The 13-year insurgency, during which thousands were killed, millions displaced, women and girs abducted and more often than not raped or forced into child marriages, has left almost everyone in Borno Sate and other northeastern states psychologically or mentally challenged and they should be getting treatment.

This was the view of Umar Goni, a psychologist at the counselling and psychology department of the University of Maiduguri.

On Monday, October 10, the World Health Organisation (WHO) commemorated World Mental Health Day. It is an annual commemoration and this year’s theme was Make Mental Health for all a Global Priority.

RNI spoke to a former victim of mental illness, as well as the psychologist who raised alarm that most of the population of Borno and other northeastern states should be psychologically examined.

Goni told RNI that World Mental Health Day was started to raise awareness about mental health around the world and to mobilise efforts to support those with mental health issues.

“Unfortunately, we have only two psychiatric hospitals in Borno State. When we examine a patient, it is to evaluate that they are mentally fit and heathy. In Borno and other northeastern states, we have found that too many people, unfortunately, are not mentally fit and suffer from various forms of mental disorders. There are lots of causes, the main one is the Boko Haram [Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS)] insurgency, hardships as a result of the high cost of living and poverty.

The Counselling Association of Nigeria discovered that almost all the inhabitants of not only Borno State but also other northeastern states had been affected mentally or psychologically because of the insurgency.

“We believe there is an urgent need for victims of the insurgency to go through some counselling processes to be examined to find out if they are mentally fit and healthy. Not everyone knows the signs of mental illness and they often brush it aside. A lot of people are stigmatised by others who do not know what mental illness is. Many people also do not know there is help. We have had terrible situations when victims have resorted to killing themselves by jumping from a high building, stabbing him or herself, hanging or shooting themselves.”

Goni said although mental issues were prevalent in Borno State, it had only two psychiatric hospitals, the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital and the Borno State Psychiatric Hospital. There was also a rehabilitation centre in the Bulumkutu area of Maiduguri for people with mental health issues.

“I am not sure if the rehabilitation centre is still functioning. There is an urgent need for the state government to address mental illnesses. It should take proactive measures, such is building more psychiatric facilities so that more people can be treated. It should also employ experts in the field of psychiatry and employ professional counsellors.”

Goni said there were such experts in tertiary institutions such as the University of Maiduguri, Borno State University, the Ramat Polytechnic and the Sir Kashim Ibrahim College of Education, among others.

“I believe that the government should establish a unit for psychological patients in all the hospitals, such as University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, the General Hospital Maiduguri and the Umuru Shehu Hospital, among others. Many people do not believe there is a cure for mental illnesses. However, with the right treatment, many victims of mental health issues can lead normal lives. It is only those who are chronically disturbed who are referred to a psychiatric institution for proper treatment and medication.

“Until the time the government takes measures to help the sufferers of mental health, we encourage more people to seek help from psychologists or professional counsellors, rather than waiting for the government to do what they should already be doing.”

Falmata Jibril Abubakar, a former victim, but now survivor, of mental health issues, told RNI that she had a mental illness, but she was on medication and feeling better. She had even returned to school.

“Before I got treatment, I knew there was something wrong. Sometimes I did things that I did not know I was doing. I often fainted or passed out. Even my family began to think that I had been attack by spiritual forces.

“Then I went to a psychiatric hospital where I was put on proper medication. I was counselled, given psycho-social support and spent time in rehabilitation. People think that once you go to a psychiatric hospital you are mad or out of your mind and that you will be stuck inside forever. But it’s not like that. You get the support you need. Often it is just a matter of getting the right treatment and then you go home.

“I still take medication. Before I was treated, I wasn’t able to go to school and mingle with my friends because of my mental illness. But now I am feeling so much better that I am back at school, I have friends and my life is back to normal again. I would urge anyone who feels they are going mad, or as if their lives feel as if they have turned upside down, to go for a checkup to evaluate their mental state. I do not want others to go through what I went through.

“On the right medication you feel ‘normal’ again. I am grateful for all the help I got.”

Dr Olugbenga A Owoeye, a psychiatrist in Yabo in Lagos State, told the Guardian newspaper that the biggest reason people did not receive psychiatric help was because they were unable to access qualitative mental health services. He said there was “inadequate manpower”.

“In Nigeria as of today, we have about 300 psychiatrists to treat about 200 million people. The number of clinical psychologists is even lower. There is a scarcity of psychiatric nurses, social workers and occupational therapists.”

He said a lot of trained psychiatric doctors and nurses had left their homeland and had gone in search of “greener pastures”.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the COVID-10 pandemic had taken it toll on people’s mental health.

Many aspects of mental health had been challenged, it said, adding that even before the pandemic, in 2019, an estimated one in eight people globally were living with a mental disorder. At the same time, the services, skills and funding available for mental health remained in short supply and fell far below what was needed.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global crisis for mental health, fuelling short- and long-term stresses and undermining the mental health of millions. Estimates put the rise in both anxiety and depressive disorders at more than 25% during the first year of the pandemic. At the same time, mental health services have been severely disrupted and the treatment gap for mental health conditions has widened.”

It said mental healthcare should be strengthened so that the full spectrum of mental health needs was met through a community-based network of accessible, affordable and quality services and supports.

Stigma and discrimination continued to be a barrier to social inclusion and access to the right care, it said.

About 11 people per 100,000 died by committing suicide in the African region, higher than the global average of nine per 100,000 people. It said this was due in part to insufficient action to address and prevent the risk factors of mental health, which affected an estimated 116 million people, up from 53 million in 1990.

The organisation said a social media campaign aimed at reaching 10 million people across the region should be established to raise public awareness and galvanise the support of governments and policymakers to increase focus and funding for mental health programming, including suicide prevention efforts.

The WHO reiterated that such efforts included equipping health workers to better support those dealing with suicidal thoughts, educating people who might experience these thoughts on where to go for help and to make the public more aware of how to identify and help those in need and to tackle the stigma associated with suicide, epilepsy, mental health conditions, alcohol and drug abuse.

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO