Why people say I am a mermaid – Quincy
*Quincy Olasumbo Ayodele
Mrs. Quincy Olasumbo Ayodele is pioneer Secretary General for the umbrella body of traditional medicine in Nigeria; and an adviser for the development of African traditional medicine to the World Health Organization (WHO). Quincy has contributed significantly to the development of traditional medicine to combat malaria and HIV, as well as research and development of African traditional medicine and integration of African traditional medicine into the healthcare system and many others.
This has positioned Quincy Herbal Slimmers as an authority in traditional medicine not only in Nigeria, but also across the African and beyond. In this interview, she discusses her key milestones, and the need for the passage of Traditional Medicine Bill, etc.
Excerpts:
As key stakeholder, can you say traditional medicine is getting government’s support. What can you tell us about the Traditional Medicine Bill in the National Assembly?
First of all, I will commend the government for identifying with traditional medicine practice in Nigeria; I
understand there is a department in the Federal Ministry of Health for traditional medicine. I was made the first Secretary General of National Association of Nigeria Traditional Medicine Practitioners (NANTMP), the umbrella body that governs traditional medicine in the country; this in itself is a form of support from government.
However, the passage of Traditional Medicine Bill will play significant roles in our practice. If passed, it will help in regulating the industry fully and it will help in the integration of traditional medicine to the existing health care system so that there can be complete collaboration for efficiency.
All the mechanism for the traditional medicine is ready even by the World Health Organization; we have the mechanism for collaboration, we’ve done research and development on all kinds of herbs, we have perfected that of West African pharmacopeia on traditional medicine and some countries have even started, it is only Nigeria that has not passed this crucial bill. Traditional medicine is for the people of Africa and it works.
The regulators are ready, practitioners are ready the products are also ready; our lawmakers should make our dreams a reality in this aspect. Traditional medicine is a goldmine if well harnessed, and it can compete favourably with the proceeds from crude oil if well managed.
National Health Care cannot really move forward until they carry us along so that we can all be at por with the western world. We cannot compare the efficacy of our local herbs with the orthodox medicine; meanwhile, I shouldn’t be misconstrued because the orthodox medicine works too.
Slimming packages?
We have various slimming products developed and produced for effective weight loss. Depending on the level of weight loss necessary, we have come up with slimming packages. We have a “lose 10kg and 10” in 10 days’ program, a one month slimming program, a three-month slimming program and inject-o-slim.
How does the slimming ring work? Any link with voodoo or metaphysics?
If it is possible to mix some things with water and you get the slimming water, it is also possible to mix some things with the ring and get a slimming ring. However, this is how the sliming ring works. Have you heard of acupressure before? The rings we talk about at Quincy are simply in line with acupressure concept.
The herbs are embedded in the rings and, as you wear them on your fingers, they perform the slimming on your body naturally with no side effects, no voodoo, and no metaphysic powers involved. If you put the ring on a particular finger, it sparks of metabolism for a particular purpose. If you put it on your index finger, it will work on your pot belle.
There is a particular one you can put on, and it will work on your eyes. At Quincy, we specialize on just one thing and when you focus on one thing for over years, you discover other things that are related to your specialty. Here, we are specialist in obesity.
You will be surprised that they bring people in trucks to Quincy and, since the person is too big to exercise, we have no choice but to eliminate the fat cells. Therefore, we professionally apply what we have to treat obesity. Many people think obesity is a small disease, it is not. It is a serious health condition and it requires expertise in handling it, and I can tell you we have lots of success stories to our credit at Quincy.
Some people argued that your medicines are somewhat purgative?
For you to treat or manage obesity you have to cleanse the system. We work on reducing excess body fat. Fat cells are living cells and you can exercise and the cells will stop growing or they shrink, but the moment you stop doing those things the fats will grow back. In my almost 20 years in practice, I have found out that the best thing to do is to eliminate the fat. The idea is that the fat that has been eliminated cannot come back, except you start taking in new ones.
If you eliminate the fat cells, you do so completely, but we do not encourage people to do it themselves. We encourage them to see professionals, because we do not want you to do something that will affect your organs and that is why you see that those who come to Quincy look healthy even after undergoing the process of eliminating the fat cells. You find out that there are added incentives to the treatment because there will not be a case of migraine, insomnia or related illness.
How do you go about eliminating fat cells?
There are three ways of eliminating fat cells from the body. If you are using a fat cell eliminating product, you would be told what you are using and the administration and prescription will be based on your body type and health condition. We do not eliminate body fat cell for our ulcer patients, but, like I said earlier, we have three methods of eliminating, and purging is not the way we do it.
You could either go for purging, sweat or urinate depending on your body condition and that is why we encourage our clients to come for examination before they use any of our herbs. Even if you offer to pay for home delivery service, we still insist that you come to the clinic so that we can examine you.
What do you tell those who call you witch doctor or mermaid?
There is a popular saying, “My people perish for lack of knowledge.” All that happened because they did not know what I was doing. However, I always try to educate them. I let them know that there is no witchcraft in African traditional medicine.
I let them know that God has opened the eyes of some of us to the medicinal value in some of these herbs. I keep telling people about the herbs, I keep doing my thing and, of course, they were seeing the result and, over time, it became a thing of pride. Now, I am happy that with persistence in the cause governments are now trying to identify with us. I told people to call me whatever name they wanted, but I know what I was practising. People who patronize me know the result they get from the herbs they buy from me.
Culled from The Vanguard
