with the disease wanted to be cured, to enable them to live a normal life.Magbagbeola, who was reacting to the new diabetes cure discovered recently by a Nigerian, explained that before any drug could be pronouncedas a cure, it must have undergone trials on animals for seven to 17 years, after which it would then be used on humans.A herbal anti-diabetic phytophar-maceutical, ADI, patented recently, was discovered by Dr Oboyo Nelson, a chemist and researcher in herbs in Nigeria.The chairman said currently, more than 12.5 million Nigerians were diabetic, even though Federal Government's record puts the figure at 6.5 million, stressing that the figure was high to attract regular attention. Magbagbeola, who said he had been suffering from diabetes for more than 32 years, said he would be happy if a cure was discovered, ``because injecting insulin into one's system daily is a bad experience''.He said Nelson did not carry the association, WHO, and the International Diabetes Federation along in the course of his research, making them not have full confidence in the drug. Magbagbeola said many doctors and researchers had in the past, claimed such feat, only to discover later that the claims were false.``As far as I am concerned, we have yet to have a cure for diabetes. What we have is a drug that can manage the disease,'' he said. The Lagos chapter of the association has some 5,000 registered members and many unregistered patients who attend private hospitals.Magbagbeola said the lack of funds to conduct screening and public awareness campaign on the disease was one of the challenges facing the association. He explained that diabetes could either be hereditary, or caused by taking of unprescribed drugs, unmanaged hypertension, bad eating habit and the lack of exercise.
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