Interview: The Nigerian herbal medical practitioner who cures several incurables diseases

Interview: The Nigerian herbal medical practitioner who cures several incurables diseases

How I Met Minister of Science and Technology – Pa Ejivade

Having a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the house of one herbalist in a village has further projected not only the herbalist, but also the powers of herbs. The 90 years old Pa Aliyu Giwa Ejivade who spoke in Ebira in this interview with Ebira Reporters, gave insights on his scratch and fame in the practice of traditional medicine.

Excerpts:

Tell us about your origin, and the name Ejivade.

 I was born and bred in Iriku, where Ebiraland expanded from. Iriku is in Adavi-Eba, in Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State. The name Ejivade should not be mistaken for a stranger. Ebira people bear Ejivade and the Yorubas as well.

Did you learn the practice of traditional medicine from somewhere, or you came to life with the gift?

My father was into the practice, and I stayed with him to learn everything from him. After his death, I took over from him. I did not adopt the practice for commercial purposes, but to cater for my family and friends in their health challenges. But when many persons discovered the efficacy of the medicines, they came to me, and I helped them to the best of my ability.

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From the information we got, you treat popular ailments like prostate cancer, stroke, diabetes and others. Do you treat these ailments with both herbs and spiritual consultations?

I don’t have shrine, and I do not know anything about consultations of gods. My patients would only have to describe the nature of their sickness before I know the kind of herbs to give them. I don’t tell my patients to bring duck, or any other thing for consultations.

How long have you been into the practice of traditional medicine?

You know I don’t have formal education, but since I am 90 years old now, I was about 40years when I started the practice, with my father alive then.

How about side effects?

The only challenge I had when I started was dosage, but I came over it by telling my patients to give feedbacks three days after taking the herbs. For instance, if a patient responded to treatment but complained about a minor effect, then I know the dosage was more than required. This is the only education I had. None of my patients ever came back to give negative feedbacks on the herbs I gave to them.

You learnt it from your father, is any of your children taking after you?

I have many of my children who know herbs, but the only one who has decided to practise it is Muhammadu Omeiza. Whenever I go into the bush, he goes with me, and he knows the herbs.

Since you were not commercializing the practice, how did you meet the Minister of Science and Technology and what prompted his visit?

First of all, I give God all the glory. Also, I appreciate Hajia Isah Jummai through whom I met the Minister.

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Hajia Jummai Speaks:

Pa Giwa Aliyu Ejivade is my uncle. God sent us to meet ourselves. I’ve known him from childhood to be into this practice of traditional medicine, but no one knew about him. But since God has decided to project him to the whole world in his old age, I became an instrument. Honourable Stephen Chika from Anambra State is the woman whose husband had been ill for about 10 years. She is my friend, and political mentor. She only told me recently that her 75 years old husband was about undergoing a surgery which made her restless. I told her casually to bring her husband down to Okene, but she should give me just two hours to get back to her. So I went to Pa Ejivade because I know God has gifted him with the abilities to treat numerous ailments. When I met him, explained to him that the man had prostate cancer, with such descriptions as the bloody urines, inability to urinate, inability to stand, and that he has lost much blood. He told me that they should not bring the man down to Okene, but made a collection of herbs into liquid and asked me to send it to them.

The following day, it was Chika herself that came to collect the herbs and took to her husband. Three days later, she called me on phone and screamed my name. I became scared, thinking the husband was dead. But she broke the news to me that her husband was healed completely, such that he can do all he couldn’t do before. She was overjoyed that she even gave me the credits of not allowing her husband to die, after God. From there, she began to tell people, especially political stalwarts, including the Minister of Science and Technology, Onu Ogbonnaya. She also sent the same herbs to a Hausa friend of hers, who was sick and admitted abroad, and he got healed.

As it is now, you are Pa Ejivade’s Manager. What are the plans in projecting the herbs, especially in reference to the Minister’s visit?

The Minister has promised to build house for him, and give him car such that he will be able to accommodate patients. He also promised to bring people from the Ministry.

....from ebirareporters.blogspot.com

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Nigerian herbal practitioner distinguishes self in the area of prostate cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, rheumatism, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and others visited by Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology

Nigerian herbal practitioner distinguishes self in the area of prostate cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, rheumatism, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and others visited by Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology

Pa Giwa, a 90-year-old Nigerian traditional medicine practitioner who specialises in the treatment of prostate cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, rheumatism, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and other ailments using local herbs was recently visited by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, visited Pa Aliyu Giwa Ejivade, a traditional medicine practitioner in Adavi-Eba community of Adavi Local Government, Kogi State.

Onu said he decided to visit Pa Giwa because of the respect the ministry had for him, describing Giwa as herbal practitioner who distinguished himself in the area of prostate cancer and other ailments.

The minister explained that the Federal Government would collaborate with Giwa through Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency to enable other Nigerians to benefit from his knowledge.

Minister of Science and Technology

Onu said that the Federal Ministry of Health had agreed to be part of the effort, noting that the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPPRI) would be involved in the process of developing the medicines for use locally and abroad.

Pa Giwa, a 90-year-old traditional medicine practitioner specialises in the treatment of prostate cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, rheumatism, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and other ailments using local herbs.

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The minister said government would expand Giwa’s clinic by building for him a four-bedroom flat to enable him to accommodate more patients and also provide him with a vehicle to enhance mobility.

Giwa, while welcoming the minister and his entourage to his house, told his visitors that traditional medicine started from his grandfather who imparted the knowledge on his father who in turn transferred the knowledge to him.

