Opinion

Planned Introduction Of Herbal Medicine In Nigerian Varisties: How The People See It

Published

11 years ago

April 21, 2014

The Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi
Chukwu, recently disclosed the Federal Government’s plan to introduce herbal medicine studies in the Nigerian universities curriculum.
By this, herbal medicine often regarded as esoteric science, studied and practiced by a select few, will be studied by all interested, qualified students in Nigeria.
How do Nigerians react to this development? Our Chief Correspondent, Calista Ezeaku and Photographer, Dele Obinna sought the views of some Port Harcourt residents on that.
Dr Ibitrokoemi Kurubo-Chairman Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Rivers State Chapter
You see, we need to understand the issue in the right context.
We must understand that even outside this country, herbs have been known to have medicinal properties and what the minister is trying to say is that there is now the need to properly regulate herbal medicine so that those that are interested in extraction of herbs for medicinal uses will be properly trained on how to use them. That is different from when you have herbalists that are like magicians, producing things that can cure every thing, no. What they are saying now is that we do have herbs that have medicinal properties and that there will be a system of extracting them to know those qualities and all that. That’s a good way to go. It is not a bad idea. If you are saying that you want to introduce scientific approach to the use of herbs, I am for that.

Mr Gentle Oge- a navigator
I think it is a right move. For sometime now, herbal medicine has played vital role in the health sector in terms of maintaining good health of the citizenry.
Herbal medicine makes use of natural herbs from the bush which is very healthy. People who are narrow minded look at herbal medicine as being dirty and diabolical, but people who have travelled far and wide know that herbal medicine is a key to the treatment of diseases like stroke and others.

Hon. Brilliant Amadi-Politician/Businessman
I think it’s a step in the right direction because herbal medicine for now has come to stay in Nigerian and a lot of people get themselves treated through herbal medicine. So I think it will be proper for government to assist in making it a known treatment rather than the way it has been before now where a lot of quacks are into it. But if it is studied in school I think more and more professionals will come into it and professionalism will be introduced. Rather than us seeing the quacks we are seeing now, we will begin to see professionals.
I know very well that all medicines come from herbs and roots but then the way they do it is a bit worrisome. You know everybody is looking for money, so a lot of fake herbal doctors are using this means to make money for themselves, But we are saying if it is introduced in schools and people study it professionally, more persons will come into the field as professionals and then medicines from herbs will be gotten and will be used to treat people professionally and not what we see today.
For instance one person will come on television and say we have one medicine that cures a lot of sicknesses. How true is that? What are the scientific proof to show that these claims are true?
But if it is introduced in our Nigerian universities curriculum and people are studing it, for God’s sake, there will be scientific proofs to this effect. And when you are introducing a drug that is scientifically proven, people, the society will feel confident taking your drugs, knowing too well that it cures malaria, stroke or as the case may be rather than what we see today. And I believe that is the reason why a lot of people do not come out to say they are patronizing herbal medicine dealers because there is no proof. So I feel it is a step in the right direction. Government should go ahead and introduce it in universities, and let professionatism be introduced in the field. A lot of herbal medicine practioners today carry out diagnosis on patients when they are not trained to do so and studing herbal medicine in universities will equip them to do so.
But I will advise that government should not rush in introducing this course in the universities. They should be gradual about it. They should take one or two institutions as a case study and see how fast it will grow and how good it is before they can bring in other universities.

Mrs Chinyere Nwachukwu-Business woman
It is a very good initiative. Orthodox medicine is no longer reliable. There are a lot of fake medicine in the market. The people that deal on these drugs go to China and produce nonsense for us. These herbal doctors go to the bush, get the herbs and roots, prepare their medicine and when you take it, you will see it working while the one we buy from all these foriengners are nonsense. When you take it there is no improvement. You continue to take drugs without getting better but when you take herbal medicine, you see changes in your body. And don’t forget that herbal medicine has been in practice since the olden days even before the introduction of orthodox medine. People relied on the herbal doctors for diagnosis and treatment of their illnesses. And if we can properly train people to study herbal medicine, it will be better for us. That will take Nigerian herbal medicine to a higher level.

