Pharmacist Ben Amodu insists that herbal medicine, if harnessed wisely by the government, could become a major foreign exchange earner for Nigeria. He spoke to Lillian Chukwu in Abuja on his passion for herbal drugs production.WHY this passion of yours for drugs productionAs a pharmacist, I worked at the state house clinic in 1982. It was at that time the incidence of HIV/AIDs first reared its head and so many people were coming around to access the vaccine recommended. The side effects of this drug are more than its useful effects and based on the age long conformity that we should not use anything which side effect is more than the useful effect, I refused to dispense these drugs even though others were dispensing them. As a result of this, I went into research to find out alternative to these drugs. As fate would have it, I stumbled upon a magazine where a German scientist talked about HIV/AIDs in a little girl and how combination of certain food intake can manage the virus. I did my own experiment using materials from my local area. I engaged myself vigorously in extensive reading in order to come up with materials that would form the basis for my analysis. Then, I took my findings to the laboratory. I now have a three-in-one drug that cures most ailments ranging from cancer to fibroids.The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria recently warned of sanctions on any one-stop drug by practitioners that claim to cure numerous ailments at onceIt is not for them to certify the laws on any herbal drugs in terms of stability, toxicity for human consumption. It is the responsibility of the National Agency for Food, and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). In my own case, I have gone further with full pharmaceutical residuals. NAFDAC has examined the efficacy of my drugs and this has attracted the attention of the major media houses. We have patients who have taken our drugs and have healing testimonies to give. The media did follow-up verification stories on these people by going to their homes to verify my claims. There was the case of a 40-year-old lady who has HIV and could barely function even with her placement on antiretroviral drugs, very expensive and very toxic drugs. We came in and placed her on our drugs and she is doing well. Same goes for a nine year sickle cell sufferer who spent more time in the hospital than school. Since she started our medications, she hasnt visited the hospital again nor has she taken blood transfusionHow do you address the issues of efficacy and right dosage administration when it comes to herbal drugsJust like I said earlier, the issue of stability and efficacy has been addressed by the intervention of NAFDAC which has tested our claims and certified them for human consumption.With NAFDACs certification of your drugs, what are your challenges in terms of acceptability by the publicThere is no challenge in this case because it lies with the person who is sick and wants a cure who will go to where he would be treated. I dont have to shout to the high heavens for people to be convinced of my drugs. Those who need it and those who have used it will tell others and the news will go round. Remember, the goldfish has no hiding place.What advice do you have for the government to support and encourage people like youI want the government to know that what I have in my hands is the product of research effort from my laboratory here in Nigeria. I arrived at this from researches on food and vegetation from Nigeria. Herbal practitioners like me have a lot to offer. With the emerging herbal markets all over the world right now, we have capacity that can increase our foreign exchange more than the petroleum that may dry up anytime. The drug cures high blood pressure, diabetes, sickle cell and malaria. Just recently I discovered an anti-malaria drug that has ten times the antigen of chloroquine but does not have the side effect of chloroquine and the parasitological test and analysis has been done and no side effect on any of the human organs . It is very efficacious without any side effect. The Director General of National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) authenticated our claims as factual and verifiable and they are collaborating with us by providing the necessary data that would ease our registration. We have to stop the huge investment on imported anti-malaria drugs from China. I think government should look more inward and support herbal research. I have 12 cancer supplements in the NIPRD which are being evaluated. And given the result of the first evaluation, we bought 400 animals and anti-cancer agent from sigma of London. These are agents with deadly venom. A drop of it in the blood leads to instant cancer growth. We divided the animals into two groups, we gave my supplement which is anti-cancer and did not give the other group. We kept the animals for 72 days as the test required given the WHO requirements. We monitored them every day and within seven days, we noticed abnormalities in the ones without my supplement. They had their hair removed and records show they had various types of cancer like cervical cancer, cancer of the brain, prostrate cancer etc. We applied our supplements and they got instant relief. This is a test that has not being carried out anywhere in West Africa and it is coming out from a private laboratory here in Nigeria!Are you claiming that your supplements can actually treat full-blown cancerExactly, in fact, a London Institute of Technology through a Nigerian Oncologist is interested in my drugs and has instituted some students to do research on our claims using European fund while our own government is looking the other way.Are you saying the Nigerian Government is not supporting your claimsI have been to a former Minister of Health while he was still a minister but he never showed any genuine interest, he was more interested in immediate benefits of office. But you can imagine the kind of attention I keep getting from London and the United States. Their shops have piled my drugs on their shelves.
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