Psychiatrist urges government to fund Mental Health Act, expand services as experts warn of social media risks and untreated distress among young Nigerians
By Bunmi Yekini
Nigeria has fewer than 300 psychiatrists serving a population of more than 200 million, the president of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria said, warning that limited access to care is leaving many young people with mental health conditions without treatment.
Dr. Nyamali Veronica Oluyemisi told the fourth Vanguard Mental Health Summit in Lagos that fewer than one in 10 young Nigerians who need mental health care receive it, highlighting a shortage of specialists, limited funding and gaps in the implementation of the country’s mental health law.
The figures, presented in her keynote address, point to a widening challenge for a country where young people make up a large share of the population and increasingly navigate social relationships, education and identity through digital platforms.
“ A law that exists only on paper protects no one,” Oluyemisi said, calling for the implementation of the National Mental Health Act, which provides for a dedicated mental health fund and integration of services into primary healthcare.
Nigeria’s Mental Health Act was signed into law in December 2022, replacing the colonial-era Lunacy Act. But Oluyemisi said the Federal Ministry of Health had yet to establish the dedicated mental health department required by the law, while only Lagos, Ekiti and Kaduna had domesticated it at state level.
She urged the federal government to establish the department, provide a visible budget line for mental health and expand affordable services beyond specialist hospitals concentrated in state capitals.
The summit, held at the Civic Centre on Victoria Island, brought together government officials, health professionals, media organisations and other stakeholders to discuss youth mental health under the theme “Advancing Youth Mental Health in Nigeria through Access, Action and Advocacy”.
Social media brings new risks
The discussions also focused on the effect of social media and digital technology on young people’s psychological wellbeing.
Professor Mashudat Abiola Bello-Mojeed, a consultant psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, and president of the Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and Allied Professions in Nigeria, said digital platforms had become part of the environment in which young people develop their identities and relationships.
Her presentation highlighted the risks of cyberbullying, harmful online content, misinformation, social comparison and disrupted sleep, while acknowledging that social media can also provide education, peer support, creative opportunities and access to mental health information.
The presentation cited figures indicating that 95% of adolescents aged 13 to 17 use social media, with more than half spending over four hours a day on the platforms. The presentation did not identify the source of those estimates.
Bello-Mojeed cautioned against treating social media as the sole cause of psychological distress, noting that its effects can vary according to individual vulnerability, the nature of online engagement, family circumstances, sleep patterns and existing mental health conditions.
She urged parents to build trust with their children, establish age-appropriate boundaries and create an environment in which young people can report online harassment or other disturbing experiences without fear of punishment.
Schools, she said, should strengthen cyberbullying policies, confidential reporting channels, digital literacy and access to counselling, while technology companies should be held accountable for safer online environments.
The presentation also warned that online videos and influencers could encourage self-diagnosis, potentially exposing young people to misinformation or delaying professional assessment.
Drug use and mental health
The chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said substance use and mental health problems often reinforce each other, making it necessary to combine enforcement with prevention, counselling, treatment and rehabilitation.
Marwa, the summit’s special guest of honour, said the agency had counselled, treated and rehabilitated 53,843 people through its 31 rehabilitation centres over the past five years. It had also conducted 17,213 activities under its War Against Drug Abuse campaign during the period, he said.
Marwa, who was represented by the Director of Seaport Operations at the NDLEA, Assistant Commander-General of Narcotics (ACGN) Archie Abia Ibinabo, called for more accessible addiction and mental health services, early intervention in schools and stronger public education to counter online content that glamorises drug use.
“A young person struggling with drugs is a patient to be helped, not merely an offender to be punished,” Marwa said.
He added that drug traffickers were increasingly exploiting digital spaces, making it important to develop online campaigns that could compete with harmful messages and reach young people where they spend their time.
From awareness to implementation
Vanguard Editor Eze Anaba said the newspaper’s annual summit was intended to move mental health beyond public awareness towards practical action.
He urged participating organisations to leave the event with specific commitments, designated people responsible for delivering them and deadlines against which progress could be measured.
The summit’s speakers called for trained counsellors and clear referral pathways in schools and universities, stronger community-based services, affordable treatment and sustained public education to reduce stigma.
Oluyemisi said mental health support should be integrated into schools, primary healthcare centres, youth programmes and community services, rather than relying mainly on specialist hospitals.
She also called on state governments to adopt the Mental Health Act and on institutions to provide young people with meaningful opportunities to shape policies affecting their wellbeing.
The psychiatrist said Nigeria’s young people had demonstrated resilience, but warned that resilience should not be expected to compensate for gaps in the health system.
The challenge, she said, was to turn repeated discussions into measurable improvements in access to care, early identification of mental health problems and sustained support for young people after a crisis.