Dr Okhua Iboi, by all accounts one of the most notable trado-medical practitioners in Nigeria today has said he is taking the practice to greater heights. The unassuming practitioner who boasts of the efficacy of his work is attested to by those who have benefited from it says orthodox doctors even collaborate with him for success.
Specifically, he puts herbal medicine, his principal profession, to the advantage of people, attending and assisting them to the best of his abilities, just as he proffers possible solutions to spiritual challenges and difficulties as they occur in the past 30 years and beyond.
Born with the mysticism of spiritualism, Dr. Iboi is an amalgam of his father’s childlessness and long hunting parole, with his father, Chief Jonah Iboi, a respected community leader, farmer and hunter most versed in magic, relocating in the 1950s with his five wives from his hometown, Otuo, in the present day Owan East Local Government of Edo State to Okpe kingdom in Akoko-Edo Local Government.
His migration, is in accordance with the Ifa divination that he leaves home for Okpe kingdom if he intended to have his own children, and he truly did on leaving.
At Okpe, the old man was well-loved by people for his kindness and open-mindedness, continuing with his hunting expedition until an event happened that totally changed the course of his life.
“One faithful day, my father, Chief Jonah Oboi, went on hunting with one of his friends and at one point heard the screaming of an animal in the throes of pain. He cocked his gun in readiness to fire and kill the animal, only to discover to his amazement that the deer was not caught by a trap but was on the verge of giving birth.
He allowed it to give birth, and then heard a voice echoing from the animal, saying, ‘Don’t kill or touch me if you still wish to have your own children.’
“My father was not overtly surprised at what he had seen and heard from the animal as his knowledge of herbs and magic had made it possible for him to understand it all.
“He, however, kept the bizarre to himself, but within a month, one of his five wives, precisely Alice, my mother, got pregnant, and carried my pregnancy for 18 months instead of the usual nine months. When I was eventually born, I had in my hand a mystic object that is fundamental to modern-day society. I was born with leaves in my hands, which was a symbolic prelude to what I am known for today, herbal medicine.
Like father, like son
Though an area yet to be confirmed by science Oboi says his father was a Zoolinguists. “My father had the ability to speak and understand the language of animals and could command them to do whatever he wanted due to his magical prowess. But I am versed in the knowledge of roots and herbs. I can speak to leaves, I understand them. I know when to cut a leaf, how to cut it and what to say to it before cutting it to ensure that it retains its potency, putting to question what exactly I do as a trade-medical practitioner.
“My medicines cure tuberculosis, including asthma cough, gonorrhoea cases and wounds from the spiritual arrow. Others are women having discharges from their private parts. I also deal with nerve disorders, diabetes, irregular menstruation and stroke-related diseases. The same for hypertension-related diseases that kill every minute of the day,” he said.
According to him, hypertension which starts from high blood pressure goes with nerves and from that stage to stroke. “All these things work with nerves. People suffering from hypertension first have the effect on their nerves, which then become hot with their temperature on the rise.
“Looking at the temperature, anything from 120-130 is normal, but from 130-150, gives high blood pressure. Then from 150-180, anything can happen, giving rise to stroke. If you have high blood pressure that is over 150, that person should expect a stroke and then all those are associated with nerves.”
As it is typical in African practice, he recognises the significance of the oracle in his trade-medical practice. “Its importance cannot be underestimated, but unfortunately some of the well-known and well-to-do people in the society do not want to be associated with herbalists openly. When most of them are sick, they travel out of the country for medical treatment and sometimes when they come back home, the sickness starts all over again.
“Some of them, who are afflicted with diseases that take them outside for treatment, found out later that the same ailment is very much in them and at times much more of greater dimension.”
He said most often the diseases are planted in them by the evil ones and when they travel out like that and return, the evil people responsible return and continue to torment them in greater proportion.
He said he consults with our oracles to ascertain their predicaments in the spiritual realm, and we get to know whether they are machinations of evil or of natural causes in order to free such persons from their satanic bandages. “ The oracles reveal them all and we conclusively remove the hand of the evil to get the infected healed once and for all.
“If the oracle is not consulted for direction, the situation could become chaotic as the evil would at times make the herbal doctor make mistakes that could cause the patient’s death, hence we medical doctors at times go traditional to ensure smooth operations or treatments.”
Unbeknownst to members of the public, some doctors, according to him, work in alliance with the trade-medical practitioners and they hardly record deaths in their hospitals.
To attest to the efficacy of his methods, he cited the heart-rending situation of a leading philanthropist who terribly fell victim to satanic manipulations leading to the sudden collapse of his companies and businesses.
Alhaji Mohamed Garuba, he said, was well respected in the society, being a leading help to many people for over 20 years, putting them on their feet. “All the same, we give glory to God because as terrible as his situation was, the heavens were with him and against his detractors. Hence, his businesses were restored.”
