Her head bangs. Darasimi Favour, a 21-year-old studying Law at the University of Ibadan, described her state of mind as troubling, tiring, and hardly understandable.

Easily worn out “about everything”, the varsity student said she currently wishes for a return to her life experiences before university days.

“I wish to leave this environment,” she muttered. When asked what the trouble was. Ms Favour declined to respond.

Data: Nigeria’s mental health crisis in figures

The 2025 World Health Organisation’s report says more than one billion people live with mental health disorders and conditions, such as anxiety and depression.

An earlier study by the global organisation revealed that 14 per cent of the world’s population was estimated to be living with a mental disorder, with most in low and middle-income countries.

According to the WHO, suicide is a sign of a mental health disorder and a major cause of death among young people, accounting for more than one in every 100 deaths and no fewer than 20 estimated attempts.

WHO’s statistics also revealed that only about 9% of people with depression receive adequate treatment globally, expressing concern in medical service coverage, currently compounded by gaps in quality care.

Mental health conditions, it stated, “are widespread, undertreated and under-resourced”.

In Nigeria, the WHO’s latest assessment says nearly 50 million people suffer from a form of mental illness, with less than 10 per cent able to receive adequate clinical treatment.

In October, a revelation by the Ogun government, based on an assessment of the first half of 2025, showed that 10,000 mental health patients visited the state’s four service points in Abeokuta, Ijebu Ode, Ilaro, and Ota. Multiple reported incidents, beyond Ms Favour’s melancholic story, indicate that many Nigerians are faced with decisive challenges of life, which then takes its sudden toll on citizens’ mental sanity.

Nigeria’s multiple case studies

The tragic death of Ajibola Ibitayo in mid-August was one of such instances. A 200-level Dentistry student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun, a promising Ms Ibitayo, abruptly ended his life, in a revelation that left the public distraught.

Three months prior, a similar incident happened. Timilehin, a 19-year-old, reportedly took her life in Lagos after seeing her dismal UTME result, 190, was lower than her expectation and previous score.

Arobo Precious, a Higher National Diploma II student at the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, died by suicide, with sources tracing his death to emotional distress resulting from a troubled relationship he was involved in.

These tragic instances highlight what overwhelming pressure can lead to. The intense pressure of failure, disappointment, carryover, financial pressure, parental expectations, societal concerns, bullying, and emotional pressure account for factors that contribute to mental health crises like depression, anxiety, and suicide.

Nigeria’s ‘mental health act’ is inanimate

The most contemporary mental health legislation in Nigeria is the National Mental Health and Substance Abuse Act, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 5, 2023. Spelling out its details, the act mandated the establishment of a Department of Mental Health Services within the Federal Ministry of Health and the designation of a mental health fund for its operation.

The legislation, aimed at protecting the rights of every person with mental health conditions, provides that a mental health assessment committee for oversight roles, including setting the minimum standards of care, be constituted.

Two years later, only Ogun and Oyo have apparently declared an interest in domesticating the act, passing it as a motion, respectively, while other states remain utterly mute about its domestication and implementation.

In February, deputy health minister Iziaq Salako appealed to state governments, during a town hall meeting in Ogun, to expedite the adoption of the act. This appeal, without resilient actions following it, has been the status quo.

Mr Salako said, “The government of President Bola Tinubu has particularly prioritised the health sector. The Mental Health Act has been passed, providing a more comprehensive framework for ensuring the mental health of Nigerians is secured. We have already put together a mechanism at the Federal Ministry of Health to ensure the implementation of the act.”

While the Ogun government’s interest has been nothing more than a token declaration since February, the Oyo State House of Assembly passed a motion in June to integrate mental health education, counselling services, and structured support systems across its schools.

Despite Governor Seyi Makinde’s intent to conquer “depression, anxiety, bullying, and substance use among students”, four months later, the initiative has yet to be implemented in any form.

As it is the grim fate of most basic welfare needs on Nigeria’s concurrent legislative lists, poor funding of the health sector and legislative apathy have remained signature traits of the nearly three-year-old act.

Awareness, policy domestication and disaster management tactics

Stakeholders have called on the federal and state governments to prioritise domesticating the Mental Health Act, underscoring the need for its thoughtful reassessment and commitment to the well-being of Nigerians.

The founder of MentalPadi Initiative, Deborah Oyedijo, told Peoples Gazette that stigma, silence, and access were three major hindrances needing to be addressed in ameliorating the spate of mental health illness in Nigeria.

