To many people, the coconut
plant is an ordinary plant.
They do not see anything
unique or exciting in the
plant. But to those who have eyes to
see, the coconut plant is a blessing, a
gift from nature.
Cocos Nucifera is called coconut in
English, Kwakwar in Hausa, Ivi-Obio
in Bini, Ake-bake or Aku-oyibo in
Igbo, Agbon in Yoruba, Uvien in Esan.
Every part of this plant is medicinal.
The bark of the plant dried and
burnt into ashes is an effective remedy
for skin ailments like rashes, black
spots, scabies and measles. Simply mix
two-dessert spoons of the powder with
half a glass of palm kernel oil. Apply to
the affected part.
For a toothache, mix two table-
spoonfuls of the ashes with one shot of
dry gin. Stir it well and use as a mouth
wash.
BRONCHITIS:
Chop an equal amount of pawpaw
roots and coconut roots into pieces.
Measure 10 handfuls of each into 10
litres of water. Add 5 bulbs of garlic.
Bring to boil. Allow it to cool and mix
with one bottle of honey.
Dosage: 1⁄2 glass thrice daily.
HEPATITIS:
Grind the dried coconut root into a
powder and follow the formula below:
Materials:
8 dessertspoons of coconut root
8 dessertspoons of powdered bitter
kola
2 tablespoons of powdered bird’s
pepper.
Recipe: Mix all together and
add to 1 bottle of honey.
Dosage: 2 dessert- spoons
thrice daily. This is
a very effective
remedy for
hepatitis and
jaundice and
dysentery.
The
water in the
coconut is
an excellent
cleanser. It
is among the
best natural
antibiotics
known. Co-
conut water
strengthens the
immune system and
helps it to resist illness-
es. If you are given some
chemical antibiotics like chloram-
phenicol or Amoxil in the hospital,
you will or should be instructed not
to drink coconut water because it will
neutralize the effect of the drug. If a
child or an adult takes an overdose of
a dangerous drug, administer coconut
water to counteract the side effects.
Some years ago, I met a lady who
was diagnosed to be suffering from
cancer of the breast. It was terrible
then and was considered too late for
an operation. I advised her to mix 4
litres of coconut water with 1 litre of
honey and take 1⁄2 a glass twice daily.
So she did. Up till today the woman is
still alive and going about her regular
duty, even though the cancer symp-
toms are still very much apparent.
The coconut water has
apparently been exercis-
ing a
moderating effect on the
cancer cells.
The white pulp of the immature co-
conut is very useful for the memory.
People suffering from loss of mem-
ory, forgetfulness and any form of
memory defect should make friends
with coconut.
Remove the
whitish pulp
inside the young
coconut and mix
with a little honey. Take
as much as you wish. A trial
will convince you.
Lagos State has an agency
whose work is specifically to encour-
age the planting of coconut and de-
velop products from coconut. This is
good because Lagos state is the largest
producer of coconut in Nigeria, and
among the highest producer in the
world. This means that coconut alone
can power the economy of Lagos state
if proper attention is paid to its use
and cultivation. And yet, most of our
youth are jobless.
The Director of the Lagos State Co-
conut Development Agency (LASCO-
DA), who I nicknamed ‘Mr Coconut’,
recently asked me why I have not yet
posted information about coconut on
this platform. Well, ‘Mr. Coconut’, it
is done.
