I was born into a family of traditional medicine practitioners - Yem Kem Boss

Yem Kem International boss and the National President of the Herbal Society of Nigeria, Akintunde Ayeni in this interview with Nonye Ben- Nwankwo explained how he built his empire and finally put the rumours of him being a drug peddler to rest. Akintunde said as at the time he built his Yet Kem plaza that got people talking, he already had over 48 branches across Nigeria and 30 out of them were delivering N100,000 a day, so why won’t he build a magnificent place, especially considering that he does not spend his income on beers. He said a lot more and how his family has been in the trado business for the past 500 years.

Why did you abandon Fishery Science to become a herbal doctor?

I was born into a family of traditional medicine practitioners. My father was a powerful traditional doctor. My grandfather was a herbalist and a hunter. I was less than five years old when I got to know about traditional medicine. It was ordained that I would be a traditional doctor. I was always with my father each time he was preparing medicine for his patients and even when he was sourcing for the raw materials. As a child wanted I to become a herbal doctor. I had a passion for it. When my father was alive, people would come to greet him and give him gifts. They would thank him for healing them. It inspired me a lot. I felt it was really something I would love to do. Continue...

So why did you go into Fisheries as choice of study when you knew early that you would get into herbal medicine?

When I was young, I couldn’t eat fish. Each time I ate it, I would vomit. When I was in secondary school, I didn’t even outgrow it. My mother would put fish in my meal and I would still try to eat it but I would vomit. I just had to study it when I was going to school to find out why I had to be vomiting each time I ate it. I eventually got to know I was just allergic to it.

Is it true or a mere fable that you were born with herbs and cowries in your hands?

That was what was said when I was born. People said a lot of things about me. These are things you cannot explain unless your mother or those who were there during your birth would tell you the truth.

And did your mother tell you that you were born with cowries in your hands?

My mother said something like that. But my father told me that when I was three years old, it was revealed to them that I would be great. This practice has been in the family for over 500 years. I was told that my forefathers said that even if it was just one person that remained in the Ayeni family, that person would be a herbal doctor. With my exposure and education, I was able to transform herbal medicine to what it is today. I am glad people embrace herbal medicine now. We have one of the potent herbal medicines in Nigeria but our problem has been packaging. We have to give kudos to NAFDAC especially during the period of the late Prof. Dora Akunyili. She made sure herbal medicine was standardised so that products could be accepted in the international market.

But it was said you were arrested for drug related offences recently?

That is a big lie. That is the thinking and the voice of the enemies. When people don’t know how you are operating, they say all sorts of nonsensical things. They have been saying this for the past 20 years. People believe no Nigerian herbal doctor could do what I have been able to do. When this head office was inaugurated by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, people said a lot of things. They wondered how I was able to build such an office from the proceeds of herbal medicine. They said it was impossible and said I was selling cocaine. They forgot I had 48 branches in Nigeria then. Thirty of those branches would remit N100, 000 to me daily. So if you calculate that, I was getting more than N1m every day. So why wouldn’t I have been able to build such a complex when I wasn’t spending my money in club or using it to buy beer. I wasn’t using my money to spray musicians at parties. The money I realised from my business was what I used to establish myself. I built my first house in 1996. People came for the opening and they were amazed. I used marble to furnish the house. So when people saw the house, they were astonished. They concluded I was a ‘juju’ man. In 2007 when I built Pathfinder Hotel, people sent my name to NDLEA and other agencies, telling them I must be into shady and drug-related deals. They claimed that herbal medicine couldn’t have been my only source of wealth. They forgot the kind of products I have and the kind of patronage I was getting from the public. One of the most lucrative businesses is medicine. God has created me the way he did. People who have used my medicine are praying for me. It is not by my making, it is just God Almighty that used me. They have not seen anything, they will still talk some more because I am going to do things bigger than what I have already achieved. A South African herbal doctor has a private jet. I wonder what people would have said if I had one. Let them go to China and see herbal practitioners who are making billions of money. When you are doing business and you are doing well, just expect people to say crazy things about you. I have not seen cocaine before; I don’t know how it looks like.

Are you saying this is just a rumour?

It is a baseless, nonsensical rumour that has no value. How come it wasn’t publicised that I was in detention?