{OBSERVATION} Nigeria: Probing Mental Illness

By Yaya Ademola

AS a people, we had for a very long time ignorantly assumed that only those who wear rags and display psychotic disorder in public were mad and that those who properly dressed and going about their “normal activities” were sane. However, available facts and figures have negated such assumption. As a matter of fact, there are corporate lunatics who dress and look beautiful but their eccentric value has no border.

On Sunday, September 11, 2022, in an interview granted to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the President of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) and Chairman, Faculty of Psychiatry, West African College of Physicians, Nigeria Chapter, Taiwo Obindo, said, “Mental healthcare is in a sorry state given that we have more than 60 million Nigerians and the fact that only about 10% suffering from various mental illnesses are able to access appropriate care.” He submitted that the number of mental health practitioners was very low as it fell very below World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended ratio and that the socio-economic situation, insecurity among other factors, have continued to force these few to be leaving Nigeria in droves for better pay abroad. Before Obindo revelation, WHO had said in 2019, “One in four Nigerians suffers from mental illness.” 

While this ratio one to four (1:4) is alarming, situations on ground suggest that it will continue to rise except some immediate measures are taken to arrest it. For instance, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) routinely intercepts illicit drugs substances like heroin, methamphetamine, codeine syrup, pills of tramadol, diazepam, rohypnoletc being consumed by a significantly disturbing percentage of the youth, especially. Meanwhile, there are eight federal neuropsychiatric hospitals in Nigeria with dire budget and grossly under staffed as there are less than 150 psychiatrists in the country of over 200 million people. Little wonder that there are daily increasing reportage of various vices and cases of depression and suicides across the country. Only last weekend, 10 December, 2022, Nigeria Police arrested one Isa Nana Okpoku, a 75 years old man at Daddare Development Area, Obi Local Government Area in Nasarawa State for raping his FOUR years old niece. The Police Command Public Relations Office, DSP Ramham Nansel in Lafia said the suspect took advantage of his innocent niece residing in the same house, lured the victim into his room and willfully had unlawful carnal knowledge of the baby with doctor confirmation of broken hymen when she was taken to the hospital.  On the 3rd September, 2022, Ogun State Police Command arrested Amoda Bola, a 49-year-old father for impregnating his 14 years old biological daughter. According to the Command PRO, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the suspect, a resident of Idi Oro street, Ode Remo, but an indigene of Isara-Remo, was arrested after his pregnant daughter made a report at Ode Remo Divisional Headquarters. There are numerous reported and unreported cases of such vices by private citizens on a daily basis across the land.

On the highways, crazy behaviours of the motorists and cyclists to traffic rules and regulations have resulted into unnecessary accidents and deaths and more often. Increasing and widespread incidences of altercations on very flimsy matters, which could result to violence, are confirmation of Obindo and WHO assertions.

Behavioural patterns of majority of the ruling politicians who are wrongly called leaders attest to our mental health challenges as how could they be deriving happiness in inflicting avoidable pains on the people who voted them into power contrary to their promises when seeking their mandates and oaths of office? How could they be increasing poverty index via stealing of public money meant for public welfare under their care on a regular basis and same voters continue to vote for them having taken stipends of their stolen money before voting? Stealing money could be understood and be labeled as theft but stealing humongous proportion that their four generations could not exhaust while majority of the people whose money they continue to steal and largely responsible for their pathetic situation could hardly afford a meal per day is a demonstration of mutual craze.  The maddening behaviour is stretched to the extent of reported cases of warehousing public stolen money in soakaway and septic tanks deliberately built for such madness. More often, the money gets mutilated and rendered useless!

If more than one-fourth of our population could be suffering from various mental illnesses, the propensity of a Governor, Senator and even President emerging from the crazy segment is very high. Hence, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), must henceforth, make part of its conditions for a candidate of all political parties, certificate of mental worthiness from any of the eight federal neuropsychiatric hospitals in Nigeria. Whereas obtaining a certificate of road worthiness for road unworthy vehicle is possible by Nigerians, obtaining certificate of mental worthiness fraudulently by mentally sick politicians must be made practically impossible. The electoral law must be amended to accommodate this with stiff penalty of long term imprisonment without option of fine for violators of this condition either by the psychiatrists, politicians/political parties or conspiracy by both. It is easier for an upright leadership to manage mad people; it is a disaster to have lunatics in leadership. In the long run, more neuropsychiatric hospitals should be built, well funded with adequate staff. Any society with neuropsychiatric status like ours without frantic efforts to reverse it is doomed as development and better life will elude it.