The 2023 Labour Get together presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has lamented that the extent of hardship within the nation has driven many Nigerians into mental stress.
In a put up on his verified X deal with on Saturday to look at World Mental Well being Day, Obi mentioned poverty, unemployment, and the every day battle to outlive have pushed many, particularly the youth, into hopelessness, criminality, and an rising fee of suicide.
He pointed to a latest report by the World Well being Organisation, WHO, which estimated that about 40 million Nigerians reside with mental well being situations, with grossly insufficient medical doctors to take care of mental well being instances.
He lamented that the report clearly reveals Nigeria’s rising disinterest and neglect of the well being sector, including that mental well being is extra essential than bodily well being.
“Nigerians at the moment are feeling so overwhelmed by hardship that they’re mentally affected. The federal government should deal with this as a public well being emergency. Nigeria wants extra mental well being professionals and big funding in mental well being infrastructure, with properly-outfitted psychiatric hospitals in all geopolitical zones.
“We should additionally tackle the problems of poverty, unemployment, and starvation which are contributing to this mental downside and construct a nation that heals, uplifts, and offers each citizen a cause to stay.
“Nigeria’s progress won’t ever be measured by the wealth of its leaders however by human capital, which is the properly-being of its folks,” he wrote.
