Ogunwoye Samson, a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, recounted how ancestral knowledge and traditional practices saved his life after being bitten by a snake at the University of Abuja.
Ogunwoye recounted his experience following the tragic death of Ifunanya Nwangene, an Abuja-based singer who was bitten by a snake and died while receiving medical care.
While sharing his experience on Facebook, the Ogbomosho-born culture enthusiast highlighted the merits of traditional methods and ancestral knowledge in coping with emergency situations such as snake bites, among other things.
Ogunwoye revealed that he was able to survive a snake bite at the main entrance of the University of Abuja micro campus in 2016 despite the unavailability of antivenom at the medical facility because of his upbringing as a descendant of hunters and adhere commitment to traditional customs.
Ogunwoye described how he was bitten by a snake while returning from night class with his friends and ended up killing the snake despite his companions’ initial objections.
“I killed the snake before my friends subsequently rushed me to the school clinic, where I was told that there was no antivenom”, he recounted.
Ogunwoye attributes his survival from the snake bite to his traditional upbringing, namely eating the first yam of the year as was customary in his village, which he believes protected him from the snake’s poison.
He also described how one of his brothers was bitten by a snake in their community, which had seven buildings and a remote medical center without anti-venom.
According to Ogunwoye, his brother survived because he was treated with traditional antidotes provided by the village’s elders.
While advocating for the use of antivenom vaccines in hospitals, he also asked authorities to adopt a greater understanding of traditional traditions and ancestral knowledge.
He also mentioned that ancient techniques and ancestral knowledge can help contemporary medicine deal with situations.
“Our forefathers lived on this land before us. They mastered it before our arrival and have weathered many challenges. “There is so much we can learn from their experiences,” he said.