A renowned traditional medicine practitioner, Dr. Ramas Asuzu, has called on Anambra State’s governor to expedite action in clamping down on fake native doctors in the state, saying they are primarily responsible for the insecurity in the region.
Governor Soludo recently signed into law the new Anambra Homeland Security Law, which, among other provisions, aims to regulate the activities of native doctors. This includes requiring them to prove they have the powers to make one wealthy and to substantiate other claims of being powerful.
However, Asuzu, reacting to the law in a press conference at his palace in Nri, Anaocha Local Government Area, on Tuesday, emphasized that money rituals are not part of Igbo traditional medicine practices. He explained that such charms involve human parts and usually lead to loss of life.
He stated that it would surprise the governor to know that far too many families in Anambra possess such charms, and there is a need to sanitize the system.
He said: “The governor may not know that almost every house in Awka has oke ite (money ritual charms). All those involved in cybercrime and similar activities possess oke ite, which should not be the case.
“Oke ite is not traditional Igbo medicine; it is a condemnable act, condemned by both heaven and earth. What people don’t realize is that every oke ite contains human parts, and any medicine that requires human parts or is designed to attract wealth will always take lives. I condemned this even before the governor created the new law.
“I thank God for giving us a governor like Soludo. I have been warning native doctors to stop engaging in money rituals. I have warned native doctors who throw money around; it is an eyesore and leads people into criminality. I knew that one day the government would take action, and I have been condemning this behavior. They should be careful because what these people are doing is abuse.”
However, he cautioned against cracking down on genuine native doctors and advised that the best course of action would be to establish a traditional medicine practice board to oversee and sanitize the system.
“What I’m saying is that the government is against using traditional medicine practices to promote evil, criminality, money rituals, or killing people for rituals, among other things.
“I believe the first step the governor should take is to inaugurate a traditional medicine practice board to check who is practicing. Most of these people engaging in these activities are fake. They did not swear with ofo. I am the Akaji Ofo Igbo, and I know what I’m talking about. I understand everything about ofo, and if they had sworn an oath with ofo, they would not engage in such practices.
“Since 2001, when I returned to Anambra, I have organized seminars on traditional medicine, inviting various herbal practitioners for discussions. In Lagos, I was a member of the board of traditional medicine, but when I came here, I found that they were disunited. I tried to bring them together, but to my surprise, the recognized herbal practitioners were ignored, while riffraff were called by the government without informing the real practitioners.
“Native doctors are governed by laws. Before becoming a native doctor, you must swear an oath with ofo, pledging not to aid criminals or engage in evil practices. This is something I have been preaching against.
“I have a social media platform where I have been speaking out against what is called oke ite. I’ve been calling for the governor to take action, and I’m happy to see that it seems he has heard what I’ve been saying.”
He commended the governor for his significant strides in infrastructural development in the state and his current efforts to address insecurity. He urged everyone to support him.
