By Jonathan Lois
House of Representatives has resolved to address the rising cases of suicides in Nigeria through implementation of the provisions of the Mental Health Law 2021.
It has therefore mandated the Federal Ministry of Health to collaborate with relevant Health institutions to ensure that research on mental health was put into practice to ensure evidence-based care to Nigerian citizens.
The House also demanded the establishment of National Mental Health Counseling Centre and Mental Health Centres in at least all the federal constituencies in the country.
These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion moved by
Uchenna Clement Nwachukwu from Anambra State at the Plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu
While moving the motion, the lawmaker noted that on July 12, 2023, a teenager took her life after being raped in Oyo State, one out of many cases of suicide underreported and mostly unreported in Nigeria due to stigmatisation.
“ThisDay Newspapers also reported an alarming rise in suicide deaths between 2022 and March 2023, saying that suicide was seen as a taboo in most parts of the country and hidden by families due to cultural factors”, he said.
The lawmaker lamented that the fresh cases of suicide as published in the print media have a greater proportion of youths as victims. In January 2023, Joseph Olona, a 300-level student at FUTA, and 50-year-old Ojo Ogundeji both committed suicide on January 14 and 23.
He expressed worry that the risk factors for suicide such as mental health conditions, substance use, access to lethal means, prolonged stress, unemployment, financial crisis, and child abuse and neglect posed a huge threat to Nigerians.
‘the house is disturbed that there has not been adequate sensitisation of the provisions of the Act and guidelines on how people struggling with mental health problems can receive help.
The house is cognizant that the awareness campaigns should reduce stigma and ensure the acceptability of the regulations to protect the dignity of people struggling with mental health,” Nwachukwu added.
While adopting the motion, the House mandated the Committee on Healthcare Services to evaluate the implementation of the content of the Mental Health Act and conduct a needs assessment of the full implementation of the Act.
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