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64m Nigerians Suffer Mental Illness -Expert
The Founder of Mental Health Foundation, Dr Emmanuel Owoyemi, said yesterday that 64 million Nigerians had one form of mental illness or the other.
Owoyemi, who disclosed this to newmen in Lagos, on the 2013 World Mental Health Day, attributed the situation to the absence of a mental health policy in the country.
The forum had the theme: “Mental Health and Older Adults“.
“Owoyemi said 64 million Nigerians are going through one form of mental illness or the other because everything that would cause mental illness is on the increase in Nigeria.
“Poverty is on the increase, hopelessness is on the increase, insecurity is on the increase. There is so much panic at heart, anxiety, high level depression.
“And also, there is no mental health policy in Nigeria right now; the National Assembly has been delaying in passing the Mental Health Bill.
“According to him, none of the psychiatric hospitals in Nigeria today has up to 1000 beds and we have over 160 million people, adding that with about 150 psychiatrists; and 34 neuro-surgeons in the whole country, means that, one point something million Nigerians is to one psychiatrist.
“How many people can one psychiatrist attend to within the 1.2 million or 1.3 million?“So, we are not doing enough. The human capital is not there, the facility is not there, and yet everything that could cause mental illness is on the increase in Nigeria,“he said.
The World Federation of Mental Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), set aside October 10 every year to raise awareness on mental health issues across the world.
Owoyemi urged the National Assembly to ensure the speedy passage of the Mental Health Bill to reduce high rate of mental cases.
“We need a mental health bill, a national policy for mental health; that is where to start from.
“There must be law; there must be legal framework to work with; there must be policy. That bill is what will help us to be able to do every other thing. “If we say, let’s start putting facilities, structures, systems in place, it is the bill that will give us the legal framework to do all that. So, if the bill is not passed nothing else can be done, even to budget for mental health adequately, we need a bill that guides everything we do, “he emphasised
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.