A Professor of Psychiatry at Lagos State University, Ojo, Olurotimi Coker, has identified fitness exercises, engaging in community activities, and regular laughter as key factors that help improve mental health.
He encouraged Nigerians to seek early assistance for mental health issues, emphasising that misconceptions about the causes of mental disorders often lead people to seek help from traditional healers or religious centres instead of professional mental health practitioners.
The mental health expert made these remarks during a lecture titled “Four Dimensions of Health Explained,” delivered at the 51st anniversary celebration of the ACOSA737 set of Comprehensive High School, Aiyetoro, Yewa North Local Government of Ogun State, on Monday.
Professor Coker explained that conditions such as depression, anxiety, psychosis, and others are purely mental disorders and should not be attributed to so-called “village people” or supernatural forces.
He said, “The essence of this lecture is to educate through public education, advocacy, and enlightenment, to let people know that when you have a mental illness, it is not a ‘village people follow me’ thing.
“It is just a mental disorder like depression, anxiety, psychosis, or dementia. We are trying to say, Look, village people don’t cause mental disorders. Culturally, people believe village people cause mental disorders. That is why they say, ‘My village people are following me.’ It is because of the way they interpret mental disorders.”
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of ACOSA737, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola, appealed to the Ogun State Government to reintroduce the boarding system in the school.
He expressed sadness over the abandonment of the boarding system, which he said was integral to teaching, instilling character, and fostering discipline in students. He noted that the system has been neglected since the government converted the school to a day school.
“When I visited the school last week, I felt like crying because I realised that my own boarding house is no longer in use. I am sure that if we, as old students, are allowed to revive the boarding school, more people will attend it, and we can manage it with the boarding facilities. Comprehensive High School Aiyetoro was designed to be a boarding school, not a day school.”
“I’m passionate that a boarding school of Comprehensive High School will do a better job, a better institution for the people of Ogun State, not just Aiyetoro. That was the design, that was the concept; the structures are still standing there, but there are no students because it is now a day school. It was designed and conceptualised as a boarding school, and up till the ’80s, it should revert to a boarding school that is open to all Nigerians and not just Ogun State alone,” he said.
At the anniversary celebration, which also featured the conferring of awards to deserving members, Dr Fashola also called on old students to help develop the alma mater, saying government alone should not be left to bear the burden of enhancing the capacity of the school to meet its mandate of teaching and moulding the character of the students.
“We have come to the realisation the government cannot handle all the schools alone; there are multiple issues across the school and scarce resources. With limited resources in school, it is pertinent that the old school association join hands with the government for the sustainable development of the school.”
“For example, my set, we have donated a lot of furniture and walkways; we have provided boots for the soccer team, books, and a lot of things, and not just my set alone but another set, and these are things that are in short supply that governments alone can’t do.”
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