The heritage of Africa is becoming things of jest in the hand of Africans themselves. Black men don’t really believe in themselves as the colonial master colonised their forefathers and left them to cater to their needs from them.
Black men see the former masters as still imperial masters after their freedom long decades ago. African gold becomes stone while his diamond was exchanged for gravel, so pathetic that the black men reason from the white men’s brain. The best things come from the foreign land and the black has their ass lick and begs for the product of which they can actually produce themselves originally to the detriment of their economy. The solution to all blacks’ problems are best solved with foreign ideas even if the owner of the idea is a fellow African but the fact that it was a tested idea from the white men, it is okay. This has been termed ‘intellectual slavery’ and it is overwhelming.
Most African leaders see nothing good to develop and adopt from the soil of Africa so they buy all crumbles from the foreign land. We know we are completely overwhelmed by the western civilization, the suit and tie fit us even if it aches and their languages endangering the native language. Nevertheless, can’t we just sit back and ask how our forefathers lived without depending on foreign ideas and their lineage was preserved before the advent of the colonial masters? Can’t we adopt our ethnobotanical medicine and give it a priority?
COVID-19 caught the whole world unaware, it wasn’t prepared for by any country six months before it spread almost all the countries of the world. The control measure adopted by many western countries was by the way and prompt research on possible solutions, treatment, and measures to stop the spread of the disease. There was no planned or prepared measure, they all swung to action with no ready-made plan. They were all charged by the spread of the disease and the risk of the death toll.
Trial-and-error was what it is to the height that president Donald Trump of US prescribed hydroxychloroquine as the cure for the COVID-19 pandemic but the result was laughable, it worsen and complicate the disease. Though further research was taken on it yet it wasn’t a heart-hit drug for the disease. Some even got it wrong and took another variant of chloroquine which led to another medical intricacy. However, with all the technologies, the boast of superpower, the US recorded the highest score of COVID-19 and the death toll keeps rising geometrically every day.
The European countries where many cases reported in Africa were traced to were still scrabbling to get the disease eased. It wasn’t as expected as the European countries never knew it would be so devastating and brought them down to this extent. They quickly adopted the Chinese measure ab initio when the disease had already gone sporadically at the community level. Counting the score of death in Italy, Spain, France and the UK one would wonder if they are countries with firm feet as they claimed to be. It wasn’t easy out there, all the health facilities and workers were damn exhausted and mighty Europe needed help from China. Chinese medical personnel, facilities, and materials were deployed to Italy to help fight COVID-19. The force that broke loose from China got the whole world on the heel and the solution wasn’t really from copy and paste. It was copied but failed! WHO could only give precautions and count scores of effects, NDC kept striving on a solution but all not avail. Alas, Those countries who didn’t copy prevailed!
A few weeks ago, Oni of Ife His Majesty, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi posted on his Instagram and Twitter page the herbal cure of COVID-19 pandemic as he claimed to be foretold in 2019. The learned monarch said the herbs have been tested and his proving effective. Likewise, he is collaborating with Cuba and other trado-medical experts. The rage of comments generated was surprising. Many of the people who were or their parents were brought up with local herbs concoctions came out on social media to make fun of the monarch and his solution to the pandemic. Some even called for his arrest for misinformation.
A Yoruba medical doctor and a popular Twitter user couldn’t hide her iratenesses and stumbled on her Twitter handle to say :
“These claims are WRONG.
The Ooni is NOT a medical doctor or a virologist. This is an abuse of office to mislead and misinform the public. You will never hear the Queen of England, the Sultan of Brunei, the King of Saudi Arabia, or the Emir of Abu Dhabi say such dangerous nonsense. There is NO vaccine for Coronavirus.
There is NO globally accepted cure for Coronavirus. Kings are public officials who should join the fight against misinformation- NOT promote A misinformation. This is how some Nigerian royals expose their monarchy to avoidable public ridicule.
IF you really think onions, bitter leaf and neem is a “cure”, why not volunteer to get a dangerous strain of the virus injected into you and let’s watch what happens to you? It’s dangerously risky and irresponsible to sell scam myths as a “cure” to a virus that has no known cure.”
Another Twitter user tweeted:
“At this point in time when the whole world is concentrating on a possible solution to the pandemic someone who is enjoying his forefathers’ heritage comes here to recommend unverified folklore. Abeg let him park well.”
These are just a few of the flows of comment from the baseborn sons and daughters of Nigeria. This wasn’t an estrangement in view that many have lost the hope that we could have any proffer solution to any problem from this part of the world. Many educated 21st century Nigerians have the thought that only in western education the solace comes from no need to develop the traditional or alternative ways of doing things and live peacefully like Africans. Ooni of Ife put out the possible cure of the disease, without enforcing or making it mandatory to be used. A good ground for research! Appropriate agencies and researchers can take it up for verification. Recommend it for the masses if it works well and if otherwise it can be rejected. This is what is being done in the advanced nation.
Getting a local cure for COVID-19 will not only save lives in our dear land but also save us from the economic disaster that will come after this pandemic and earn us respect and money!
By the end of this COVID-19 pandemic, some countries will rejoice while many will dwindle down the floor of the economy especially countries like Nigeria. Experts are saying China will gain from this after all. They are already producing en mass facilities and materials and supply different parts of the world. Their medical personnel is hired in almost all parts of the world. Every country needs help but those who stood to develop themselves and not just follow the conventional standard and imitation are making good progress. Today some countries developed their own cure locally and the world has no reservation but to take and even buy from them.
Madagascar is one of the great countries. The countries knew he has no power and medical facilities to cater to the pandemic and it swung into action by developing what becomes a successful cure for COVID-19 today. It was predicted that Madagascar will suffer a great loss to this disease. However, this was proved wrong as the tiny Africa country disappointed the prediction which makes the World Health Organization (WHO) bow for their innovation. They came up with herb called COVID ORGANIC which results in effectiveness made the superpower US order for it in billions of dollars. Madagascar recorded more than one hundred cases of COVID-19 with no death case. The government of Madagascar provided a local solution to international problems locally and today Madagascar is saved and many countries are depending on them. The US investing 2.5 million dollars in COVID ORGANIC is a win for Madagascar economy on herbs that are naturally grown.
The giant independent communist state of Cuba has proven to be self-sufficient and stood over time. Cuba has never been a copycat state, it stands on its own and solves the problem within its reach. Many countries are admiring Cuba and seeking their supports. The Cubans believe in their alternative medicine developed them to international standards.
Today, Yemen is moving strongly against COVID-19 not because her people are so cautious of all precautionary measures neither no cases but the poor Arab state took hold of her black seed oil. For over 30 days of first cases, the number of cases didn’t increase beyond tenth, despite the fact that the country is surrounded by heavily affected sister countries. Now Yemen is making money from the high demand for black seed oil worldwide.
However, many research works still going on and some herbal remedies are discovered. Yet, little attention is given to them. Appropriate authorities have not responded or recommended any of the products of these local discoveries in Nigeria or given them further authentication. This is one of the major setbacks we have in Nigeria. The government and government agencies do not really in owe, interested, or support the ethnobotanical discoveries while they spend the country’s wealth to order for the foreign drugs.
Africans need to reason in Africa’s way, we so much endowed with rich vegetation that supports the wild growth of plants without cultivation. Many of these worthy herbs are found in the wild flourishing on there own, all that is needed is to explore and make them useful for different purposes.
Who said the west and their organizations and institutions have the stamp to all standard?
Alabi Yusuf writes from Ibadan, Oyo state capital
