Recently, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua decorated Dr. (Mrs) Hadiza Nuhu with a National Merit Award, along with many other recipients, for her efforts in inventing an anti-malarial drug out of the country's medicinal plants, the first of its kind from any Nigerian university or lecturer.

She spoke to Trust Woman in an exciting interview. Excerpts:

Please tell us a bit about yourself...

Dr. Hadiza Nuhu: My name is Hadiza Nuhu. I was born at Kofar Mata, Kano, in 1965. I attended Shahuci Primary School in the city. After my primary education, I proceeded to Government Girls College Dala. From there I moved to Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto where I graduated with a B.Sc in Botany in 1985. I had my M.Sc in 1990 and my Phd in 1999 on Pharmacognocy and Drug Development at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. I am currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacognosy and Drug Development in the Faculty of Social Sciences of ABU, Zaria.

You were among the awardees of the 2008 National Merit Award; could you tell us what category and how you earned it?

Dr. Hadiza: I was conferred with Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON). I was given the award because of Herb 25, the anti-malarial herbal drug we developed through the various researches in my Department at ABU.

It will be interesting to know your family background...

Dr. Hadiza: I got married four months after my NYSC. That means I have had 23 to 24 years of marital life and by Allah's will, with 11 children to show for.

How do you manage this large number of children with your academics especially your research on drug development?

It was not really an easy task. Even the home font could be a Herculean task. I come from an extended family system; therefore managing a large number of people is not always easy but not new. You know in an extended family, you don't care for your children alone, you also take care of other people's children. By that, you can see that apart from my 11 children I also take care of other people's children.

You should also know that apart from my teaching job, I am also part of many NGOs. So it is not really easy but for determination coupled with Allah's assistance as well as the number of people around me who are always keen on my progress, particularly my husband, I was able to achieve what I achieved.

As I try to move and forge ahead, these people have been very supportive. My husband and my 11 children are a part and parcel of what I am today. Good planning is very important in life and this has helped us as a family.

At what period of your career did you conceive the idea of Herb 25, which earned you this national honour?

I started the anti-malarial herb research in 1996 and by that time I had seven children. What motivated me to begin the research are the glaring sufferings of my society. I have many colleagues who are medical doctors and I have to that I visit them at work often. I come across so many problems there.

I come across people who could not afford to buy medicines prescribed for them. Some people will tell you that they cannot go to the hospital because they don't have the money to buy the drugs that would be prescribed. As you know even Panadol has to be purchased by patients in Nigeria.

Year-in, year-out, we have graduated medical doctors and pharmacists but have not produced a single drug of our own. This made me think that if I cannot put to practice what I was trained on; then all my degrees are irrelevant since they don't have any link with my society, as they cannot solve some societal problems.

From various researches, I came up with some medicinal plants in 2004 when I opened my Herbal Point in Zaria. The whole idea behind the Herbal Point Shop initially was to start stocking and selling medicinal plants in their pure form because what we see with our medicinal plants sellers are that the plants are sold in unhygienic forms. Sometimes they are spread along gutters or streets without basic hygiene.

Therefore, I wanted to sell medicinal plants in a hygienic form. Gradually, there was the tendency to be a link between my researches in my department and what people need.

Do you know who recommended for your OON?

I was not told but I am suspecting that it was NAFDAC. Why I have that suspicion is that, Herb 25 is the first Nigerian drug to be developed by any Nigerian University, this is why I am thinking is from there.