Chinedum Elekwachi
Thousands of native doctors and traditional spiritual practitioners in Anambra State have unanimously declared support for Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s reelection.
The doctors made the endorsement during a well-attended meeting held in Awka, the state capital.
The meeting attracted spiritual medicine practitioners, herbalists, and sellers of spiritual materials from across the 21 local government areas of the state.
In a remark, State Coordinator, Native Doctors and Spiritual Material Sellers in Anambra, Daniel Ejie cited Soludo’s numerous achievements, people-oriented policies and genuine commitment to inclusive governance as reasons for their endorsement.
He also commended the Governor’s infrastructural strides, digital governance reforms, youth empowerment programmes and efforts to create safe and lawful environment for all lawful professions, including indigenous ones.
He lauded the Homeland Security law for sanitizing the system, granting the native doctors a sense of autonomy and legitimacy in the state.
“Before now, we were lumped together with criminals, and our image was terribly misunderstood.
Dignity restored
Ejie said Governor Soludo by the enactment of the law has restored the dignity of native doctors.
“Governor Soludo has restored our dignity by recognizing us officially and granting us legal backing.
“He has shown that he understands the role of traditional spirituality in Igbo cosmology and governance,” he noted.
He appreciated the State House of Assembly for taking the initiative to sponsor the bill and seeing it through to passage.
Ejie said such legislative courage had reawakened sense of pride among genuine native doctors in the State.
Also speaking, Majority Leader of the Anambra State House of Assembly and Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Ikenna Ofodeme, assured the practitioners that Governor Soludo remains a firm believer in the sanctity of Igbo culture, customs, and traditions.
He emphasized that the Governor has never been against the traditional institution, but rather wants proper regulation of indigenous practices in line with modern governance.
“The State Assembly recently passed a landmark bill that formally organizes, recognizes, and structures the operations of native doctors in Anambra.
“The aim is to preserve Igbo traditional beliefs while eliminating harmful and criminal elements from the system,” he said.
According to Ofodeme, the Governor quickly assented to the bill, in a move widely seen as a bold step towards cultural inclusion and security reform.
Soludo not anti-tradition
“The Soludo administration is inclusive and progressive. It is not anti-tradition, neither is it anti-culture. Rather, it supports our identity and heritage as a people.
“But at the same time, this government has drawn a clear line between genuine native doctors and criminals who exploit our culture to harm others,” he explained.
The lawmaker also issued a strong warning to those still hiding under the cover of native doctoring to perpetrate evil, stressing that the new law would soon catch up with them.
“Such miscreants must desist or face the full wrath of the law, as the government is determined to sanitize the space and uphold the dignity of true traditional practitioners,” he added.
The meeting was to deliberate on recent legislative developments affecting their practice and to dispel widespread misconceptions over government’s stance on traditional institutions and indigenous spirituality.
The engagement also served as a platform to sensitize the practitioners on the provisions of the newly passed Anambra State Homeland Security Law.
The law formally recognizes and distinguishes genuine native doctors from criminal elements and ritualists who hide under that guise to commit atrocities.
