Aminu Mohammed, a Ghanaian currently based in Côte d’Ivoire, shared his life journey in an interview with DJ Nyaami on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide. He moved to Ivory Coast in 2002 through the help of his uncle, who had initially migrated to the country before bringing him over.
Aminu’s life has been shaped by hardship, determination, and survival. He started school in Ivory Coast, but lost his mother early in life, which forced him to pause his education. His uncle, who returned from Nigeria, took responsibility for him and re-enrolled him in school. He reached class four before shifting focus to supporting his uncle’s pharmaceutical business.
His uncle was a self-taught “doctor” who previously worked in Ghana and moved to Ivory Coast to start his own business after being dismissed by a friend for selling medicine informally. Aminu helped in the pharmacy and was promised a trip to Germany if he focused on the work. At one point, his uncle was so impressed with his sales that he took him back to Ghana to arrange documents like his birth certificate and passport.
However, plans changed. His uncle accused him of misusing money meant for restocking medicine and replaced him with another relative who conspired against him. Aminu then moved to Accra to start a shoe business, and eventually got a visa to Turkey in 2001, with hopes of reaching Greece.
His journey into Europe was turbulent. After being arrested in Turkey and detained in a refugee camp for two weeks, he eventually made it to Greece, where he sought asylum. Life in Greece was extremely difficult. Despite perceptions that Europe offered easy wealth, he found himself scavenging for food from bins. He stayed for a year without stable work.
A friend in Greece advised him to return to Turkey for better opportunities. They both opted for voluntary deportation, which included a small stipend. Back in Turkey, Aminu resumed working and saved enough money to return to Ghana and later settled in Côte d’Ivoire to start a herbal medicine business.
Now, he owns three small companies and operates a clinic where he treats conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and sexual weakness using herbal medicine. He believes that some illnesses cannot be cured by orthodox medicine and has helped over 10 women successfully give birth through his treatments. His clinic is equipped with diagnostic tools such as a scanning machine and a crypton machine.
Despite operating informally, Aminu has been working for over 20 years in the herbal medicine field. He admits to paying monthly bribes to authorities to continue his practice. He advises young people to build something meaningful in Ghana before thinking about traveling abroad, as life overseas is often more difficult than it appears.
He also briefly addressed the political tension in Ivory Coast, clarifying that despite reports, there is no internet blackout, and life is normal there. He supports the current Ivorian president but disapproves of his stance toward Burkina Faso’s leader. He highlighted that under the current regime, treatment of foreigners has improved.
Although living conditions in Ivory Coast are manageable—especially with cheap food—he noted that renting apartments and acquiring land remains expensive.
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