By Sade Oguntola
A mental health expert, Professor Oye Gureje says Nigeria’s poor implementation of its cash-less policy, upcoming elections and the current scarcity of fuel have caused Nigerians greater stress than even the COVID-19 lock down, calling on the government to restore orderliness.
Gureje, who spoke at the sideline of the third Jemila Abubakar Memorial Essay (JAME) Award ceremony and investiture of 15 patrons and 9 special ambassadors of the Asido Foundation at the International Conference Centre Ibadan, said the tension from the cashless policy and the current scarcity of fuel can lead to very unpredictable consequences.
According to him, “everybody is stressed, it is probably worse than during the COVID-19 lockdown when people have access to cash and they can then try and get things done.
“Now, it is not that people don’t have the means of movement, they don’t have the means to purchase food. So there is a lot of tension; this kind of tension can lead to very unpredictable consequences not just for the individual, but out of frustration, things can blow out of proportion very easily and quickly. Nigeria is like a country running on steroids, in a way.
“My other concern is how people plan for the election. Usually in Nigeria, elections are also an anxiety provoking situation which is not the same in other countries. In some countries, when elections are held, you wouldn’t even know that an election is going on.
“In Nigeria, you have a lockdown. But luckily in the last few years, there has been less of violence associated with our elections, all of these situations creating a stressful environment for the populace and of course, the heat and there is no electricity even people with fans don’t have electricity to run it.
“So, I think this is not a very good environment for mental health right now.”
Professor Gureje, however, asked that Nigerians should be less anxious or lash out in anger and frustration by focusing on things getting better in the country and voting responsibly in the coming election for persons that hopefully will be able to address some of the problems.
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