A Consultant Psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Dr Abayomi Olajide on Wednesday, urged the government to declare a state of emergency on substance abuse, warning that the growing trend is worsening the mental health crisis and creating an unsafe society in Nigeria.
Olajide, who is also the Chairman of the Mental Health Action Committee, Ogun State, stated this on Wednesday during a mental health awareness walk organised to commemorate the 2026 World Mental Health Day.
The awareness walk was organised by the Association of Resident Doctors of the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in collaboration with Edijalo Health Services.
The Consultant Psychiatrist described the current mental health challenges in Nigeria as an epidemic, attributing the development to economic hardship, unemployment, insecurity, poverty and other social problems.
Speaking with journalists, Olajide said, “The mental health issues in Nigeria have gone to an epidemic level, particularly with the downturn of the economy. We used to talk about 1 in 4 persons living with mental health challenges.
“But with all these economic challenges, kidnapping, poverty, lack of employment and all these social vices, I think the incidence has increased, and more people are now living with mental health challenges.”
Olajide said there was a need for greater government attention to mental healthcare, noting that access to treatment remained limited, while many patients still paid for services out of pocket.
He said, “Less than 10% (per cent) of people have access to care, and most of this care is also out-of-pocket. Health insurance is not yet well covered for mental health challenges.
“And so, we really need to speak out louder so that there can be proper focus on mental health services in terms of access to care, in terms of support for mental health services, and treatment.”
Speaking against the backdrop of the discovery of a methamphetamine laboratory in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Olajide said the situation required urgent intervention, maintaining that the government should declare a state of emergency on substance abuse to prevent the prevalence from increasing in society.
“The issue of substance abuse is another thing entirely. It is something that government should actually declare a state of emergency on. When you walk into any mental health facility, either private or public, you find out that 90 per cent occupancy of their bed spaces happens to be from substance use disorder.”
“When you look at secondary school students, by the time they are getting to JSS 3, SS 1, the level of use of codeine and use of substances is at a greater level,” he said.
Olajide lamented the increasing exposure of young people to drugs, saying substance abuse was becoming prevalent among secondary school students, young people, including women.
“When you come to parks and garages, a lot of people cannot even function without using substances. And it is not just about males; even females are using substances.
“There are some people that are just experimenting with it. We need to catch them young so that we can reverse the trend. And those that are neck-deep in substance abuse, they also need to be properly rehabilitated and reintegrated back into the community.”
He called for a multi-pronged approach involving the education and health sectors, communities and other stakeholders to tackle substance abuse.
Also speaking at the event, the Acting Provost and Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Sunday Amosu, raised concern over the growing burden of mental health challenges in Nigeria, saying recent estimates suggested that as many as one in seven Nigerians may be affected.
He said the scale of the problem required concerted efforts from the government, families, religious organisations, non-governmental organisations and individuals.
He stated, “Some people initially said one out of 10; recently they are saying one out of seven. And if we are sincere with ourselves, even one out of 10 is a big chunk, how much more than one out of seven?
“If truly our current population statistics are estimated to be, I’m sure you know the last 2006 census the country’s population was put at 140 million, now we are talking about 250 million.
“For schizophrenia alone, it is said that about 1% of the general population has schizophrenia. So, 1% of 250 million having a particular mental illness is about 2.5 million. So, that’s a big chunk, so all hands must be on deck to combat the challenge of mental health,” Amosu stated.
The President of the Resident Doctors Association, Dr Chidi Ikwumezie, disclosed that the awareness walk marked the first phase of the hospital’s commemoration of World Mental Health Day, themed, “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices. Real Change.”
Ikwumezie pointed out that the choice of the motor park was deliberate, noting that it provided an opportunity to engage people from different backgrounds within their community rather than waiting for them.
He explained, “Today’s Mental Health Awareness Walk marks the first phase of our commemoration of World Mental Health Day 2026, themed ‘Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices. Real Change.’
“The theme calls on us to listen to people’s experiences, challenge stigma and ensure that mental health conversations translate into meaningful action”.
World Mental Health Day is celebrated yearly on October 10. The theme for the 2026 celebration is “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change”.
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