‘Let your food be your medicine’

By Adekunle Yusuf

The Rector of Redeemed College of Management and Technology, Dr Stella Awoh Mofunanaya, has advised Nigerians to consume more local food because they are active and medicinal.

Let your food become your medicines, she urged Nigerians.

She said gave the advice during  second induction of complementary and alternative health technicians, therapists and technologists by the Lagos College of Health Technology, Yaba, Lagos.

“Natural medicines are active, harmless and safer than orthodox medicine which is a chemical formulation. For this reason, Nigerians should eat our local food because it is medicinal.

“From statistics, an average of 20,000 Nigerians travelled to India and other countries for medical treatments. Until we start to see our food as medicine, we’ll not stop travelling abroad. Until we start to see our local food as medicine that is when will stop running after Western food. It is so sad that in Nigeria, the moment we hear about natural medicine, our mind will tell us it is ritual but it is not.

“Today, almost all our food have been capsulated by the Chinese, including corchorus olitorius (Ewedu), locust beans, bitter leaf and even pepper. And they’ve been able to brainwash us that until we buy the orthodox drugs, we will not be fine.”

She urged Nigerians to reverse the trend by stocking their home plants and herbs. The food we eat should be our medicine and our kitchen should serve as a pharmacy.

The Provost, Lagos College of Health Technology, Dr Moyo Kasim, advised Nigerians to have a rethink about traditional medicine, adding that not African product is inferior.

He emphasised that traditional medicine is interwoven with culture all over the world.

“Even some of the most countries like China, and India have both traditional medicine and orthodox medicine in any of their hospitals because they are there to complement each other.

“While growing up, when something happens, usually our grandmother before you go to the hospital they come out with some kind of traditional medicine to relieve the patient before heading to the hospital. So, it has always been there.”

The provost said the mission of the institue alignes with that of the Lagos State government to build a centre of excellence for the teaching of natural, Traditional and Complementary Alternative Medicine, not only in Nigeria, but also in Africa, which will serve as the cradle of professionalism and the best in professional practice and to inculcate standards of integrity, honesty and good conscience in Nigerians’ professional practice.

“I think what Lagos State Government is trying to do is to make traditional medical access to all citizens in the country.

‘’Over 60 per cent of our women give birth at the facilities of traditional birth attendant (TBAs). For this reason, the Lagos State Government is trying to bring together the Traditional Medicines Board, Primary Healthcare Board and the College in a form of partnership.

‘’So, the government is trying to bring our TBAs to the forefront. We plan to train our TBAs when they come to the college and after the training, they would transmit the TBA into community birth attendants (CBAs).”

Kasim implored the graduates to use their knowledge to the service of humanity and their profession. The new certified professionals studied acupuncture, chiropractic, homoeopathy, osteopathy and naturopathy in the health college.

“Practise what they taught and follow the standing order. Do not go beyond the training that has been impacted you. If you come across what the training did not cover, you should refer the patient to the hospital.”