How much does Nigeria stand to gain annually from this?
It is difficult to estimate. It is an informal sector.
Very easily, I don't see why the nation cannot generate $1 billion annually
from this. It is just in terms of monetary value. The jobs that you create, the
healthy nation that you have, the impact you have in the society are
unquantifiable. Nigeria spends more than that buying Chinese products. When
some people travel, half of their boxes are filled with vitamins. Our own tea manufacturing
companies are struggling because they are not patronised by our people.
One of the outcomes we expect from this festival is to
have an undertaking to have it as an annual event. The industry has come of age
and we can have it annually. The second thing is that we will be talking among
ourselves and have a monograph of current products that are in current use.
What that does is that it will help researchers and the market people know what
the standards are. Those are the behind- the-scenes things that will come out
of the event.
Where is the place of Nigeria in this sphere of medicine?
Nigeria is in a very peculiar situation. We are not in
the top league when it comes to people who export herbal products. We talk
about South Africa, Ghana and even Kenya. It was during the recent fire
incident in Kenya airport that I was shocked of the number of flowers and
herbal products they export everyday. They were making about $3 million
everyday.
You've even our neighbouring Cameroon here. Apart from
kola nuts, Nigeria is minimal in that area. We want Nigeria to compete in terms
of the finished products.
NTERVIEW
Nigeria's former electoral umpire, Professor Maurice Iwu,
in this interview, veers into the world of herbal medication. He says Nigeria's
potentials are many, saying two of them are herbs and medicinal foods, both of
which, according to him, can earn the country at least $1 annually. Excerpts:
This year's HerbFest is getting huge attention. What
marks it away from the previous ones?
Two things: It is the first HerbFest that is dedicated
exclusively to food plant - the emphasis is on food medicine. The other reason
is that there are some exciting new products that will be launched at HerbFest
2013. The previous four editions had been mainly on medicinal plants. This
time, there are many Nigerian companies that have gone into dietary components
and are launching new products. That is why we think this year's own has to be
done in a special way. That is why we are partnering with some media
organisations to promote the event so that it will become a Nigerian event.
In America where they have what they call NaturalExpo,
they hold the event three times yearly. They use the event to showcase to
people from other countries who attend what they can do . They use the event to
shop around for new ideas.
In this year's HerbFest some foreigners are attending.
They will look at Nigeria's capabilities and see what they can buy from our
scientists and our manufacturers.
Can you be specific on the countries attending the Expo?
U.S, Britain, South Africa , some West African countries,
etc. Some of their top pharmaceutical companies are attending. We don't have
the exact figure of the countries that are coming; we will know when the day
comes. Remember this is the only event that happens in Africa where you really
have manufactured dietary supplements and medicinal plants products on display.
This year's case, as I said earlier, will be different
because it is focusing on 'foods as medicine'. We will be able to showcase what
has been done in various parts of Nigeria; our raw materials, how far we have
been able to process them. One other thing that is also exciting this year is
that since the last two years, two West African products have met international
standards.
They're making waves. One is called the African Bush
Mango; that you can use Ogbono fruits for slimming down. If you Google the
Internet, it is the number one medicine for weight loss. The second product
that has made it to the international market is Moringa. It is a plant that is
used by the Hausa people for cooking soup.
It is a very good medicine. Although we the scientists
have known this for the past 25 years, within the last two years, it has become
popular in the international market. The whole idea is to take a product and
promote it. We have looked at the whole issue of ageing. We have come up with a
product that will make old people to function maximally even at old age.
What happened here is that we have been able to get a
particular mushroom that grows on the head of caterpillar. It is an ancient
mushroom. We combined it with two other products to have a unique product that
will make ageing not to be seen as a disease. You can age and, just like any
other kind of organic function, you can function effectively.
That means it makes your brain to function well?
Every part of your body; even physically. We have things
for brain health. We have another mushroom that is good at helping you adapt
and make diseases not affect people or succumb easily. There will also be a
talk about actual domestication of some white plants that people will show how
they've been able to cultivate hitherto plants they have not been able to
cultivate.
