By Aniedobe
Practitioners of Indian Traditional Medicine are certified, registered and regulated.
Same with practitioners of Chinese Traditional Medicine.
In America, naturopathy, chiropractors, and alternative medicine practitioners are certified, registered and regulated.
These traditional and alternative medicine arts offer advanced degrees and doctorates in the respective disciplines.
But when it comes to Igbo traditional medicine, there is no regulation, certification, registration or scholarship.
Yet many people pass through their hands with varying results.
If we are certifying, registering and regulating doctors, pharmacists, dentists, physiotherapist and what have you in order to protect our citizens and advance those professions, why in the world are Igbo dibias not regulated?
If your answer is that our ancestors didn’t do it like that, pray, tell us why we shouldn’t improve on what they did.
As well, traditional medicine practitioners should protect their profession. One way to do so is by having a professional organization and proposing certification standards for membership and practice.
As a public policy matter, we need to protect our citizens. If an individual is asked to take the feces of a tortoise and it works, fine but they should know the risks and benefits of what they are taking. We owe this to ourselves.
Our legislators should spring into action on this because the abuses akalia.
Regulation is good for dibias. It is good for the public. Let’s demystify this profession and protect our people.
Jan 17, 2025
