[Special Report] ‘Agbo’: Nigerians’ choice of alternative medicine and question of standardization, safety
Across Lagos, the presence of agbo—a traditional herbal concoction prepared from leaves, roots, and bark—is unmistakable. Bottles line makeshift stalls in markets, hawkers carry steaming jerrycans through traffic, and customers wait with nylon sachets in hand. More than a cultural marker, agbo represents livelihood, health practices, and an ongoing debate about safety and regulation.
Across Lagos, the presence of agbo—a traditional herbal concoction prepared from leaves, roots, and bark—is unmistakable. Bottles line makeshift stalls in markets, hawkers carry steaming jerrycans through traffic, and customers wait with nylon sachets in hand. pic.twitter.com/kaSFaxivZC
— NewsClick Nigeria Media (@NewsClickng) September 20, 2025
For centuries across countries, people have turned to traditional healers, home remedies and ancient medicinal knowledge to address their health and well-being needs. According to the WHO Global Report on Traditional and Complementary Medicine (2019), various systems of traditional medicine being used around the world include acupuncture, herbal medicines, indigenous traditional medicine, homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathy, chiropractic, osteopathy, ayurvedic and Unani medicine. And one hundred and seventy WHO Member States have reported on the use of traditional medicine by their populations.
Traditional medicine is sometimes seen as pre-scientific, its practices and treatments to be replaced by modern, better, more efficient science-based medicine. What is less known, however, is its contribution to modern science and medicine, and a long history of traditional products and practices being translated into effective treatments for health conditions.
Around 40% of pharmaceutical products today draw from nature and traditional knowledge, including landmark drugs: aspirin, artemisinin, and childhood cancer treatments. A closer look at these drugs reveals that the scientists behind them built off traditional knowledge to achieve their breakthrough discoveries.
Therefore, the issue of its authenticity is out of question. The core of this report focuses on the standardization and safety concerns of traditional medicine; drawing from the voices of sellers, users, and medical professionals to explore how agbo is woven into Nigeria’s contemporary health landscape using Lagos as a case study.
Learning the Craft: Training and Associations
At Agege, Iya Alagbo is regarded as a custodian of knowledge. “No one can just open the business without training,” she told NewsClick Nigeria. “People think it takes one year, but with the right guidance they can learn within two weeks.” Instruction covers preparation, mixing and dosage, though the process differs markedly from formal medicine.
More than a cultural marker, agbo represents livelihood, health practices, and an ongoing debate about safety and regulation.
Our latest Special Report examines in detail the myth, facts and safety concerns around alternative medicine and how the government can bridge the gap. pic.twitter.com/2GAZ6nf3Dh— NewsClick Nigeria Media (@NewsClickng) September 20, 2025
She gestures towards a teaspoon she uses to measure malaria medicine for customers who pay as little as ₦200. “We don’t just pour,” she stresses. “Every portion has its measurement.”
Her practice is not informal improvisation. Through the Aiyelabewe Agbomola Olowo, Traditional Herbalist Association of Nigeria, practitioners issue stickers and identity cards as proof of authorisation. Without them, sellers risk being branded as quacks or harassed by authorities.
From Heritage to Commerce: The Herbal Economy
For many, agbo is both inheritance and enterprise. Ariyike Shalaye, an indigene of Igboho in Oyo State, reflects: “My father was a traditional doctor. I was born into it.” After marriage and relocation between Ibadan and Lagos, she commercialised her knowledge.
Starting up is relatively inexpensive. “Now, about ₦30,000 to ₦40,000 is enough,” she explains. “Six years ago, I didn’t spend more than ₦10,000.” Training, however, is indispensable. “My father’s apprentices sometimes spent five years. For small sellers like us, at least six months to a year is enough.”
Similarly, Mariam and Adeyinka, both sellers, describe agbo as a fusion of heritage and necessity. Mariam sources herbs directly from farmers, while Adeyinka relies on large herbal markets. Both acknowledge the role of associations in protecting members from harassment but warn of counterfeit ingredients. “You must know how to differentiate roots,” Mariam advises.
Users’ Experiences: Effectiveness and Familiarity
Consumers frequently cite speed and effectiveness as their reasons for using agbo. Segun, who grew up in Osun State, explains: “I prefer herbs, maybe because of where I grew up. They work faster than the drugs you see in pharmacies.”
For Adebayo, agbo is a routine remedy. “It works quickly for malaria and stomach upset. I would recommend it, but only from a trusted seller.”
Yetunde, who turned to agbo after recurrent bouts of malaria and typhoid, says: “Drugs are more precise, but agbo feels more natural. I don’t get as many side effects.”
The Medical View: Standardisation and Risk
Healthcare professionals take a more cautious view. While some feel traditional medicine plays a complimentary role to the orthodox type, others opined that the consequences of bare, unmeasured consumption outweighs whatever benefits it has in store for patients.
“Any medicine not patented, clinically tried, approved and measured by designated regulatory bodies cannot be deemed effective. There might be temporary relieve for those consuming it but it won’t last long before the ailment comes back in full force. We’ve had countless cases of patients running away from orthodox medication for various reasons like costs, phobia for drugs and treatments to go embrace traditional medicine come back here most times with more severe issues begging to be attended to,” a medical consultant told NewsClick Nigeria.