This is a component of agriculture that people are not
very aware of. It can compete favourably with other aspects of the economy. The
market estimate for this sector is $40 billion annually. This is something that
Nigeria should be able to have a platform for people to view our capability as
a nation and be able to interact among scientists and businesses. It is the
only platform we have on the continent where we can have this kind of
interaction. It is not entirely economic, industrial or scientific. The
participants will be able to interface.
What is the level of involvement of government in
HerbFest ?
Luckily for us, we have the Nigeria Natural Medicine
Development Agency. The agency has been partnering with us for about 10 years
now. We also have a full retinue of government agencies that are involved. The
commitment is not necessarily in terms of money. Sometimes it is encouragement.
The place we are having the event is at Raw Materials Research and Development
Council.
We also have NAFDAC which is the regulatory agency.
NAFDAC has played a wonderful role by setting the standard for the products.
That gives foreigners good feelings in terms of knowing that those products
have been regulated. NAFDAC is very stringent in making its rules. We also have
the government-owned research agency.
Even the active participation of these agencies alone is
a form of support to us. It is a sector that doesn't really require government
intervention. But if you help universities to be strong in departments of
biology, pharmacy, bio-chemistry and economics, it will be good. There is no
aspect of our academia that is not useful for the kind of work we are doing.
That is something that can open the economy to a whole new dimension.
We also have farmers who are specialised in these kinds
of crops. We have people who can grow tomatoes for example - Tomatoes, not for
food only, but as medicine. Raw tomatoes are good for men suffering from
prostrate disease. There are so many aspects of it. There is the leaf, for
example, for stress. There is this thing called Ukpo and it's used for cooking.
It is very good for male libido. I just saw a packaged product few minutes ago
for that. If you turn it the other way round, it helps in female libido too.
Some of these traditional medicine practitioners come up
with one herb and claim it can cure 20 ailments. Sometimes, people find it
difficult believing them. Don't you think that is one of the reasons several
people don't openly embrace traditional medicines?
I think you have a point there. We shouldn't confuse
traditional medicine with herbal medicinal products. Traditional medicine as
the name entails is a traditional medicine. It's based on experiential rather
than evidence. Somebody had been using something and you don't know why he does
that. The other one is based on evidence. That doesn't mean that traditional
medicine doesn't have its merits. But the human body is complex and it's
difficult to know where your ability of self-healing stops and medical healing
starts.
Much more fundamental is the fact that it is so difficult
to explain to people who are used to medical approach to healthcare to begin to
explain to them that you can treat somebody through a holistic approach.
How many participants and corporate bodies are you
expecting?
We are targeting about 200 people. It is a specialised
event. But the number may be higher since it is a public event and it holds in
Abuja.
Are lecturers in universities and research institutions
involved?
Yes, universities are very actively involved. We have
people that are coming from the Universities of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo, Jos,
Ahmadu Bello, UNN, among others.
How much does Nigeria stand to gain annually from this?
It is difficult to estimate. It is an informal sector.
Very easily, I don't see why the nation cannot generate $1 billion annually
from this. It is just in terms of monetary value. The jobs that you create, the
healthy nation that you have, the impact you have in the society are
unquantifiable. Nigeria spends more than that buying Chinese products. When
some people travel, half of their boxes are filled with vitamins. Our own tea
manufacturing companies are struggling because they are not patronised by our people.
One of the outcomes we expect from this festival is to
have an undertaking to have it as an annual event. The industry has come of age
and we can have it annually. The second thing is that we will be talking among
ourselves and have a monograph of current products that are in current use.
What that does is that it will help researchers and the market people know what
the standards are. Those are the behind- the-scenes things that will come out
of the event.
Where is the place of Nigeria in this sphere of medicine?
Nigeria is in a very peculiar situation. We are not in
the top league when it comes to people who export herbal products. We talk
about South Africa, Ghana and even Kenya. It was during the recent fire
incident in Kenya airport that I was shocked of the number of flowers and
herbal products they export everyday. They were making about $3 million
everyday.
You've even our neighbouring Cameroon here. Apart from
kola nuts, Nigeria is minimal in that area. We want Nigeria to compete in terms
of the finished products.