Mrs Ngozi Victor-Ogolo – Herbal medicine practioner/Biochemist.
It’s a good idea. When you see what is happening in the world this time around, most times, the orthodox drugs are not really helping. Most times you see so many patients come into our clinic who have been disappointed using orthodox drugs. Some will tell you that they’ve been taking orthodox drugs for a very long time but to no avail but after taking herbal medicine, you’ll find out that they get what they want.
So I think introducing herbal medine in universities will really help us to know more. It will help us to have more doctors. Some of us that are currently in the practice still read books on herbal medicine. It does not really follow that one must learn herbal medicine from his grandfather who was a herbalist and all the rest. If you want to devote your mind to learning it, you can.
But a way to help in realizing government’s dream is to liaise with the main herbal practitionals, those that know the field well and have been into the practice for a long time.
Government should co-opt them in teaching some courses because you see, herbal medicine is good. I love it. It has really helped me and my family. And herbal medicine in Nigeria today has really developed. Contrary to some people’s believe that herbal medicine is fetish and being practiced by uneducated people, there is nothing fetish about it and as you can see most of us in this clinic (Emione Clinic) are graduates. We have our own factory, we produce the medicine under high hygeinic condition and all that. What is required is just getting the right roots and herbs and knowing what to do.
So I think introducing herbal medicine in our universities will help our health sector to grow.
It will help our people greatly in future.

Dr Nnanna Victor Onyekwere, Director, Public Health, Rivers State Ministry of Health.
The herbal practice or traditional practice as we know it here is something somebody got from his grandfather, his grandfather got it from his great grandfather and so on. It is a family thing and everybody keeps it a secret. And that has been the problem. Let the traditional medicine practitioners tell us what they are doing, let other people try it and document it so that it becomes approved for use by all but they say, “no it’s my remedy.”
So what the minister now said is like, rather than allowing us practice in this crude way of tradition hidden and shrouded with some secrecy and some kind of spirituality, let us formally study what is with us and see how they could be useful.
If you remember those days, leaves like dogonyaro were used for malaria. You ’ll find that the chewing stick we chew contains some chemicals that clean the teeth. Traditionally before now, we have always used even charcoal, ash to clean our teeth. So what they are saying now is, let us now study these herbs that we have to know their medical efficacy. Once that is known it becomes useful for pharmaceutical companies to see how they will use those herbs in treatment.
That’s the essence of it. Let’s study how useful all these herbs, leaves and plants are for medical treatment, Once that is confirmed, it means that pharmacy shops will start using them to produce drugs on larger scale. It means that we can now start cultivating them and using them for treatment.
So it is not as if it is encouraging traditional practice, remember that even in orthodox practice, most of the drugs come from herbs. It’s first of all discovered from herbs, then they try produce it artificially. But the original ones are almost, always from herbs. So we are now looking inward to study the herbs we have with us to see what we can use them for medicinally, not necessarily in the usual traditional way. You know that in any plant, there are more than one or two other drugs, in using it you extract the one that is useful and remove the other ones unlike when you put dogonyaro or back of tree into Kai Kai, it extracts every thing both useful and non-useful and even harmful ones. But now we will extract the useful ones, remove the harmful ones. It will almost look like a pharmaceutical study.
It will look like a school of pharmacy where rather than looking at theory, you’ll be concentrating on trees, plants and schrubs that exist locally and see what they can be used for.

Opinion

Why Reduce Cut-Off Mark for C.O.E ?

Published

1 day ago

July 18, 2025

The Tide

Quote:”Although the idea of lowering the cut-off to below the pass mark of 200 does not sit well with many Nigerians. 35.5% in any examination anywhere in the world is a fail. And no candidate that scores below 200 should ideally be considered for admission into any tertiary institution in the country.”

Recently, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the tertiary education stakeholders approved 150 as the benchmark for admission into universities and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education for the 2025/2026 academic session. They, However, clarified that no tertiary institutions should admit students who score below the approved scores, but institutions can still fix higher cut-off marks for their applicants. This has remained the pattern over the years. Higher scores are required to go into universities while applicants with lower scores are welcomed in colleges of education and polytechnics. And the question is, why? At first glance, the disparity in the entry requirements into universities and colleges of education may appear to be a flexible, inclusive approach to higher education access. However, a deeper look reveals that pegging the college of education cut-off mark so low is not only problematic but a threat to the quality of education and the dignity of the teaching profession in Nigeria.

By setting the minimum entry score for Colleges of Education at just 100 out of 400, the message being sent is loud and clear: teaching is not a profession that demands excellence. It is a profession for the “Olodos” This undermines every effort claimed to be made by the government and stakeholders to reposition teaching as a noble, intellectual, and competitive career. The same country that wants to raise the standard of education cannot afford to lower the standard for training those who will educate future generations. Colleges of Education are responsible for preparing teachers for Nigeria’s basic education sector. These are the people who will teach children in their formative years—the foundation of any nation’s future. If we continue to accept candidates with very low academic abilities into these institutions, how can we expect them to produce competent, inspiring, and innovative educators?

