Presidential candidate of NNPP Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso and the vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 elections, Kashim Shetima, have vowed to come up with programmes to address the issues of mental health in the country if elected into power in 2023.
The politicians, who spoke yesterday at the “Conversation Conference 2022” organised by the Intersect Consortium in Abuja, said aside the issues of kidnapping, banditry, relationship, workplace issues, Nigerians are also confronted with mental health issues.
Shettima said “I want to assure you that if we get into office, we will put in place, a programme that will take into cognisance the need to address mental health issues in the country.”
Also at the conference, the chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig Gen Buba Marwa, stressed the need for genuine, thought-provoking conversations that wi create the social change needed to put the mental health subject matter in proper perspective and catalyse mass awareness, behavioural change, institutional action and national priority on the subject matter.
He noted that the discourse on mental health in the society is still shrouded in secrecy, steeped in stigmatisation and self-denial while calling on all stakeholders and the general populace create awareness about mental health issues and accord it the required urgency and priority.
The chairperson, Northern Governors Wife Forum, Mrs. Hadiza el-Rufai, stressed the need for policies at workplace to take away the stigma associated with mental health so that people can speak out.
She also called for sensitisation of the general public about mental health, while explaining that a workplace must not necessarily be a big office. “Even your home where you have domestic staff is a workplace”, she said.
Speaking on the forum’s efforts at supporting people with mental health problems, Mrs. El-Rufai said, “We have worked with rehabilitation centres where those who are having problem of substance abuse are brought in, we provide psychological help for them.
“The main focus of the forum is mental well-being and we are working tirelessly to make sure this issue is brought to the fore.”
The CEO, Intersect Consortium, Vincent Udenze, noted that the passage of the mental health bill is key to addressing mental health issues in the country, saying that the legal framework presently used in the country is outdated.
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