Senator wants native doctors in Nigeria’s drug law — says they intercede with ancestors

Kebbi South Senator Garba Maidoki sparked laughter in the Senate chamber while making a serious case for the inclusion of traditional medicine and native doctors in a new bill overhauling Nigeria’s food and drug regulatory framework, arguing that indigenous healing practices remain critical for rural Nigerians.

It was one of those Senate moments — part policy debate, part cultural moment, entirely memorable.

During Tuesday’s debate on a bill seeking to replace Nigeria’s existing food and drug laws with a single unified regulatory framework, Senator Garba Maidoki of Kebbi South made a passionate — and entertainingly candid — case for traditional medicine.

Supporting the bill sponsored by Kwara North Senator Sadiq Umar, Maidoki told the chamber that the legislation, while commendably modern, was missing a critical dimension. “Most of our rural dwellers, most of them rely mostly on this traditional medicine,” he said, arguing that recognising indigenous healing practices would also reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported drugs.

Then came the line that brought the house down. “Like if your ancestors decide to talk to you, you need a native doctor to intercede on your behalf,” he declared, as reported by TheCable.

The chamber erupted in laughter. Senate President Godswill Akpabio joined in the spirit, responding: “The native doctor will intercede between you and the ancestor. It’s actually baffling that this was part of the African religion, but when the white people came, they now told us that we don’t need our ancestors.”

Beneath the laughter, however, Maidoki’s argument carried substantive weight. He urged the bill’s sponsor — a pharmacist — to incorporate traditional practitioners into Nigeria’s healthcare system, noting that some ailments respond better to herbal remedies than orthodox medicine and that formalising traditional medicine could meaningfully cut the country’s pharmaceutical import bill.

The bill subsequently passed second reading with lawmakers’ support. If enacted, it will repeal two existing food and drug statutes and establish a single regulatory framework covering food, medicines, vaccines, medical devices and other public health products.

The question of whether traditional medicine makes it into the final legislation remains to be seen.