Accepting candidates who score as low as 25% on the UTME is a recipe for mediocrity. It sends a message that anyone can be a teacher, regardless of their intellectual preparation. This will not only dilute the quality of teachers but worsen the already low public perception of the profession. There are many students with strong academic credentials who are genuinely passionate about becoming educators. Setting the cut-off at 100 trivializes their efforts and sacrifices. It lumps them together with individuals who may not have the intellectual or emotional readiness for teaching, leading to overcrowded classrooms, underwhelming graduates, and frustrated employers.While universities are expected to maintain a cut-off mark of 150, colleges of education are effectively reduced to a dumping ground for low-performing candidates. This dichotomy creates a sense of inequality and inferiority around education colleges, when in fact, the reverse should be the case.

If anything, those training to shape young minds should meet standards equal to or higher than university students, not lower.The effects of this policy may not be immediately visible, but in the long run, they will be devastating. We are likely to see: a further decline in basic education outcomes. Someone joked that as the cut-off mark keeps dwindling every academic year, by 2030, the cut-off for the universities will be 100 and that of colleges of education and polytechnics reduced to 70 or 50. Who is fooling who?The chances of having more poorly trained teachers entering the public school system is inevitable. An irritated teacher recently lamented how the public schools are flooded with so-called teachers who do not know their left from their right, compelling the old teachers to do the job of teaching and training them.The low entry requirements to colleges of education can lead to higher attrition rates in the teaching profession due to unprepared candidates; diminished respect and remuneration for teachers; greater educational inequality between rural and urban areas and lots more.

It is therefore advised that rather than lowering standards, those in-charge of the education should raise entry requirements for Colleges of Education to at least 140 or 150 to align with university expectations. Although the idea of lowering the cut-off to below the pass mark of 200 does not sit well with many Nigerians. 35.5% in any examination anywhere in the world is a fail. And no candidate that scores below 200 should ideally be considered for admission into any tertiary institution in the country. As earlier stated, our colleges of education are now painfully places for poor grade students. That should be concerning to those in authority and stakeholders in the education sector. And this can only be corrected when our leaders pay adequate attention to our colleges of education. There should be improved funding and facilities in these institutions to attract top-tier candidates.

Incentives such as scholarships, housing, or job security should be provided for those who perform well and commit to teaching. Some corporate organisations have done this over the years and one thinks it is high time both federal, state and local government areas get visibly and sincerely involved. All over the world, teaching is regarded as a noble and professional career and the case shouldn’t be different in Nigeria. If we are truly serious about fixing Nigeria’s education system, we must start by fixing how we train our teachers. Lowering the cut-off mark to 100 for Colleges of Education is a step backward and a stain on our national conscience. We must demand excellence from those who will one day stand before our children—not just in words, but in policy. After all, the quality of education in any nation will never rise above the quality of its teachers.

The reason usually adduced for lowering the cut-off mark is candidates’ poor performance at entrance exams. And one wonders how lowering the bar will lead to higher performance. How will that challenge students to harder? One thinks it high time those in-charge of the education sector, parents, and teachers think of solving the problems bedeviling the sector from the root instead of the usual method of treating the symptom rather than the disease. There is an urgent need to prioritize the welfare and quality of teachers if we must expect better results. It is also important that the authorities look into the speculations that the lower cut-off is a ploy by some universities to get maximum payment for Post UTME, knowing that no candidate with less than 200 will be given admission into any department in the institutions. This kind of extortion should not be allowed to continue.

What is even the reason for double entrance examinations for a single admission. If UTME is no longer enough to earn admission into higher institutions in Nigeria then JAMB should be scrapped and higher institutions given the authority to conduct their own entrance examinations.On the other hand, if JAMB is still found worthy of conducting credible entrance examinations into tertiary institutions in the country, then we should do away with post UTME examinations. Our education sector must be sanitized for us to get the best, desired result

Calista Ezeaku

Opinion

Welcome! Worthy Future For R/S

Published

1 day ago

July 18, 2025

The Tide

Quote:”The June accord is not the end of the crisis. It is the beginning of responsibility.To Fubara: Lead with humility, but do not abandon your authority. To Wike: Let your legacy be one of vision, not vengeance. To the Assembly: Return to your true employers—the people. To President Tinubu: Guard this peace not just with federal might, but moral clarity.”

