QUEST FOR RECOGNITION OF ORTHODOX MEDICINE AND AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION IN NIGERIAN LEGAL SYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF DR. ABALAKA’S CURE FOR AIDS CONTROVERSY

Francis Chuks Madukasi, PhD

ABSTRACT

With more than six million people infected worldwide and given the scary statistics on its seropositive prevalence in Africa and Nigeria, the search for a cure for HIV/AIDS virus has become a central preoccupation of medical research. Researchers and pharmaceutical companies have come up with a cocktail of drugs that reduce the viral load considerably, yet there is no formal report of the existence of a cure. Search for a vaccine or cure is indeed part of the central HIV/AIDS research. For this reason, there are lots that are tied against the backdrop to finding a cure to the disease which has to do with issues on law, religion, and healthcare. What is in vogue today in Africa is that there is a revolutionary reaction towards embracing alternative and integrative medicine and this is part of traditional healing methods and pharmacopeia. In fact, the first AIDS cure which was alleged to have been carried out through alternative medicine in Nigeria was from a renowned traditionalist named Dr. Abalaka. Nonetheless, it is still raising some controversies from certain quarters over what they termed as its non-availability or conformity with scientific proof or law. On the issues dealing with providence, healing, and general well-being, most Africans still look up to their own religion as the way out. Despite the advent of Western medicine, traditional healers continue to serve the needs of many with their ability to deal with unnatural or spiritual illnesses. Through recognition of the agency of witchcraft and the power of traditional paraphernalia, these healers serve to perpetuate traditional beliefs and practices. Acknowledging the power struggle between tradition and modernity, this paper focuses on the belief theory that traditional therapies have their own built-in protective mechanism, due to the fact that some diseases cannot be cured by Western medicine, though it offers important palliatives.

Keywords: Healthcare, Potency, Therapy, Traditional.

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