State owned radio and television A greater percentage of the actors in this brisk business are from Yoruba tribe of Nigeria. The Yoruba indigenes who abinitio are reluctant to migrate to settle within the country (outside their immediate enclaves) at least not so disposed to doing so as much as their counterpart of Hausa or Igbo extraction. This is not denying the fact that the Yorubas are equally itinerant but most of their voyages target overseas even over and above their counterpart of Igbo or Hausa tribes. Nowadays, Owerri and Igbo land in general have been besieged by an army of crusaders of mostly Yorubas engaged in the fast growing brisk business of either in the cloak of motivational councilors or alternative medical personnel. It’s either you are bored with adverts of mysterious skills of money-raking tricks like FOREX trading, oil and gas trading, call card printing and software seminar in product export trading knowledge impaction with minimal capital outlay promised or confronted with the invention of newly concorted alternative medicine with omnipotent healing and curative strength. Much as I don’t blame the electronic media’s indulgence in promoting this syndrome of money making craze and its sister omnipotent traditional medical wizards because they who need to stay in business and pay their bills out of the money paid by these group of individuals, it is still perceived by many that promoting such businesses ought be with some modicum of restraints to safe the gullible helpless poor illiterates the risk of running into the hands of cheaps swindlers. This is not asserting that all those patronizing the Imo State Broadcasting Corporation IBC and orient FM radio and television stations are fraudulent. Truly, some of the marketers of these products may be real for some that have proven efficacies and acceptability not in doubt. But, the media should help matters by assisting the public to checkmate the excesses of the group by avoiding every Dick, Tom and Harry who can afford airtime from having access to cajole the masses with the jargon of marketing dangerous and half-baked products of questionable quality or standard.
It is not equally out of point to suspect that some of these products advertised vigorously through our media may be constituting health hazard. Given the low ebb of literacy in our contemporary society, the gullibility of the poor and helpless public is being taken advantage of to infiltrate the health sector with lethal and deleterious concoctions launched into the system on daily basis especially when promoted by the media which remain the only credible avenue of information dissemination. The presence of these group is even overwhelming the curious helpless poor masses who are toadied to resort to trado-medicines as lee ways out of acute dearth of primary healthcare services delivery. Something needs to be done decisively to checkmate the activities of traditional medicines practitioners to safe this state the ensuing embarrassment imminent in the unregulated activities of the operators. The helpless poor masses are exposed to undue rip-off when cajoled into patronizing the products being marketed through the media and public address systems without checks and balances. Owerri residents and indigenes of Imo State are bored with trade promotions and adverts rendered in uncultured and vulgar languages adopted by these numerous operators, with funny business names of different types that leaves not much to be desired. If you tune in the radio or television station in Imo State, the air is fraught with buzzing noise of uncivil adverts and jingles coined in Languages bereft of courtesy all in the name traditional medicine promotions.
The list of them heard in one day c5uId send one’s mind. bugling, and most of them are of Yoruba land’s origin as if Imo State in general and Owerri particularly have become the commercial hob of traditional medical products. This is calling on the appropriate authorities in Imo State to intervene to checkmate the activities of these groups to ensure a deserving sanity in the health sectors. From reports reaching from the federal medical Center Owerri, cases of health complications encountered are not unconnected with self medication indulgence bandwagon associated with the unbridled patronage of loose trado-medical products promoted via the mass media. If it is not Yenkem or the Abeokuta woman, it’s Mr. Water or Dr. Winner, Chief Ola Balogun, Mama lyabo’s product all claiming omnipotence. On the other hand, the motivational speakers tingle our ears with mouth watering promises in our radios capitalizing on people’s greed, avarice, gullibility, poverty, joblessness, unemployment and all that to project doubtful quick-money-,making ICT-powered business ideas imbued with copious risk and uncertainties but hinged only on the key slogan of making much with little, the dream business ideals. This article does not undermined the economic importance of the overall business activities championed, perpetrated and perpetuated by Yorubas who settle in Imo State or Owerri, it is advocating a streamlined approach buttressed by moderation as the cardinal rule of life. It is a call to reasoning for Ndi -Igbo to shine eyes and stop falling mugu.