After months of bitter power tussle between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his estranged political godfather, Chief Nyesom Wike, months ago, Rivers has finally arrived at a moment that feels like the return of peace. Actually it should be the duty of all stakeholders to see that the peace so brokered between ‘father and son’ is sustained. Just two years ago, this conflict was unthinkable. Fubara, a career technocrat and former Accountant-General, was Wike’s trusted protégé handpicked and handed the reins of power after the 2023 elections. The baton was passed with confidence, perhaps even affection. The State House of Assembly dominated by Wike’s loyalists—moved to impeach him. Nine commissioners resigned. Government House fell eerily silent. Port Harcourt became a city of whispers.

What began as a brotherhood became brinkmanship. And by March 2025, it had spiraled so far that President Bola Tinubu was forced to impose emergency rule, suspending democratic processes and appointing an administrator to restore order. On June 26, in a closed-door meeting at Aso Rock, Wike and Fubara shook hands under the watchful eyes of President Tinubu. Also present were lawmakers, party leaders, and peacemakers from across the federation. “No more acrimony,” Wike declared. “I will do everything within my power to sustain peace,” Fubara assured. For the people, this truce comes as a welcome relief but not without skepticism.“Peace is good, but we’ve heard this story before,” some said “Let them not sign peace in Abuja and bring trouble back to Port Harcourt.”The memory of the failed December 2023 accord still stings—a deal that promised healing but delivered deeper wounds. This time, the public wants more than promises. They want accountability.

“This is not just a political dispute it is a leadership crisis that nearly destroyed the democratic soul of Rivers,” says Dr. Felix Chidiebere, a political scientist at the University of Port Harcourt. “Peace now must go beyond handshakes. It must show up in policy, in projects, in people’s lives.”Trust in the Assembly to legislate not legislate loyalty. Trust in the governor to govern with fairness, not fear. Trust in Wike to mentor, not manipulate. And above all, trust in the system to protect democracy. In the months of uncertainty, Rivers lost more than political direction it lost momentum.School roofs remain caved in. Youth empowerment programs are paused. Civil servants fear late salaries. Health centers sit idle. Foreign investors hover with hesitation.

Meanwhile, power brokers jostled for influence while ordinary lives were pushed to the margins. And yet, through it all, the people endured. They endured because they believed Rivers could be more than oil. More than politics. More than pain.

What the state needs at the moment is reconciliation, not revenge. The work ahead is not for politicians alone. Civil society, religious leaders, youth groups, and traditional rulers must now rise—not to pick sides, but to build bridges. There must be structure to this peace: community dialogue, legislative reform, perhaps even a truth and reconciliation commission. Peace, after all, is not a gift. It is a discipline. It must be protected, nourished, and enforced. As the National Youth Council of Nigeria rightly put it: “We want peace, but not at the cost of our constitution

The June accord is not the end of the crisis. It is the beginning of responsibility.To Fubara: Lead with humility, but do not abandon your authority. To Wike: Let your legacy be one of vision, not vengeance. To the Assembly: Return to your true employers—the people. To President Tinubu: Guard this peace not just with federal might, but moral clarity. Peace is the return of salaries. Peace is the sound of classrooms reopening. Peace is a contractor’s tools coming back to life. Peace is a young girl in Eleme daring to dream of becoming governor one day. Rivers doesn’t need perfect leaders. It needs present ones. Honest ones. Human ones.The ink has dried. The cameras are gone. Now begins the harder work—not of declaring peace, but of delivering it. Because in Rivers State, peace must not only be signed. It must be sustained. Yes, peace has come to stay. In my sincere thinking, I can put the current peace deal in the state as ‘No victor , no vanquish’…

King Onunwor

Opinion

Restoring Order, Delivering Good Governance

Published

1 week ago

July 11, 2025

The Tide

Quote:”But the tide must now turn. With the Senate’s approval of a record ?1.485 trillion budget for Rivers State for 2025, a new opportunity has emerged”.

The political atmosphere in Rivers State has been anything but calm in 2025. Yet, a rare moment of unity was witnessed on Saturday, June 28, when Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, appeared side by side at the funeral of Elder Temple Omezurike Onuoha, Wike’s late uncle. What could have passed for a routine condolence visit evolved into a significant political statement—a symbolic show of reconciliation in a state bruised by deep political strife.

The funeral, attended by dignitaries from across the nation, was more than a moment of shared grief. It became the public reflection of a private peace accord reached earlier at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. There, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu brought together Governor Fubara, Minister Wike, the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and other lawmakers to chart a new path forward.

