THE midday weather at the hilly enclave of the Benedictine monks along the Benin-Abuja Road was friendly and clement but after the little under one hour voyage from the Government House in Benin to the monastery there were muddy tell tales of the previous day's rainfall on the four black jeeps and the motley of vehicles that ferried the convoy of Governor Lucky Igbinedion of Edo State to the venue. As the moustachioed governor arrived at 12.15 p.m. with his deputy, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe and some members of his executive council in tow, the sedate atmosphere transformed as some initiates looked in awe while security operatives freely smoked cigarettes at the 26-year spiritual centre for monks .

The occasion was the official commissioning of PAX Herbal Research Laboratories and the launching of a quarterly journal of African medicine, The Herbal Doctor. The venue was the Saint Benedict Monastery at Ewu-Esan in Edo Central Senatorial District.

And to set the stage for the programme after the opening prayers by the Catholic Bishop of Uromi, Rt. Rev. Augustine Akubeze, the Prior of the monastery, Rev. Father Vincent Mordi described a monastery as a place where people, monks, live together to devote themselves to prayers and brotherly love.

To satisfy the curiosity of the non-initiates who ponder on the involvement of monks on herbal medicinal research, he explained that monks, all over the world, had been on vanguard of revolutions in different disciplines such as agriculture, medicine, botany, engineering and many others.

"Monks are among the greatest inventors and thinkers of all time," he said, "the monks of Ewu are, therefore, carrying on the tradition of their precursors."

In his keynote address, the director of PAX Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories, Rev. Father Anselm Adodo traced the history of the herbal centre to 1996, when it was established as a Catholic centre for the promotion, development and proper utilization of African medicine.

According to the priest who is currently pursuing two doctoral degree programmes in sociology and history of medicine, the centre's sixfold objective include the evolution of model comprehensive healthcare centre where the orthodox and traditional systems of healing are creatively blended together and be a truly indigenous healing place that is based on genuine African-Christian spirituality.

"To this effect, Pax Herbals has made unprecedented efforts in correcting the negative attitudes of African Christians towards African medicine, and promoted a sense of pride in African medicine," he said, adding that most of the objectives had been met including the building of a standard laboratory for intensive research into herbal medicine for rapid development of African medicine.

Adodo, clad in their traditional white habits, thanked the governor who, he said, had fulfilled all his promises for the institute, adding "it is your desire that Edo State be the pioneer state in Nigeria to become an official exporter of herbal medicines and a global leader in African medicine development."

Noble ideals

Stating that 9,500 patients have visited the clinic in the last eight months, the cleric who hails from Akure in Ondo State hopes that such ideals can be achieved in the next couple of years, "and we assure you that we shall remain committed to these noble ideals, and make Ewu and Edo State stand out in the map of the world."

The cleric also revealed that the National Food and Drugs Administration, NAFDAC, had registered 15 of the centre's products, maintaining that 20 others will be registered next year to bring the number of her registered herbal products to 35.

He pointed out that the records of complaints, treatments and responses of all the patients are well documented, with no prejudice to their privacy, stressing that the centre has taken up the challenge of arresting the HIV/AIDS menace by setting up an intensive research laboratory to carry out research into the production of herbal anti-retro viral drugs. "The ultimate aim is to produce a single-dose herbal capsules, and I assure you that we are already well-advanced in our research in this important project," he said, calling on all stakeholders to join hands with the centre in what he called 'silent revolution.'

Edo State commissioner for health, Barrister Godwin Ovbiagele expressed happiness that in these days of health sector reforms. Financial reforms, political reforms, legislative reforms and the likes, a "divinely ordained reform in herbal practice was taking place in Ewu. A few years ago, it was rare to find herbalists in a conference environment discussing their problems; but today they are not only attending conferences, they are writing books, publishing journals and setting up research laboratories."

He pointed out that herbalists are not found in the villages and hamlets close to shrines, they are also found in cities and towns; even in monasteries, praying that God should water the seed that was being sowed in Ewu so that it would blossom and yield its fruits in its season.. After the official launch of the journal, it was then time for the cake-cutting ceremony except that what served as a cake was four big roasted yams served with a reddish paste - palm oil spiced with red tomatoes and other herbal condiments. The governor lead the officials, made up of traditional rulers, religious leaders, security officers including Immigration officers and NAFDAC representatives to cut the new yam. After tasting the native delicacy, he hacked a chunk for his deputy, speaker of the State House of Assembly before cutting a sizable chunk for himself. They proceeded to the high table where all the eminent personalities treated themselves to the homely meal of roasted yam and local sau ce, all products of the monastery.

Clutching his plate

A few minutes later, the governor, clutching his plate, came back for another slice of the yam, revealing one of those rare smiles, as the crowd roared in ecstacy giving their tacit approval for an encore or was a second term.

And when he stood up to make his speech, Gov. Igbinedion, noted for his high sense of humour, started thus: "I chop am well well, so that I no go leave here with malaria;" (in apparent reference to Mr. Francis Ifem, NAFDAC representative's joke that the regulatory agency had approved the yam for consumption and for the cure of malaria).

He acknowledged the noble contribution of the herbal clinic to the development of an enduring healthcare in the state, stating "we are pleased to observe the growing interaction and the convergence of ideas between science and traditional herbal practice as represented by the developments here in Ewu." The governor added that the heritage of Africa in medicinal herbs is very real and must be closely guarded.

According to him, the rationale for encouraging research and development in use of African medicinal plants cannot be over-emphasised. Stressing the need for us to reduce our dependence of foreign goods, the governor said: "We need to promote the scientific exploration of Africa flora and fauna for the benefit of our people," adding "we need to diversify our sources of medicaments and reduce our dependence on foreign or imported products when possible."

The governor then assured the Pax Herbal Centre that the state government would continue to give the clinic of the necessary support to complete all their ongoing projects. According to him, the state government established a high-powered board to manage the Sickle Cell Centre in Benin City, adding that the centre is charged with promoting research into better ways of controlling the highly prevalent genetic disorder called Sickle Cell anaemia in our communities.

"I believe the Sickle Cell Centre will be glad to work with you if you have herbs that will prove useful in the management of sickle cell anaemia," he challenged the monks, adding that the journal, The Herbal Doctor, should set the stage for better information flow in the field of African and herbal medicine.

In his characteristic humourous manner, Igbinedion told the audience that you don't have to sick to apply herbal medicine, stating "prevention is better than cure. I am sure my commissioner of health will be coming here more often." And the crowd again went out in a shout apparently in reference to the large size of the Health Commissioner.