Jos herbalist who pays half a million in salaries monthly

For 30 of his 53 years on earth, Malam Hassan Ahmad has been a herbalist in the heart of Jos north. For 13 hours every day, he attends to some 200 people who throng his Farin Wata Street ‘research Centre’ for alternative treatment on various ailments. He listens to them, observes their symptoms and fetches […]

For 30 of his 53 years on earth, Malam Hassan Ahmad has been a herbalist in the heart of Jos north. For 13 hours every day, he attends to some 200 people who throng his Farin Wata Street ‘research Centre’ for alternative treatment on various ailments.

He listens to them, observes their symptoms and fetches from the various herbs and barks around him. He prescribes how to use the herbs. For payment, he takes any amount the patient can afford to give. Yet, at the end of every month, he forks out half a million naira for the 20 men and women on his payroll.

“Even before I get ready for the day, phone calls begin to ring in even while at home as early as 6:00am from those seeking to report their challenges before I get to the centre,” he said.

“I attend to over 200 patients per day who come with different complaints from 9am to 10pm of everyday. This includes those who come on behalf of their patients who are at home,” he said.

There are many bags of herbs around Malam Hassan in his consultation room. With practiced ease, he listens to the complaints and fetches the herbs the patient would need. To an observer, it seems random. But the herbalists insist there is a system.

“Whenever a case is reported, I would give herb to the patient which he/she could use for at least a week,” he said. “During that period, if the herb given to the person is found effective against the reported ailment, it would then be documented for further prescription for patients who may come with similar health challenges. That is how we get to know which herb cures what ailment, this is how we do our experiments,” he said.

Malam Hassan does not admit patients at his centre, which opens as early as 9am and closes at around 11pm daily.

“People come from Borno, Yobe, Bauchi and Gombe; others from Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and even Kebbi state to report different cases of illness,” he said. “Sometimes, one doesn’t have to come here himself. They can make calls and explain their needs. Thereafter, I send herbs to them wherever they are.”

He prescribes herbal medicine for various ailments including critical medical challenges such as hepatitis, kidney problems, fevers, diabetes, toilet infection among others.

His method of examining his patients vary from that of a conventional medical practice.

“I don’t use medical equipment like a thermometer or telescope to examine the degree of temperature of people who report any health problem or come on behalf of their patients and this isn’t a magic,” he said. “We have been in the system for over 3 decades. What I do is to place the back of my fingers on the lower palates of patients to evaluate the temperature before taking decisions on the herbs to be prescribed.”

The 20 men and women in his employ help him fetching herbs especially those in storage away from the centre, cutting of leaves and roots to be readied for patients and spreading herbs to dry in the sun, among other things.

There is always a mammoth crowd thronging Hassan’s herbal practice. They cut across the religious and ethnic divide of the state. One of these patients is Binta Zakaria.

“Before I came to Hassan’s research centre, I couldn’t walk. In fact, I couldn’t take a step because I had leg-ache,” she said. “But as God would have it, from the moment I reported my problem to him, everything became alright.”

This is her second visit to the centre. After her first dose of herbs, she has been able to walk unaided for some distance and is pleased with the progress of her treatment.

Nyam Azi, from Rukuba Road Area in Jos is another patient.

“I am here because I haven’t been feeling well,” he said. “I came to get some herbs from him. People are many but I just have to wait because people enjoy his herbs. I was once here for a different problem.”

Controlling the crowd is difficult as they throng and call his name. “Malam Hassan! Malam Hassan!” desperate to catch his attention.

His fame has travelled not only beyond the state but beyond the country as well.

“My herbs get to countries like Niger Republic, Ghana, Cameroon, Chad and other parts of Africa,” he said. “I also receive patronage from US, Saudi Arabia, UK almost every week and people using it appreciate the effectiveness of the herbs I send to them.”

Like most herbalists, Hassan learnt his trade from his parents, who were also potters. His father, especially, taught him a lot about herbs.

“He doesn’t fix price for herbs he gives you. He only asks you to pay what you have and whatever you give him, he give thanks and wishes you well,” said Ishaka Danjuma, another person who came to collect herbs for his wife at the centre.

But despite the praise and the crowd, Malam Hassan is under no illusion about the reason for his success.

“Whatever I give you here, there is no guarantee that you will recover. All I believe in is that I do intensive research and come up with my findings and based on that finding, I prescribe herbs to be taken and the Almighty God does the biggest bit, which is the healing. Once instructions are followed, success is often there for the patient,” he said.