Anselm Adodo

Reverend Fr. Anselm Adodo OSB
Gbenga
Born	1969 Akure, Ondo State
Nationality	Nigerian
Alma mater	(Ph.D), Da Vinci Institute, South Africa
Occupation	Social Scientist
Years active	2000-present
Employer(s)	Paxherbals, University of Ibadan
Known for	Promoting Traditional African Medicine, Healthy nutrition and lifestyle in Africa
Ecclesiastical career
Religion	Christianity
Church	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City
Ordained	January 4, 1997
Writing career
Genre	Alternative medicine, Epidemiology, Traditional African medicine,
Notable awards	Entrepreneur of the year Alternative Medicine – Association of West African Journalists 2012
Website	www.adodoanselm.com

Adodo Anselm Gbenga (born 1969) is a Nigerian scholar who has advocated for alternative medicine.^[1] He is also a Benedictine monk and priest of the Roman Catholic Church in Edo State, Nigeria.

He founded Nigeria’s first alternative medicine and research laboratory enterprise, called Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories, in 1997.^[2]

He also has written several books on alternative medicine, nutrition, health and epidemiology.^[3]

Education and career

In 1979, Adodo joined St. Thomas Aquinas College Akure to begin his secondary school education. By 1985, he had successfully completed his secondary school education and was awarded a West African school certificate. When he visited the Ewu Monastery in 1987, it was the peace and tranquillity of the natural environment that really struck him,^[4] and so he joined the Monastery in November 1987.

He obtained a Higher Diploma in Scholastic Philosophy from the Ewu Monastery in 1992 and a BA in Religious Studies from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1995.

In 1997, he obtained a Master's degree in Systematic Theology from Duquesne University and a PhD in Medical Sociology from the University of Benin (Nigeria) in 2017.

The Da Vinci Institute in South Africa awarded him a PhD (Management of Technology and Innovation Systems) in 2015 for his doctoral studies, which started in 2012.

He is an adjunct professor at the Institute of African Studies (IAS), the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (where he teaches African Transformation Studies and Traditional African Medicine),^[2] and he is also the Chief Executive Officer at Paxherbals^[5] and the director of Ofure (Pax) Integral Research and Development Initiative.^[2]

Alternative Medicine

Philosophy

Adodo prefers the term "African Medicine" to "Traditional Medicine". He defines African medicine as a system of healing grounded in an African worldview, culture, and accumulated beliefs and practices, which uses herbs and other plants to solve physical and spiritual ailments. African medicine, he believes, is founded on indigenous, biological, and medico-spiritual theories and concepts of the human body, the role of the individual as a member of the community, and their relationship with the community, with the environment and with nature.^[6]

Background

Adodo first began studying alternative medicine in the early 1990s. He traveled around Nigeria and spoke with traditional healers, and Adodo said he felt called to preserve their knowledge in writings.^[6]

Personal life

Adodo is the third of five children of his parents. Bankole, Funke, Bandele (Dele), and Omotola (Tola) are the names of his siblings.^[2]

Honours

• Fellow, Nigeria Society of Botanists^[2]

Works

Adodo has written books which includes:

• Herbs for healing. Receiving God’s Healing Through nature (1997). Ilorin: Decency Printers
• Nature power - A Christian Approach to Herbal Medicine (2000). Akure: Don Bosco Publishers
• The Healing Radiance of the Soul. A Guide to Holistic Healing (2003). Lagos: Agelex Publication
• New Frontiers in African Medicine (2005). Lagos: Metropolitan Publishers; Herbal Medicine and the Revival of African Civilization (2010). Lagos: Zoe Communications
• Disease and Dietary Patterns in Edo Central Nigeria. An epidemiological survey (2013) Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing
• Nature Power: Natural Medicine in Tropical Africa (2013 revised edition). UK: Author House
• Integral Community Enterprise in Africa. Communitalism as an Alternative to Capitalism (2017) London: Routledge.

Notes

References

1. "Anselm Adodo Archives". Vimas News. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
2. Adodo, Anselm (2017). Integral Community Enterprise in Africa: Communitalism as an Alternative to Capitalism. Taylor & Francis. p. 8. ISBN 978-1138636798.
3. Adodo, Anslem (17 March 2020). "Healing Plants of Nigeria: Ethnomedicine and Therapeutic Applications". ResearchGate.
4. Adodo, Anselm. "A life-long Focus on Knowledge and Healing". Trans4m. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
5. "About Paxherbals". Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
6. Itchen, Jame; et al. (April 2015). "Modern African Remedies - Herbal Medicine and Community Development in Nigeria" (PDF). Policy Voice Series (April 2015). Retrieved 1 May 2017.

Further reading

• Ronnie, Lessem (2016). The Integrators: The Next Evolution in Leadership, Knowledge and Value Creation. Routledge. pp. 385, 540. ISBN 978-1472481214. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
• Ewu, Monastery (2004). The Story of Ewu Monastery. St. Benedict Monastery. ISBN 978-9788018490. Retrieved 15 May 2017.

External links

• Ofure-Pax Integral Research and Development Initiative (OFIRDI)