By Solomon Odeniyi
Drawing inferences from the interactions with some residents in Osun State, some resorted to the use of various traditional remedies to prevent and in few cases treat the lethal virus for a couple of reasons.
However, this was largely due to misinformation spread by personalities who wield strong influence on the populace. They include; politicians and religious and community leaders among others.
Femi Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister in the country who is well respected in the state made several unproven claims about the coronavirus pandemic and vaccines.
Fani-Kayode who holds a chieftain title in Ile-Ife, Osun on April 30 , 2020 said the danger of taking the vaccine , alleging that it would lead to the death of several persons in the country.
With the handle , Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) tweeted , “I’ve warned about the dangers of the vaccine that will be proposed as the answer to #COVID19.This will result in millions of deaths.Nig. is trying to pass a law that will make it compulsory to take that vaccine as part of the world depopulation agenda.This is EVIL!#stopncdcbill”
Another of his claims on May 2 ,2020 was specifically directed at the World Health Organisation .
The tweet read, “@WHO are set to begin Covid 19 vaccine trials in our country. EVIL! Not only have our people been turned into Guinea pigs to test Gates’ killer vaccine but our leaders are also passing a law which will make the use of that evil vaccine compulsory.What a mess! I weep for Nigeria.”
‘Our Preferences For Herbal Remedies Over COVID-19 Vaccine” (1)
He no doubt recanted his words and took shots of the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine but not all of his followers can be said to have done the same.
Also, a Nigerian Southwest governor, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State was one of the fifth governors who tested positive for Coronavirus in 2020, on March 30, Makinde.
Makinde spent five days at the isolation center and later tested negative twice.
His claim was that a mixture of black-seed and honey, he took was responsible for such a fit.
“My body temperature is 36.4 degrees. My very good friend and brother, Dr Muyideen Olatunji. He is the one in charge of the Primary Healthcare for Oyo State.
“He came to me and said, look, I am going to send you this blackseed oil, it boosts immunity, so I mixed it with honey and took one teaspoon in the morning and one in the evening.”
Makinde didn’t stop there, in a radio interview transcribed on his official Facebook, he urged his people to remain calm , adding that there are local solutions which could cure the virus.
“There are local solutions to boost immunity. So, our people should not fret. They shouldn’t fret. Just as I have been able to get the virus out of my system, so will it be for the majority of our people,” his words during the interview.
Osun state was carved out of Oyo State in 1991. The two states have a strong tie with another. Until recently the two states owned the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology.
Also, Osun , a state southwest Nigeria , besides being a home to a number of popular traditional medicines in the country , is said to be culturally rich and has produced cultural icons.
These in a way have thrown weight into people’s belief in traditional medicine for treating Coronavirus.
A popular monarch in Nigeria, Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi had recommended what he called: “Coronavirus solution – potential Yoruba herbs to help”.
The monarch prescribed Onion, Negro pepper, Sulfur, Bitter leaf, Forest anchomanes, boundary tree among others.
Apart from this , he also partnered to produce a remedy with a popular trado-medical company, YemKem international.
At the launch of the drug he was quoted to have said, “We have been on this research for almost two years, and we had an alliance with the different organisation including the FG but this 100 percent a private initiative, and to the glory of God, NAFDAC gave us all approval level last year September. And we ensure that the products are effective.
We have started using it for Covid-19 positive victims, including political office holders since last September.”
The monarch added, “Now we are very convinced that something very good is coming out of Nigeria. No-one travels far and wide across the country and has even been in the midst of thousands of people and what I have been using to boost my immunity is these drugs.
“This is our vaccine to combat covid-19. Today we are launching these products for the benefit of the people of Nigeria and also of all mankind globally. We are celebrating Verozil today, it is approved by NAFDAC and it is proven to be the most organic product in Nigeria”.
Although, on the bottle of the remedy obtained by this reporter was a disclaimer
It read, “These claims have not been evaluated by NAFDAC”.
