By Idowu Olaide
When disease and ailment struck the body, especially internal organs such as liver, kidney, heart, lung, bones and tissues including other systems of the body, it is said to be problematic for not only the patient but also the doctor and the affected part of the body.

The reason may not be farfetched as these organs could not be seen with ordinary naked eyes except with the help of some medical equipment such as X-ray machines etc. As a result, some patients resort to surgical operations based on the advice of the doctor especially, when the disease reached chronic stages.

But in the past, it is said that people made used of herbs and leaves for treatment of diseases irrespective of their nature or attribution of pains without undergoing surgical operation. Though, there were not medical doctors and hospitals then but traditional doctors were available to cure diseases with herbs and leaves while people live longer than nowadays.

Such traditional doctors who inherited the practice of healing diseases and ailments with herbs and leaves from their forefathers are still waxing and furthering research in the practice. Among them is the prominent herbal practitioner, President General of World Research and Documentation at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi- Araba, Dr. Jideofo Azugbo who has been healing people suffering with diseases and ailments with herbs and leaves since 1962.

Also the  President General of Herbs and Leaves Traditional Medicines Practitioners Association of Nigeria, Azugbo is of the view that herbs and leaves remain more effective than orthodox medicines.

“The reason people tend to undergo surgical operation for diseases like liver, kidney, heart, appendicitis and others are because they preferred taken orthodox medicines to traditional medicines nowadays, of which, these modern medicines are not more effective when we compare them with herbs and leaves.

“In the ancient days, our forefathers did not take modern medicines. They used to take herbs and leaves and that is why they live longer and stronger. None of them go to the hospital instead they used traditional medicines.

Though, they did not make formal research on herbs and leaves but they used them to treat any kind of diseases and ailments. And that is why we are making formal research so that the treatment of all these diseases or ailments can be easy to cure”

Maintaining the effectiveness of traditional medicines, Azugbo who  doubles as Chairman of Africa Congress of Traditional and Alternative Medicine of Africa, ACUTAM, explained that most internal cases do not require surgical operation and this point has continued to make herbal medicine stand out from the modern medicines and treatment. “That is where and how traditional medicines are more secure, effective and stand out than modern medicines and treatment.”

“Traditional medicines are stronger than any orthodox medicines, because all tablets produced as orthodox medicines are just to help temporarily but not curing totally while herbs and leaves cured immediately and wipe diseases and ailments away.

Traditional medicines are more effective than orthodox medicines. For instance, someone can take two tablets of pain relief for ailment and the ailment still continues but herbs and leaves may be that one would just smell it and he or she is healed completely.”

Azugbo who has been to several countries like Ghana and Canada, in the course of researching and documentation on the causes and solution of chronic diseases like catarrh, hypertension, hepatitis, heart disease, rheumatism, also said, the treatment of any disease is determined by its nature, saying that some people might be suffering of a particular sickness for more than twelve years and that might only takes six months to cure.

He stated: “Right from inception, herbs and leaves were used to cure diseases like sickle cell, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD), impotency and barrenness, liver and kidney problems and other chronic diseases. Orthodox just came and people are so addicted to it.

The modern doctors only went to school and study how substances are mixed to form drugs; how they work in the body system; how the body systems react to drugs which we also carry out but in different ways. The modern medicines are not natural compared to herbs and leaves which are God’s made.