“Growing up in Nigeria, we are taught that our worth is tied to our grit. Academic stress is a huge driver of mental health concern,” Ms Oyedijo stated. “The biggest barrier from mental health help are stigma, silence and access, coupled with other things. Stigma says if I speak, they would call me weak. Silence basically says pretend that you are fine, don’t let them see you break, you are a guy, you cannot cry or show emotion. And for access, where will you find it?”

Ms Oyedijo added, “It is sad to see that in a country of over 200 million people, we have less than 400 psychiatrists. Although there are other therapists as well. That number tells a story. That means that some mental situations get no professionals at all. And even where help exists, it might be expensive. In that situation, young people swallow their pain, they wait, they smile, and sometimes, unfortunately, they might not make it out.”

A mental health advocate, Akinola Sesan, expressed concern over the misrepresentation of mental health, warning of its toll on individuals. Opposing the framing of mental health as superstitious or a spiritual affliction, Mr Sesan stressed collective awareness as a panacea to overcome the societal challenges of mental health misrepresentation.

“As a mental health advocate, who is also keen to use creative acts to create awareness, I think there is a need for inclusivity in the legislated act, which will go a long way in its social representation. We must continue to create awareness. Mental health is not what people think it is. It is a challenge that can be managed. If awareness is taken more seriously by the government, people will see mental health in a better perspective,” Mr Sesan explained.

As an effective response to the mental health crisis in Nigeria, the federal and state governments have been warned against deepening the stigma surrounding mental illness or discouraging vulnerable individuals from reaching out for help, particularly through the policy of criminalising suicide.

“On the criminalisation of suicide, this is one of the painful contradictions in our country,” noted Ms Oyedijo, decrying the situation in which several states have yet to implement the act.

“We are making laws, but we are not even enforcing them. Imagine a young person so overwhelmed (that they are) attempting to take their life. Instead of compassion, the law calls them a criminal. What message does that send than to say that their pain is illegal?” said Ms Oyedijo. “It is ridiculous that the law that does not look to enforce the laws that it has put down, is so eager to punish.”

She warned that the situation “pushes” people deeper into silence.

“We would continue to lose more lives. What we should have is a society where people are more open about speaking about these things. Study globally shows that societies where they decriminalise suicide see a higher help-seeking rate and more accurate data collection,” Ms Oyedijo pointed out. “Compassion must replace punishment. Punishment does not prevent suicide.”

Ms Oyedijo urged the government at all levels to “fully implement the act created” and “fund mental health”, hammering that all stakeholders “must move from talks into actions”.

Among other things, she called for the training and employment of professionals, the domestication of laws “where the laws lie dormant”, and urged schools to “build mental health into students’ experience.”

“To the society at large, we must break the stigma,” said Ms Oyedijo. “A lot of people still think that this concern is foreign.”

A clinical psychologist from the University of Ibadan, Mary Olaoye, called on the “federal government to put in more efforts on awareness about what mental health is truly, as well as come up with lots of community-based programs to aid mental and social support”.

The experts urge parents, students, and governments at all levels to promote support, open dialogue, and sustain advocacy to reshape current mental health realities.

In response to the increasing rate of suicide among tertiary institution students, Ms Oyedijo tasked the management of higher institutions to move from dishing out token gestures to building an intentional system.

“If a school can invest millions in infrastructure, it must also invest in the minds of the students. First, we must hire trained counsellors, not as hidden offices no one knows about,” stated Ms Oyedijo. “Also, we should integrate mentoring workshops into our institutional programmes, including hotlines. Counselling must be free; it should be affordable.”

A disaster management expert and secretary of the Nigerian Red Cross Society in Oyo, Ojo Olaleye, called on the federal government to integrate mental healthcare into disaster management.

According to him, it is essential for professionals to acquire critical knowledge on managing mental health, not only for disaster victims but also for workers and responders involved in disaster management.

“Such knowledge will enhance the effectiveness of disaster response and recovery efforts,” stated Mr Olaleye. “There is a pressing need for continuous training for volunteers and emergency responders, particularly in providing psychosocial support during and after crises. This should form an integral part of post-disaster response strategies for victims.”

Mr Olaleye urged the government to do more.

“Psychosocial support should not be the exclusive responsibility of mental health professionals. The government should prioritise training general responders in basic psychological care, equipping them with the skills to provide immediate support in emergencies,” he explained. “Communities that are prone to disasters should be educated and trained on how to administer psychosocial support.”