Bizarre fate of a cattle rearer
He tried killing snake. Now his skin has been changing to that of snake
By Mariam Aleshinloye Agboola, JOS
Wednesday, May 7, 2008

• Mohammed Lawal with sores all over him • PHOTO: Sun News Publishing

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His name is Mohammad Lawal , a cattle rearer and father of nine from Sarkin Pawa village in Toro Local Government area of Bauchi State, and his story will no doubt confound you.

When in November 2006, the man tried to kill a snake with his stick on his way home from one of his daily outings with his cattle, little did he know he might have irked a creature from the spirit world. According to him, since that incident, two years ago, his life has never been the same.

"Since then, I’ve gradually been changing into a snake", he said on his hospital bed.
His stick, known as sanda in the local parlance, had always been his companion when moving about with his cattle.

As a kid, he had learnt to use it expertly to defend himself and his beasts against any threats. About 4.00p.m on the fateful day, he had seen a big snake at Rishi village, at a spot close to the government clinic in the area. As usual, his sanda came handy to batter the serpent. After hitting the snake, Lawal went home. Unknown to him that the aftermath of that action would continue to haunt him years after, culminating in a mysterious ailment that defied both traditional and orthodox medicine in the last two years.

A look at the cattle rearer on his sick bed at the General Hospital in Toro, Bauchi State would, no doubt, evoke a large measure of pity from anyone, as his skin looked more like a snake’s than that of a human being. According to him, after hitting the snake, he had left it on the spot and headed for his house. But on getting home, he realized he might have bitten more than he could chew.

His words: "I began to feel uneasy and all I could think about was the snake I thought I had killed. Since I couldn’t stop thinking about the snake, I rushed back to the spot. But on getting there, the snake was nowhere to be found. All I saw instead was some fresh grass on the same spot. I was confused and I had to go back home. On getting back home, my problem started manifesting. The first thing I noticed was that I began to feel feverish and I started urinating blood.

Two weeks later, I began to notice rashes on my body. Since then, I’ve been visiting traditional healers without getting any positive result."
His problems were not restricted to that. According to Malam Lawal, about seven months ago, he began to notice that his skin was becoming scaly like that of a snake. That was not all. His facial appearance , he disclosed, also started changing to that of a snake.

Since his problems commenced, the cattle rearer said he had visited about 11 different hospitals in Kaduna, Bauchi, and Kano States for a cure of the strange ailment. He got none, even after he had exhausted all his savings. He eventually went back to Toro and has, since November last year, confined himself to the General Hospital, Miya Brekatai.

He continued: "At the hospital, I was told I would have to be referred to a bigger hospital since my condition was beyond what could be handled there. But I refused because I was tired of going to other places again. I told them I preferred to face my destiny there".

At that time, his body had stiffened. He could neither stand up nor eat properly. Doctors were unable to conduct routine tests on him because needles could no longer penetrate his skin. "The doctors were just trying their best to force down my throat whatever they thought could improve my condition since the needle could not penetrate my skin", he told Daily Sun.

While in the hospital, a traditional healer in Jos, Dr. Saleh Ahmed Lame, was said to have visited Lawal. The traditional healer, Daily Sun learnt, claimed he had communicated with the snake which he described as some strange spirit. He then sought permission from the doctors at the clinic to spend three days with the sick man in order to find a permanent solution to his problem.

The traditional healer told the sick Lawal that the strange snake was walking with his wife and child when they encountered the cattle-rearer. In his words, the snake’s family had already crossed the path when Lawal came along and started battering the poor snake with his sanda, inflicting injuries on its back.
"That was why the snake was bent on punishing Lawal ," the traditional healer said.

He, however, said he had apologised on Lawal’s behalf and assured that the cattle rearer would soon be cured of his mysterious disease. According to him, having prepared some spiritual concoctions for Lawal, the man had started recovering.

The medical doctor in charge of Lawal’s case, Dr. Yakubu Emmanuel, however, does not share such views. According to him, although Lawal’s sickness was very strange, it was, however , not beyond cure. He also dismissed suggestions that Lawal’s encounter with a snake was responsible for the cattle-rearer’s sickness.

Said he: "When Lawal was brought in on November 5, 2007, his skin had become flaky and he was sweating profusely. No tests could be carried out on him because hypodermic needle could not penetrate his skin. Since he would not go to a specialist hospital, drugs were being administered on him to improve the condition of his skin.

Another problem we encountered was that he did not have money to buy drugs. But luckily, the wife of the governor of Bauchi State, who was at the hospital, saw him and gave him N20, 000 for drugs. Since then, we’ve been able to give him the needed drugs and the appropriate food. And he has since been responding to treatment".

On Lawal’s current state, Dr. Emmanuel said the cattle rearer is 70 per cent okay. In the medical field, he noted, there is nothing like an encounter with a spirit.

"That a man would become sick because he tried to kill a snake is mere superstition", he said.
He remarked that they’ve been unable to conduct tests on the sick man but insisted that he was responding well to treatment.

On his part, Lawal is very grateful to all those who have contributed to his gradual recovery, especially the traditional healer and the medical doctors at the General Hospital. Having spent about five months in the hospital, he said he was much better than when he came in.

"I can now sit upright, drink water, eat well and I’m gradually becoming myself again", he stated.
But there is one thing the cattle rearer would never do again if he ever recovers from his strange ailment. "I will never kill a snake again," he vowed.