He said he had treated many Nigerians from different parts of the country and expressed his readiness to continue to offer his services to people as long as God spared his life.

Giwa also thanked the minister for deciding to expand his clinic and give him a vehicle, saying the gestures would go a long way to assist him in his work.

One of his patients, Nze Stephen Ibeneme, who said he had been battling with prostate cancer since 2008, said “I was healed within three days by Pa Giwa.” Ibeneme, a traditional ruler, appealed to Federal Government to assist Pa Giwa “so that other Nigerians can benefit from his traditional medicine.”

The Director-General of NIPPRI, Prof. Karniyusus Gammaniel, who represented the Federal Ministry of Health during the visit, said there was no conflict between traditional and orthodox medicine. He expressed the readiness of Ministry of Health to partner with Ministry of Science and Technology to develop herbal medicine in line with the wish of Federal Government.

The science and technology minister also paid courtesy visit to Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Dr Ado Ibrahim and the Power Equipment Infrastructure Development Agency in Okene.

On the minister’s entourage were top government officials, including the Director-General of Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency, Mr Sam Etatuvie.

…From Ebira Reporters, Ebirareporters.blgspot.com

Coming soon, interview with Pa Giwa.

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Makinde Adeagbo: Black engineers in Silicon Valley get big assist

Makinde Adeagbo, Pinterest engineer and founder of /dev/color, talks about his experience and the future of diversity in the tech industry.

SAN FRANCISCO — Ime Archibong was eating lunch on Facebook's Silicon Valley campus with former colleague Makinde Adeagbo last year when Adeagbo pitched the idea for /dev/color, a nonprofit organization to bring together and grow the ranks of African-American software developers.

"We sat outside, right in front of the ice cream shop, and he was painting this vision for me of what he wanted to do," Archibong recalls.

Adeagbo, who at the time worked at Pinterest, was one of the first black software engineers at Facebook and had forged a career path for other black engineers to follow. Now he aspired to do the same thing, only on an industrywide scale.

"That is something I cannot help but get behind," Archibong,  a software engineer who is now Facebook's director of strategic partnerships, told USA TODAY.

/dev/color, a support network for engineers of color, officially launched a year ago and has since grown to 114 members, all black, many of whom often found themselves feeling isolated while navigating an industry dominated by white and Asian men.

On Friday, /dev/color  held its inaugural conference on Facebook's campus — "Onwards and Upwards: Advancing the careers of black software engineers" — headlined by venture capitalist Ben Horowitz and Facebook chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer and featuring sessions on such topics as how to go from engineer to manager and how to build a business with an engineering background.

The conference marks a major milestone for /dev/color, a reference to a common directory on computer systems and a nod to the organization's mission. It's expanding its offerings and its geographic footprint to New York with the backing of seven corporate sponsors that include Facebook, Google, Uber and Pinterest. And, for the first time, it's inviting industry leaders to become members.

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Adeagbo's /dev/color is one of a growing wave of enterprising organizations — Black Girls Code, CODE 2040, the Hidden Genius Project — founded by African Americans that are aiming to close the racial gap in the tech industry.

Adeagbo came up with the idea for /dev/color while volunteering as a mentor to a couple of computer science students and worked on the project part-time while at Pinterest with the company's blessing. Adeagbo left his engineering job at Pinterest earlier this year to dedicate himself to /dev/color when it was accepted into Y Combinator, Silicon Valley's most famous — and most influential — incubator, graduating companies such as Airbnb, Dropbox and Reddit.

"We believe one of the best ways to inspire change is by empowering employees to be the change," says Candice Morgan, Pinterest's diversity chief.

The challenge before Adeagbo is daunting. A tiny fraction of the tech work force in Silicon Valley is African American. Only 1% of venture capital-backed start-ups are led by African Americans and less than 1% of general partners at major venture capital firms in Silicon Valley are African American.

Progress in changing the demographics is slow, and yet high-tech's diversity problem has a growing sense of urgency. The tech industry, especially in its power center of Silicon Valley, runs the risk of losing touch with the diverse nation — and  world  — that form their consumer base. At the same time, African Americans are being shut out of one of the fastest-growing, highest-paying sectors of the American economy.

Hence the need for an innovative organization like /dev/color that can help black engineers form community and gain mentors, says Archibong.

"For folks who are underrepresented in a particular organization or in a particular  industry, their ability to build that community, their ability to find mentorship and sponsorship from folks that look like them, it's just challenging," he says.

Archibong says he personally benefited from the example and the support of key leaders in the companies he has worked: Rodney C. Atkins, a high-ranking black executive at IBM, and Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer and author of the national bestseller Lean In.

"That Makinde is trying to intentionally build that into the fabric of the community is a beautiful thing," Archibong says.

He lent his own support at Friday's conference, leading a discussion on how to make the leap from software engineering to business leadership.

So far /dev/color's "bread and butter" has been convening black engineers so they can learn from one another. Now Adeagbo's opening up a new type of membership called "boost" so industry leaders can participate in small group dinners with black engineers.

"It helps build the networks of black engineers, which will support their careers long into the future. It also extends the networks of industry leaders to include black software engineers, allowing them to really get to know folks from this group," Adeagbo said. "'Do you know any awesome black engineers that you could hire?' We want the answer to be 'yes' for every leader in the industry."

Jessica Guynn, Martin E. Klimek, USA TODAY, Sept. 30, 2016.

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