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… We’ve Gone A Step Ahead Of Madagascar – UI Vice Chancellor
As part of efforts to finding homegrown solutions to curtail the novel Coronavirus pandemic in Oyo State, Nigeria, and the whole world, Oyo State Government has collaborated with the University of Ibadan, traditional practitioners, scientists, and others on ways to put an end to further spread of the virus.
Speaking on behalf of Governor Seyi Makinde during the meeting held at the frontage of the Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, the Executive Assistant to Governor on Administration, Reverend Idowu Ogedengbe, explained to newsmen that the meeting was aimed at providing a home-grown solution to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Ogedengbe reiterated that Oyo State Government was ready to adopt a gown and town approach in getting a scientific validation that is globally accepted as solutions to novel Coronavirus.
“We want to start. We already know people that have the products, samples, mixtures, and solutions but we don’t just want to take it on the surface and start promoting it.
“We want to first subject the products to scientific validation so that by the time our virologists, botanists and other professionals in the University Community look at those solutions, we will come up with something that the global community would be able to benefit from. We want to really lead the pace for others to emulate.
“This is exactly in tandem with the vision of the Governor. When I told him about this meeting, he asked us to go ahead. We are not just looking at the possibility of fighting the spread of the virus. We also want to ensure that we stop it. We defeat and subdue it. In Madagascar now, life is back to normal, their children are now going to schools. We want that also and we want to start it from Oyo State.”
Ogendengbe, while speaking further that the mission was in line with the vision of Governor Seyi Makinde, he said the state was not just looking at the containment of the pandemic but to ensure the virus is defeated and normalcy returns to the state and the country.
Speaking earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, said the initiative is the best approach since it is an embodiment of people from different strata such as NAFDAC which represents the Federal Government, the representative of the State Government, Academia, private sector, and the Traditional Medicine Practitioners.
The VC noted that though there have been lots of mistrust over the years, but as a conventional institution, he was confident they would be able to come up with a solution.
He said that the research would not be conducted using indigenous knowledge or oral tradition since no cure has been found for the pandemic. He stressed that the scientists at the Institution would collaborate with the Traditional Herbal Practitioners to chat a way forward.
“We also want to thank the Oyo State government for facilitating this process. This is the second meeting we have held. We know there will be a solution soon. We are even going to go beyond the progress that has been made in Madagascar. You would have heard that Madagascar is trying to collaborate with South Africa.
“In Science, if you say you have the cure to something, you have to let the whole world know the protocol you have followed and, if possible, you can publish it in a scientific journal so that people can see the steps you have taken for replication.
“So, we know our people are up to the task with support from government both at the state and federal level. I am also happy that even NAFDAC is here with us.”
In her goodwill message, the representative of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mrs Edo Priye said the agency was ready to collaborate with all the herbal producers to ensure that the pandemic comes to an end. She added NAFDAC would expedite the registration facility of their products and that since the initiative is a collaborative effort, he urged the committee to get the agency the products for proper examination.
Also, speaking on behalf of the traditional herbal practitioners, Chief Taye Oyerinde, said herbal medicine was the most realistic solution for the treatment of COVID-19.
Oyerinde observed that Western colonisation of Africans was responsible for the retrogression of traditional herbal development.
He said what Nigeria needed now was fire brigade approach to cure the COVID-19 pandemic and that herbal practitioners have drugs that could cure it.
Oyerinde added that there was no reason to be looking up to the Western world to proffer solutions for the cure of COVID-19.
The traditional ruler of Ekotedo community in Ibadan expressed optimism that the collaboration of the state government, the University of Ibadan and herbal practitioners would yield good results.
At the end of the meeting, two separate sub-committees were set up at the meeting to fast track the submission of product samples and scientific evaluations of samples
