… Urges Soludo to Inaugurate Traditional Medicine Council, Native Doctors Board
By Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu
A renowned traditional native doctor in Anambra State, Prophet Dr. Ramas Okoye-Asuzu, has urged the Governors of the Southeast, especially Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, to inaugurate a Traditional Medicine Council or Native Doctors Board, involving him and his colleagues, to help the government address what he calls the evil practices of criminals and ritualists operating under the guise of traditional native doctors.
Addressing newsmen at his country home, Nri, in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, Dr Ramas also known as Eze-Oba, advised Soludo to assemble the true practitioners to help him get rid of the quacks and evil ones, saying that he would be willing to work with the government if consulted.
‘We have genuine practitioners like the late Rev. Fr. Arazu, Ifediomimi in Nnewi, Anyafulugo (Ilonze) in Agu Awka, and Awogu in Anaku, Ayamelum Local Government Area.
‘Together, we can regulate and check the practices of bad eggs in the traditional and native doctor sector in Igbo land,’ he stated.
The traditionalist raised a fresh alarm that the practice of money rituals, popularly known as Oke-Ite, had taken over the Southeast Region, lamenting that it was the origin of ritual killings in Igbo Land.
It will be recalled that last year, Governor Charles Soludo, in an effort to curb the disturbing rise of ritual killings by alleged native doctors, announced the registration of practitioners as part of his fight against insecurity in the region.
Soludo stated that those native doctors had been accused of providing charms and protective amulets to gunmen involved in killings and kidnappings in the state.
Dr. Ramas Okoye-Asuzu further stated that the Oke-Ite ritual was a taboo in Igbo Land, emphasizing that the practice was neither the culture, religion, nor tradition of the Igbo People.
According to him, many people who claimed to be native doctors or traditional medicine practitioners were fake. Hence, he called for the establishment of a Traditional Medicine Council in the entire geopolitical zone.
Asuzu stated that, ‘All the criminals hanging red, white, and black clothes in the bush, trying to pose as native doctors, are all fakes and quacks.
‘They have made our young men and women lazy; they cannot engage in anything meaningful to earn a living. All they want is quick money, and the apprenticeship life of the Igbo People has been forgotten because of the pursuit of fast money.’
‘Oke-Ite is not an Igbo tradition; in fact, it is a taboo. Most of these young men and women who claim they are involved in a business called Yahoo-Yahoo are ritualists, and there is no such ritual without human parts, which is evil,’ he concluded.
