LAUTECH don warns plant expert shortage threatens drug safety

A shortage of trained plant taxonomists in Nigeria could undermine efforts to develop safe herbal medicines, conserve biodiversity and harness the country’s plant resources, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Prof. Tunde Ogunkunle, has warned.

Ogunkunle called on the federal and state governments to declare a state of emergency on the dwindling number of plant taxonomy specialists, warning that the country faced a widening gap between the demand for expertise and the availability of qualified professionals.

He made the call last month while delivering LAUTECH’s 76th inaugural lecture, titled “Making Sense Out of Chaos: Taxonomy as a Universal ‘Digestive System’ Amidst Plentiful Harvest But Few Workers,” at the university’s Great Hall.

The professor argued that the ability to identify and classify plants accurately was critical to several sectors, particularly herbal medicine, pharmaceuticals, food production and environmental protection.

He warned that the misidentification of medicinal plants could result in adulterated herbal preparations, ineffective treatment, poisoning and other serious health complications, including death.

Ogunkunle likened taxonomy to the human digestive system, explaining that just as digestion breaks down complex food substances into simpler components, taxonomy organises the vast diversity of life into categories that make identification, understanding and practical use possible.

He said the importance of the discipline extended beyond Biology, describing it as a framework for organising complex information and generating reliable knowledge across different fields.

The don expressed concern that, despite centuries of scientific investigation, much of the world’s biodiversity remained undocumented, while the number of specialists equipped to identify and classify plant species continued to dwindle.

Invoking Luke 10:2, which states that “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few,” he described the shortage as a taxonomic crisis requiring coordinated intervention by government, universities and research institutions.

He proposed scholarships, bursaries and research grants to attract young Nigerians to Plant Biology, as well as the establishment of a National Institute of Botany to strengthen research, training and the documentation of plant resources.

He also urged universities to incorporate taxonomic reasoning into their curricula and called on employers to recognise the contribution of taxonomists to research, quality control, innovation and strategic decision-making.

On public health, Ogunkunle appealed to the media and social media users to promote accurate information about herbal medicine and avoid misleading representations of legitimate herbal practitioners.

He said the protection of biodiversity also required collective action, urging Nigerians to embrace sustainable use of natural resources, tree planting and environmental conservation.

The lecture was chaired by the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Razaq Kalilu, and attended by members of the governing council, principal officers, academics, traditional rulers, community leaders and other guests.