By Emeka Omeihe 

It would have been utterly absurd to expect that Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state will easily wage a decisive war against native doctors either of the genuine or criminal hue.
Not with the pervading fear of the touted supernatural and diabolical powers associated with practitioners of that trade. The so-called supernatural or occultic powers of native doctors are enough to frighten the most hardened to contemplate engaging in any fight against them.
When Soludo braced up for a decisive war against the evil dimensions of that business, he must have fully prepared himself for a risky and daunting engagement. He had during his 2024 Public Service Lecture stirred some controversy when he accused native doctors of helping criminal elements by preparing protective charms for them.
“Diabolical native doctors are part of the forces aiding and abetting criminality in the state. They encourage and deceive hoodlums by preparing different kinds of protective charms. … Kidnappers are kept in the shrines of some of the native doctors showing that they work-hand-in-hand with the criminals” he had declared. He then vowed to root them out of the confines of the state.
Soludo’s declaration of war against native doctors though visionary and pragmatic, appeared to have stirred the Hornets’ nest especially from the camps of practitioners of the trade. While it was seen as a difficult but worthwhile crusade against the evils associated with the trade, signs of opposition soon emerged from the ranks of genuine practitioners of that business.
They reasoned that the governor’s speech was guilty of overgeneralisation as it failed to make a distinction between genuine and criminal native doctors. The state commissioner for information, Law Mefor had to quickly issue a statement to correct the wrong impressions read into that speech.
According to him, the governor ‘never declared war on all native doctors but rather doctors involved in criminal activities’ He said investigations by some concerned citizens had confirmed Soludo’s position that some native doctors are involved in preparing charms for kidnappers, armed robbers and are believed to be behind such evil practices as human sacrifice for money and protection. The state government said that these diabolical rituals have given rise to the belief in such practices as Ego-Mbute (access to money in huge quantities) Yahoo Plus and Idolatry. The war is to root out diabolical practices and has nothing to do with genuine traditional medicine or native doctors who are truly serving God and humanity, Mefor further clarified.
The devilish and evil practices pointed out by the governor for which he vowed to battle criminal native doctors are real and serious. Reports from across the country speak of the pervasiveness of such practices and the large patronage they enjoy especially among the youths. The belief in supernatural powers or the occultic prowess of native doctors to change the fortunes of people seeking easy access to quick money or power is responsible for the flourishing of such practices as ritual killings for money and human sacrifice.
The story of our youths arrested across the country with human parts for ritual purposes speak eloquently of the degenerate level of the evil practice. Within the last two weeks or so there have been three instances of such cases in the media space involving ordinary Nigerians including native doctors either caught in the process of selling human parts or about to dispose of them in very questionable circumstances.
And in all these instances, criminal native doctors feature very prominently either by direct involvement in human killings or receiving human parts for the preparation of concoctions touted capable of enhancing the fortunes of their customers.
In Nasarawa state a purported gospel singer who later described himself as a Cryptocurrency trader Timileyin Ajayi was arrested when he went to dispose of the decapitated head of a 24-year old youths service corps lady he had killed in his apartment.
Twins who double as carpenters and native doctors were caught in Ogun state for allegedly killing a sex worker who they had lured into their apartment for ritual purposes. They were arrested by the state police command while trying to sell the parts of their victim. In their confessional statements, they confirmed selling the parts for between N20,000 and N100,000.
Yet, the Oyo state police command arrested and paraded a suspected ritualist, Mohammad Adekunle for allegedly killing and selling human parts in Ibadan. Four other people were equally arrested for buying different parts of the human body from Adekunle for money ritual. This is just a tip of the iceberg in the illicit trade in human parts the go on around the country with no signs of abeting.
When Soludo vowed to root out criminal native doctors from the shores of Anambra state, he must have been seriously worried by the evil practices associated with that trade. But it is going to be a hard task given the esoteric and mystic nature of the trade.
The first challenge on his way is how to differentiate between the genuine traditional practitioners and the fake and criminal ones. The Traditional Medicine Practice Act 2000 established the traditional medicine practitioners’ council to register practitioners, licence them and regulate the preparation and sale of herbal medicines and provide for related matters.
With the copious roles assigned to the council by the Act, it would appear Soludo will have no problem sieving the chaff from the wheat. It may be tempting to assume that all registered native doctors or traditional medicine practitioners will not get involved in evil machinations given the fact of their registration. But this is a highly limited view on the issue.
Because of the secret, esoteric and mystic nature of the trade, you find that even the registered ones sometimes indulge in practices that do not lend themselves to empirical assessment. It is not uncommon to find them indulging in practices that promote the supernatural and the spiritual. But that is not to say there are no genuine ones amongst them producing herbal medicines with known therapeutic efficiency.
But how many native doctors across the country find themselves within this list? What you find around the country is a coterie of shrines and worship places decorated in very frightening apparels. What goes on in those shrines and so-called sacred places is anyone’s guess. Yet, you get to hear well placed Nigerian speak of the desecration of sacred shrines and all that.
A lot of Nigerians believe in the efficacy of the supernatural and the mysterious. They share beliefs in witches and wizards, and their powers to inflict harm on people. These beliefs are sustained and reinforced by the activities of native doctors and sundry religions. That is why you find people flock any new church or shrine that is touted with the powers of miracles. So, the war against criminal native doctors must factor in the gullibility of our people to these belief systems. Criminal native doctors thrive in their illicit trade because of the greed and the criminal mind of their customers to procure through other means the good things of life that come with hard work and trust in the powers of the almighty God.
That appears the real challenge in the war against criminal native doctors. Ritual killings or human sacrifice for money cannot thrive if people do not believe in them. So, we must get to address the psyche of the average Nigerian to achieve lasting results.
There is another challenge emanating from some definitional issues in the Act setting up the traditional medicine practitioners’ council. The Act defined “Practitioner” to mean a traditional medicine practitioner whose practice uses herbs and any other natural products.
It also defined “Traditional Medicine” as practices based on beliefs and ideas recognised by the community to provide healthcare by using herbs or any other naturally occurring substances.
While the definition of practitioner stated clearly the confines of the trade- using herbs and natural products, that of traditional medicine injected some complications into the trade. It spoke of practices based on beliefs and ideas recognised by the community to provide healthcare. Though it talks of herbs and other naturally occurring substances, issues of beliefs and practices may not really
translate in practical items.
There are spiritual and supernatural dimensions to them. That is the type of complications that may impinge negatively in the task the Anambra state government has set for itself. It is going to be a hard nut to crack. It is not just a problem peculiar to Anambra state but a national problem sustained and patronised by the high, the mighty and the powerful. Those usually arrested are the couriers and small fries. And like in other areas of high-stake criminality, their sponsors and patrons never get to be caught.
Soludo has brought the mischief of criminal native doctors to the fore. But as worthwhile as the war against such criminality is, only a holistic perspective to it will achieve meaningful results. There has to be a national approach to it or whatever progress recorded by the state government will pale into insignificance.