However, neither the World Health Organisation, an international health body ,the African Center for Disease Control , a body in charge of control of infectious diseases in the continent nor the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, a body regulating drugs and foods in Nigeria has approved any remedy as cure for the ravaging virus.
Believe in traditional remedies
Alexandra N. Welz, Agnes Emberger-Klein & Klaus Menrad in their research published in the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine journal said many users of the remedies still have strong belief in it as a result of their experiences.
The research was titled , ‘Why people use herbal medicine: insights from a focus-group study in Germany’
They said, “Dissatisfaction with conventional treatment, past good experiences, positive aspects associated with herbal medicine, as well as family traditions were the most commonly-mentioned reasons why herbal medicine was preferred as treatment.”
Explaining why Nigerians and other Africans believe in the potency of the traditional remedies In a research work by Ezekwesili-Ofili Josephine Ozioma and Okaka Antoinette Nwamaka Chinwe attributed this to the cultural views of diseases in many African countries.
In the piece titled, ‘Herbal Medicines in African Traditional Medicine’ , they said, ” African traditional medicine is a form of holistic health care system that is organized into three levels of specialty, which include divination, spiritualism, and herbalism.
“Modern traditional health practitioners have great knowledge of pharmaceutical properties of herbs and the shared cultural views of diseases in the society and they combine their knowledge with modern skills and techniques in processing and preserving herbal medicines, as well as in the management of diseases.
Conspiracy theory on COVID-19, Vaccine made a people opt for traditional medicine
On the other hand, some conspiracy behind the existence of Coronavirus and the vaccine by conspiracy theorists appearing on multiple platforms across the internet also is responsible is another reason why residents opted for remedies.
The spread of misinformation about the virus seems to be very well coordinated, with some focusing on videos and audios that are shared online and others spreading their misinformation through posts on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.
Expert advice on using unproven remedy
A Professor of virology and Chairman of Expert Review Committee on COVID-19 in Nigeria, Oyewale Tomori in an interview advised people to believe some people who are not health experts for the cure of any disease, especially Coronavirus.
He said, “If a carpenter offers to repair your radio, will you agree? So check all those making claims of curing diseases from pastors to princes, from parliamentarians to also and even professors. What is their background?
“When a professor of piggery is peddling a drug to cure COVID-19, I will be wary.
“Where did he test the product? Are the results published in the news media or on tv? So many of these people are only trying to make a quick naira from deceiving and playing on the lack of knowledge of the people.” he said.
While answering questions on local remedies, the professor noted that treating one of the symptoms or all the symptoms of the disease should not be taken as the cure of the disease.
“No, treating symptoms or symptoms does not lead to a cure of the disease. Many diseases can and do cause fever or pain so taking a drug to relieve the pain or lower the temperature CERTAINLY does not cure the disease. You must first find out which of the diseases is causing the fever or pain.” Prof Tomori stressed.
A virologist from the department of MicroBiology in Osun State University, an Associate Professor, Waidi Sule noted that a general immune booster cannot be used as a therapy against COVID-19.
“Immune booster is something that enhances the natural body system. It may target Coronavirus and it may not but generally, it will enhance and improve our natural body system.
“But if the drug does not target Coronavirus, that means it is just a general immune booster. It shouldn’t be used as a therapy against COVID-19.
“If a company invented a drug, there should be a section on the company’s website where one can read the protocol to some extent and methodology for the drugs, ” he said.
If a larger percentage of the population must be vaccinated against the lethal virus, attention must be beamed on misinformation, disinformation, cultures, and beliefs that potentially interfere with the vaccination process.
Also, the shortfall in the supply of the vaccine must be addressed. Nigeria 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine which only covers one percent of the entire population. Of that number Osun state with a population of 4 million people received 64,240 doses.
This report was produced as part of the Africa Resilience Network (ARN) programme with support from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), in partnership with the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) and Africa Uncensored.