Nurse Dorcas Imole highlights the lack of dosage control as a serious concern. “Drugs are researched. They have clear symptoms and dosage for different ages. Agbo does not,” she argues.
She acknowledges that herbs may carry therapeutic value, but warns of risks associated with unregulated use. “As a nurse, I know what is in a drug, how much to give, and what side effects to expect. With agbo, there is too much uncertainty.”
Her position reflects a wider medical consensus: while traditional medicine has cultural and therapeutic relevance, the absence of rigorous testing creates dangers such as overdosing, drug interactions and contamination.
Caught Between Tradition and Modernity
The agbo phenomenon in Lagos reflects broader tensions within Nigeria’s health system. On the one hand, it provides affordable care and sustains families through trade. On the other, its informality raises questions of quality control and patient safety.
Herbalist associations represent grassroots attempts at regulation, yet without broader scientific validation and formal policy integration, agbo remains caught between trust and suspicion.
What is certain is that agbo will not disappear. For sellers, it is livelihood. For users, it is often the first line of treatment. For medical professionals, it remains a challenge requiring research and regulation. At the crossroads of culture, economy and science, agbo is both a trusted cure and a contested practice in the heart of Lagos.
Herbal medication not certified by NAFDAC unsafe for consumption – LASG
Meanwhile the Lagos State Government has warned residents against the consumption of herbal medicines not certified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), citing serious public health risks.
The State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, issued the warning during the 2025 Lagos State Ministerial Press Briefing held at Alausa, Ikeja in April.
Speaking on briefing, Abayomi cautioned, “No one should consume any herbal medication that is not certified by NAFDAC.
“Those who indulge in unapproved herbal concoctions are exposing themselves to dangerous health conditions. The government will not be held responsible for such actions.”
NNMDA calls for standardization of traditional medicines
The Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) has called for the standardisation of traditional medicines and their teaching in schools.
Martins Emeje, the director-general of the agency, said this during a media parley organised to induct members of the media as ‘Journalists for Traditional Medicines’.
The virtual media parley was themed, “The Media as Natural Medicine Ambassadors’’.
Emeje said 80 percent of traditional medicines were highly effective in addressing health challenges, without pronounced side effects.
He noted that allopathic medicine and its composition were being taught in Nigerian schools, stressing that the same pride of place should be accorded traditional medicines.
The D-G discredited some claims that traditional medicines do not have dosage, adding that they were already applying nanotechnology to their composition.
“We are in an era where we are applying nanotechnology to traditional medicine and we shall be reinforcing our research and development models.
“The same way you enrol in school to learn pharmacy, we can as well learn traditional medicines in school, and it does not necessarily need to be taught by a professor with degrees,” he said.
Emeje emphasised that Nigerians should be proud of their roots, adding that traditional medicines were sustained in the past, hence the need for it to be standardised.
He recalled that the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), recently accredited NNMDA as the awarding body for National Skills Qualification in Traditional Medicine in the country.
Emeje added that NBTE was already training its staff on quality assessment and implementing a curriculum as criteria to be qualified as a traditional medicine practitioner in Nigeria.
“We will be having traditional medicine database development, training of traditional medicine practitioners, training and documentation of Nigeria’s biodiversity and tackling antimicrobial resistance.
“We are going to work with religious medicine practitioners and native medicine practitioners at all levels in order to enhance their practice.
“There must be standardisation of natural medicine across the board, and we have to develop standards with stakeholders, and we are not going to copy any country’s style,’’ he said.
Why traditional medical practitioners should subject products to modern scientific trials – FG
The Federal Government also emphasised the need for traditional medicine practitioners to subject their products and practices to modern scientific scrutiny to dispel the scepticism around traditional medicine, largely due to the absence of rigorous scientific scrutiny and standardisation. It called for investment in research and clinical studies that validate the safety, efficacy, and quality of traditional medicine remedies.
Minister of State for Health, Adekunle Salako, who gave the charge during the commemoration of the 2025 African Traditional Medicine Day in Abuja, stated that strengthening the evidence base for traditional medicine is very critical to ensuring acceptability and integration into the health system of countries, adding that to achieve this, we must subject our traditional medicine resources to scientific principles of rigorous testing, analysis and draw conclusions that are replicable.
He said, “Evidence is the bridge between belief and policy. It is what will allow traditional medicines to move from the periphery to the mainstream of healthcare delivery, not just in Nigeria, but also across the continent. Our goal is to promote documentation and standardisation of practices and ultimately the full integration of evidence-based traditional medicine into our national health system.”
Salako, who emphasised that long before the advent of modern medical systems, Nigerian communities relied on herbal remedies, spiritual healing, and indigenous knowledge systems to prevent and treat diseases.
He stressed that traditional medicine remains the first and sometimes the only source of healthcare for millions of Nigerians, especially those in rural and underserved areas.
The minister noted that the COVID-19 pandemic reminded the world of the importance of resilient and diversified healthcare systems and also reignited interest in natural remedies.
He, therefore, advised that Nigeria and the entire African continent must seize this momentum to bring its traditional medicine to the global stage, with evidence as its passport.