This aspect of the care of the mentally ill has become very important because of the likely increase in the incidence of new cases as a consequence of economic recession. Some of the new cases may get very violent which could put the relatives in a difficult situation as they may not know the necessary steps to take.  We have procedures like chanting incantations, prayers to cast out the devils that have taken possession of the patient so that they can be disarmed. Exorcism as a preferred method cuts across Christianity, Islam and the African traditional religion especially for  &nb ..read more

Africa was a beautiful, highly organized and well administered society within the purview of understanding of our forefathers before the colonial masters came. We had the equivalent paraphernalia of the western model of administration with inbuilt mechanisms for order, security, education, parenting, matrimony, justice and social welfare. Despite the elitist rulership culture, there was a complementary cultural facility that guaranteed communalism with a deeply ingrained spirit of brotherhood. Anthropological studies of kinship system has shown that our deep sense of communalism may invariabl ..read more

One of the most crucial stages in the lifespan of man is the adolescence which is labelled as the time of youth.  It is essentially the stage between childhood and adulthood which precariously determines the final outcome of a life. Unfortunately it is often mismanaged because the custodians of this cohort namely parents, teachers,   and other significant stakeholders do not have a well-thought out training agenda or at worst deploy ineffective traditional training techniques that have not essentially proven good.  The youth is unfortunately saddled with a body that has a ..read more

As a result of the fallout of ENDSARS protest especially after the Lekki incidence, hoodlums and miscreants hijacked the protest which resulted into looting of governments warehouses, looting of private houses of individuals and destruction  of public properties as well as the burning of  private business buildings  which later spread across the nation.        Opinions have been sharply divided as some explained that the looters acted rightly by “possessing their possessions” while others argued that the looters committed crime for illegally breaking into w ..read more

Some  state governments  have attempted to  confront the  issue of homelessness with approaches that may not invariably deliver the  expected wholesome benefits  characterized by spurious ad hoc rehabilitation programs of a few weeks with the ultimate goal of repatriation to families or state of origin  which is appalling  when these homeless individuals are Nigerians. Another knotty issue in some of these rehabilitation programs is the theoretical differentiation between the homeless mentally ill and the homeless destitute persons with an unnecessary ..read more

The death of a spouse is one of the most devastating, distressing and psychologically traumatic experience. Possibly because of the quality of intimacy that the marital relationship entails such that the surviving spouses commonly experience changes in psychological well-being, evidenced by the increased prevalence of depression in this cohort.  Grief is the involuntary, emotional and related behavioral response specific to the loss, whereas mourning is the voluntary social expression of that loss while bereavement captures the overall experience of the loss .Women are not only more at ..read more

The article written last week on mental health perspective to domestic violence generated so much feedback that necessitates that some of the key issues raised are contextually interrogated.  Marriage is about the most important ceremony celebrated the world over. The reason most taken adduce in simply that no one is aware of one’s birth date and the day one would die, hence the justification for the amount of resource and attention devoted to this ceremony. Marriage is important for the establishment of the family, which is the most basic unit of the society. It is a relationship that ..read more

This topic came up in my mind after I read an article ‘Are Nigeria politicians crazy’? What is quite obvious concerning Nigeria is that she is blessed with Natural resources and some folks add that we are blessed with human resources a point I disagree with? The fact that we have numerous professionals, technologists and even academicians who possible may be literate but obviously not educated hence does not confer on Nigeria the status of being blessed with human resources.   The value of human resource in   any society is the caliber of mental capital it can deliver. We ..read more

Government cannot exist without the people. As a matter of fact, the art of governance grew out of the necessity to cater for the needs of the people. Government therefore has a core mandate to guarantee the welfare of the people through the instrumentality of appropriate policy. Nigeria has experienced about three   main types of government namely; the military, the colonial and the democratic systems of government.  Every one of them has always made attempts at addressing the socioeconomic needs of the people as strong requirement for legitimacy. This function is crafted thr ..read more

Christmas essentially is a religiously designated season for giving but research shows becoming more giving round the year can significantly boost physical health and mental wellbeing. However, the frenzy of Christmas shopping and the planning for parties can paradoxically feel a bit of a stretch and distraction when this idea of giving to others in a deliberate and constructive manner is entertained. It is now clear that doing good for others without any expectation of reward can confer better physical and mental health and even help live longer. A US-based altruism and health researcher St ..read more