Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has urged Nigerians to embrace traditional medicine, describing it as the oldest and most effective health care system that has endured over time.
Soyinka made the call in Abeokuta on Wednesday during a programme organised by the Ogun State Government and traditionalists to mark the 2025 Isese Festival, celebrated annually on 20 August.
He expressed strong support for the Isese Day celebration, noting that it offered people a rare opportunity to reconnect with their cultural roots.
Soyinka encouraged Nigerians to rediscover their heritage and adopt alternative medicine for healing and primary health care.
He stressed the need to preserve and propagate traditional culture and inheritance across generations.
The laureate observed that even advocates of orthodox medicine, trained in Western institutions, were increasingly adopting traditional and natural remedies as preferred forms of care.
Also Read: Isese Festival: Osun Declares Wednesday Public Holiday
He added: “One thing I must stress here is our herbs and roots, our traditional medicine, which the Western world now calls pharmacology.”
Soyinka lamented that Nigerians often disregarded these remedies, believing only hospitals provided real care, whereas local herbs and roots remained highly potent.
“Many people are retracing their steps. Producers of traditional medicine should not be afraid. It is the way forward and must be supported,” he said.
He further urged the people to guard jealously their highly valued traditional heritage.
Governor Dapo Abiodun congratulated traditionalists on the celebration of this year’s Isese Day.
Abiodun commended their unity and assured them of the government’s continued support in preserving cultural heritage.
Represented by the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Sesan Fagbayi, the governor affirmed that Isese Day had come to stay in Ogun, reiterating his administration’s commitment to religious tolerance.
Chairman of the Alternate Medicine Board, Nurudeen Olaleye, praised the governor for fulfilling his campaign promise by declaring 20 August a public holiday for Isese Day.
Olaleye, however, appealed to the governor to address other pressing needs in promoting alternate medicine in the state.
He described the sector as a promising global goldmine waiting to be fully tapped.
