If the current efforts by local scientists and researchers are sustained and encouraged by the Federal Government, very soon Nigeria will get an indigenous herbal remedy that will be accepted internationally for the management of HIV/AIDS.
Sunday Independent can authoritatively report that already, many Nigerian scientists and herbal researchers are making frantic efforts towards getting a breakthrough in this regard.
However, our findings indicated that such efforts by indigenous researchers are being hampered by local and international politics, jealousy, lack of government support and poor funding.
A renown herbal researcher and pharmacist in Abuja, Ben Amodu, in an interview with Sunday Independent, maintained that in the near future, Nigeria will be a reference point in the management, and if possible, the cure of HIV/AIDS if the enabling environment is provided for the researchers.
He said: “You know that I am always very blunt on these issues. We already have solution for HIV/AIDS; in fact, not only HIV/AIDS.
“HIV/AIDS is part of communicable diseases; there is also herbal solution for Tuberculosis (TB) and Hepatitis.
“It is on record that we have been treating people for HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and TB, especially resistant TB, and we cure them.
“You know, we are in a third world country. Somebody needs to be your brother to proclaim the good things you are doing. We should have gone pass this level.”
On whether his drugs have passed through all the scientific processes recommended globally, Amodu said, “We have gone pass that.
“Even the recent issue of Abalaka, the government should not have disturbed him. The European countries have perfected Abalaka’s drugs.
“In the course of our research, we came across the Abalaka HIV drugs. Jealousy is what is killing us in the third world countries. Enough of it.
“As I speak to you, I have offered myself for investigation in terms of the work we are doing.
“We have submitted our work for all the scientific processes and we have lists of approvals and just recently, I got a report from an American University confirming what the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) has done for us.
“Both the American university and NIPRD worked on our herbal drug and got the same result. That is the beauty of science.
“All the scientific tests we did in Abuja here on my products, they took them to Texas and subject them to the same scientific processes and they got the same results. We have the products here and they have been listed by NAFDAC.
“Our Sabmall for the treatment of malaria was recently approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“It treats malaria in one day. Nigeria has everything, let us continue to look inward.”
He, however, maintained that in the near future, a Nigerian will come out with an internationally accepted remedy for HIV.
“As a matter of fact, we have bought all the things for the testing for the cure of HIV and for testing as a vaccine from the US.
“There are few more things we are looking for to be able to finalise that test. So, we are determined and I believe also that the cure for HIV is likely to come from Africa.”
Corroborating, a globally respected scientists, Professor Denis Agbonlahor, said that with government support, it will not be long for Nigeria to get an indigenous drug for the management of HIV/AIDS.
He lamented that lack of government support had drawn back and dampened the zeal earlier shown by Nigerian scientists in finding an indigenous solution for HIV/AIDS.
Ogbonlahor stated: “If the government does not encourage you, and does not want to even take your candidate drug and recommend it for testing, you know there is nothing you can do.
“Almost seven to 10 years back when we were working on the Winnicure, we were spending our money.
“We were encouraged with the kind of result we were getting, especially when we tested the drug using animal model; and that is the much we can do.
“We cannot on our start using humans. There is a standardised procedure for doing all that.
“It was at that stage that we were that we thought the government can now intervene to push it; but, that did not happen.
“It was at that time that the international donors were encouraging them with donations; they were thinking of how to reduce the viral load in an infected person by bringing ARV, which they donated to the Federal Government and since they were coming almost free of charge, they did not border supporting anything local that can kill the virus.
“Their interest was actually centred on the free donations they were getting from international donors.”
He, however, called on the government to look inwards and support local researchers to develop herbal remedy for the management of HIV/AIDS, considering that the support given to Nigeria by foreign donors is dwindling.
DAILY INDEPENDENT
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