It began as a small boil in the middle of his forehead in 2008; painful though it was, there was nothing particularly extra-ordinary about it. So, when it was ripe and pregnant with pus, Mal Adamu Muhammed, 37, decided to prick it open. Immediately, the swelling disgorged its poisoned, rotten, stale grey-coloured blood. By the time the last of the pus was out, Mal Muhammed felt mighty relief; the persistent fire in the core of his forehead died and with it the constant fever it generated. As he basked in his newfound relief, he looked forward to quick healing. But that was not to be; the small open wound in his forehead not only failed to heal, it grew bigger and bigger, in spite of all medications. Mal Muhammed took his intractable wound to Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, where diligent medical efforts led to the long anticipated healing.
But that was a brief success. The old spot where the nagging boil had first appeared began to swell up again. In the fullness of time, this second generation boil began to ooze its dirty syrupy content. Mal Muhammed returned to ABU Teaching Hospital, where he underwent a succession of medical treatments – haemotherapy, radiotherapy, and finally chemotherapy. He had been diagnosed with cancer of the skin at ABU Teaching Hospital, Zaria, which had given him his first break from pain, had been unable to arrest the degenerative condition. The once small wound has become a massive festering sore, expanding in all directions of compass. Today, Mal Muhammed, a father of four and teacher with Dobwa Primary School, in Paikoro Local Government Area, spots a massive bandage covering the ravaging cancer. As a Muslim, mandatorily required to pray five times a day, he can no longer press his forehead to the ground in supplication to God. He says the recurrent fever generated by the non-healing forehead cancer is as if a nuclear meltdown is occurring in his body.
But that is only half of the young teacher’s problem.
In 2011, Mal Muhammed had a life-altering car accident on his way back from ABU Teaching Hospital, where he had gone in fulfillment of a scheduled medical appointment. The bone in the upper part of his leg broke. Already financially devastated by the frequent hospital visits to Zaria (sometimes he had to struggle to raise his transport fare), he resorted to a nearby traditional orthopaedic doctor, in Bari, a village not far from Paiko, headquarters of Paikoro Local Government council in Niger State. Although the leg has healed, he now walks with a pronounced limp; one leg shorter than the other. Asked why he had not gone to the hospital to correct his asymmetrical leg, he replied that after the forehead has failed to heal, he is scared to go and open up the broken leg, which has healed anyway. And although he is bitter that he may have to live with this disfigurement for the rest of his life, his principal nightmare is his forehead, which has not only failed to repair, but recent tests have revealed that the frontal bone underneath the skin is being secretly eroded by the cancer’s corrosive actions .
Recently, the patient has been visiting Primus International Super Speciality Hospital, Abuja, subsidiary of a similar hospital in India, where he was diagnosed with a case of ‘non-healing ulcer forehead’. A test conducted by the hospital, called Incisional Biopsy, revealed what was medically termed ‘squamous cell carcinoma’ and an eroding frontal bone. Medical solution? The hospital prescribed the excision of forehead ulcer, with the removal of the affected frontal bone and skin grafting. This extreme surgical remedy, which will require a trip to the mother Primus hospital in India, will cost $19,000 (about N3m). Although this price, the hospital said in a September 6 email, includes the medication necessary for the excision procedure, medical equipment and supplies necessary for the procedure, room charges and regular menu food charges, doctors fee, nursing charges, transportation to and from the airport, it warned that “the given treatment cost is just the estimate. The exact treatment may vary from the given estimate”. The implication of this caveat is that the patient may eventually, actually need more than the stated amount, especially if he requires additional stay in the hospital. The unforeseen extended stay in the hospital has implications on sundry other charges, such as guest house bills and treatment of complications and infections. The financial need is simply enormous; that is the noble reason why Mal Muhammed needs your help dearly.
In an interview with this reporter in Minna, capital of Niger State, the teacher said he had dispatched several SOS letters to topnotch government officials in the state, both at the local and state levels, to which he has not received any response. Among the people he has appealed to and who has apparently not taken up his cause is the chairman of Paikoro Local Government Council, “who is my chairman and employer. In fact, if there is anybody out there who wants to help me, it is left to be seen. While I have knocked at several doors, including that of a serving senator, none has opened for me”, he bemoaned. Now, the question is: Will you open your doors to him, in the name of God?
Public spirited individuals who want to help Mal Muhammed may kindly send their contributions to either of the followings: Account Name: Adamu Mohammed; Name of Bank: GT Bank; Account Number: 0027813817 or Account Name: Asabe Danjuma; Name of Bank: Eco Bank;? Account Number: 0045970659? or Account Name: Tomu Danladi Umar; Name of Bank: UBA; Account Number: 1012067968. Alternatively, you may transfer the money direct to: Primus Super Speciality Hospital (unit of Delhi Hospital); Beneficiary Address: 2, Chandragupt Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi- 110021, India; Name of Bank: Punjab National Bank; Branch Address: ECE House, K.G Marg, New Delhi, India: Current Acct No: 1120002102309078; IFSC: PUNBO112000; MICR: 110024043; SWIFT CODE: PUNBINBBISB; PAN: AAATD5777H. Those making direct transfers to the foreign account were required to mention the name of the patient as the treatment purpose of transfer. Members of the public or philanthropists seeking additional information or wishing to help may also contact Mal Suleiman Abdullahi of Leadership Newspapers, Abuja.
Mal Muhammed appealed to the Niger State government, through the office of the Secretary to the State Government, to help him regain his fitness and health “so that I can get back to my normal life”. He said he will be mighty glad if the Chief Servant of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, will intervene directly to end his suffering and feeling of hopelessness. He said since his medical problems took a turn for the worse, he has not been able to appear in the classroom to teach. He now limps from one place to another looking for intervention and salvation.
—Abubakar is a Minna-based journalist