For Rivers people, that truce is a beacon of hope. But they are not content with photo opportunities and promises. What they demand now is the immediate lifting of the state of emergency declared in March 2025, and the unconditional reinstatement of Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Dr. Ngozi Odu, and all suspended lawmakers. They insist on the restoration of their democratic mandate.

President Tinubu’s decision to suspend the entire structure of Rivers State’s elected leadership and appoint a sole administrator was a drastic response to a deepening political crisis. While it may have prevented a complete breakdown in governance, it also robbed the people of their voice. That silence must now end.

The administrator, retired naval chief Ibok-Ette Ibas, has managed a caretaker role. But Rivers State cannot thrive under unelected stewardship. Democracy must return—not partially, not symbolically, but fully. President Tinubu has to ensure that the people’s will, expressed through the ballot, is restored in word and deed.

Governor Fubara, who will complete his six-month suspension by September, was elected to serve the people of Rivers, not to be sidelined by political intrigues. His return should not be ceremonial. It should come with the full powers and authority vested in him by the constitution and the mandate of Rivers citizens.

The people’s frustration is understandable. At the heart of the political crisis was a power tussle between loyalists of Fubara and those of Wike. Institutions, particularly the State House of Assembly, became battlegrounds. Attempts were made to impeach Fubara. The situation deteriorated into a full-blown crisis, and governance was nearly brought to its knees.

But the tide must now turn. With the Senate’s approval of a record ?1.485 trillion budget for Rivers State for 2025, a new opportunity has emerged. This budget is not just a fiscal document—it is a blueprint for transformation, allocating ?1.077 trillion for capital projects alone. Yet, without the governor’s reinstatement, its execution remains in doubt.

It is Governor Fubara, and only him, who possesses the people’s mandate to execute this ambitious budget. It is time for him to return to duty with vigor, responsibility, and a renewed sense of urgency. The people expect delivery—on roads, hospitals, schools, and job creation.

Rivers civil servants, recovering from neglect and under appreciation, should also continue to be a top priority. Fubara should continue to ensure timely payment of salaries, address pension issues, and create a more effective, motivated public workforce. This is how governance becomes real in people’s lives.

The “Rivers First” mantra with which Fubara campaigned is now being tested. That slogan should become policy. It must inform every appointment, every contract, every budget decision, and every reform. It must reflect the needs and aspirations of the ordinary Rivers person—not political patrons or vested interests.

Beyond infrastructure and administration, political healing is essential. Governor Fubara and Minister Wike must go beyond temporary peace. They should actively unite their camps and followers to form one strong political family. The future of Rivers cannot be built on division.

Political appointments, both at the Federal and State levels, must reflect a spirit of fairness, tolerance, and inclusivity. The days of political vendettas and exclusive lists must end. Every ethnic group, every gender, and every generation must feel included in the new Rivers project.

Rivers is too diverse to be governed by one faction. Lasting peace can only be built on concessions, maturity, and equity. The people are watching to see if the peace deal will lead to deeper understanding or simply paper over cracks in an already fragile political arrangement.

Wike, now a national figure as Minister of the FCT, has a responsibility to rise above the local fray and support the development of Rivers State. His influence should bring federal attention and investment to the state, not political interference or division.

Likewise, Fubara should lead with restraint, humility, and a focus on service delivery. His return should not be marked by revenge or political purges but by inclusive leadership that welcomes even former adversaries into the process of rebuilding the state.

“The people are no longer interested in power struggles. They want light in their streets, drugs in their hospitals, teachers in their classrooms, and jobs for their children. The politics of ego and entitlement have to give way to governance with purpose.

The appearance of both leaders at the funeral was a glimpse of what unity could look like. That moment should now evolve into a movement-one that prioritizes Rivers State over every personal ambition. Let it be the beginning of true reconciliation and progress.

As September draws near, the Federal government should act decisively to end the state of emergency and reinstate all suspended officials. Rivers State must return to constitutional order and normal democratic processes. This is the minimum requirement of good governance.

The crisis in Rivers has dragged on for too long. The truce is a step forward, but much more is needed. Reinstating Governor Fubara, implementing the ?1.485 trillion budget, and uniting political factions are now the urgent tasks ahead. Rivers people have suffered enough. It is time to restore leadership, rebuild trust, and finally put Rivers first.

By: Amieyeofori Ibim
Amieyeofori Ibim is former Editor of The Tide Newspapers, political analyst and public affairs commentator