•••Stop Suffering in Silence and Seek Help
••• Mental health is health. No health without mental health.
••• Marking 2026 International Mental Health Day | October 10, 2026
••• The end of a thing is better than its beginning.
Today, as the world marks International Mental Health Day, I join millions of Nigerians not just to celebrate awareness, but to confront a painful truth we have avoided for too long.
In Nigeria, we pray hard, we hustle hard, but we hardly talk about our minds.
A young graduate in Ibadan, Oyo State is depressed because after NYSC there is no job. A mother in Lagos State is anxious and not sleeping because of school fees. A pastor’s son is abusing Colorado to escape pressure. A wife is enduring domestic violence in silence. What do we tell them?
“You are lazy.”
“You lack faith.”
“Go and bind the village people.”
And so, we lose them. Quietly.
Where We Are Failing
We are a nation of over 234 million people with less than 300 psychiatrists. That is one psychiatrist to almost one million Nigerians. Our Mental Health Act was signed in 2023, but in 2026, implementation is still on paper in many states. Our primary health centres do not have mental health desks. Our schools teach mathematics but not emotional resilience.
Why Good Health Remains the Foundation of a Productive Society
Worse still, our culture has criminalized vulnerability. A Nigerian man cannot say “I am not okay” without being called weak. A woman cannot say “I am overwhelmed” without being called a bad wife. So we all wear masks and post smiling pictures on WhatsApp while we are dying inside.
The result? The WHO says 1 in 4 Nigerians will have a mental health challenge. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency links our drug crisis to untreated trauma. Suicide, once unheard of, is now in our daily news.
My Call Today
As Convener of City Talk With Egalitarian, a platform for frank civic conversations, I make three calls this October 10th:
1. To Government: The domestication of the National Mental Health Act, 2023 across all 36 states is commendable, but domestication without funding is mere symbolism. Government must go beyond legislation to actual implementation by allocating adequate budgetary provisions, deploying at least one trained mental health professional to every Local Government Area, integrating mental health services fully into the National Health Insurance Scheme, and enforcing a total ban on inhumane practices such as chaining and unlawful detention in rehabilitation facilities.
2. To Faith Leaders: Faith remains a powerful source of hope and healing for millions of Nigerians. However, faith and science are not in conflict; they are complementary. While continuing to provide spiritual support, faith leaders should also embrace mental health literacy, provide helpline information to congregants in distress, make appropriate referrals for professional counseling, and promote the understanding that God also heals through medical professionals.
3. To All of Us: Breaking the stigma starts in our language. Let us stop using “mad person” as an insult. Let us learn to listen. Instead of “You are too emotional”, say “I am listening, you are safe with me”. Check on your strong friend. That friend who always says “I am fine”.
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Today, if you are reading this and you are not okay, hear me: You are not mad. You are not cursed. You are human. And help is near you.
Call MANI Toll-Free 0800 800 2000 or SURPIN 0909 991 6463. Speak to someone. Your life matters more than what people will say.
For too long we have treated mental health as a spiritual secret. It is time to treat it as a common humanity.
Mental health is health. No health without mental health.
Egalitarian Segun Akinlabi writes from Awe, Oyo State. He is the Convener of City Talk With Egalitarian. akinlabisegunpamilerin@gmail.com
