Psychiatrists and medical professionals have raised the alarm over Nigeria’s deepening mental health crisis, revealing that about 50 million Nigerians are currently living with mental health challenges, with more than 75 per cent lacking access to professional care or treatment.
The revelation came during a closing-gong ceremony held recently on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in Lagos, to commemorate the 2025 World Mental Health Day.
The day is observed globally on October 10 to promote mental health awareness and advocacy.
In a related development, consultant psychiatrist, Dr. Vincent Udenze, expressed concern over the non-implementation of the Mental Health Act almost four years after it came into effect.
Nigeria’s National Mental Health Act 2021, signed into law in January 2023, is the country’s first comprehensive mental health legislation since independence, replacing the outdated Lunacy Act of 1958.
The Act aims to protect the rights of people with mental health conditions, promote community-based care, and ensure equal access to services by prohibiting discrimination in areas like employment and housing.
It also establishes a Department of Mental Health Services and a Mental Health Fund, and it provides a legal framework for regulating mental health and substance abuse services in the country.
Speaking at the event to commemorate the 2025 World Mental Health Day, Medical Director and Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Pinnacle Medical Services, Dr. Maymunah Kadiri, described NGX as the “heart of the nation’s economy”.
But Kadiri warned that the high-pressure nature of financial trading exposed brokers and dealers to stress, anxiety, and burnout.
She stated, “When it comes to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, that is the heart of the nation’s economy. Over 75 per cent of individuals with mental health challenges do not have access to medical care.
“Financial or economic issues are some of the major triggers for mental health challenges. There are days when the market is bullish and days when it is bearish, and when things don’t go as expected, the psychological consequences can be serious.”
Kadiri cautioned that unmanaged workplace stress could lead to mental fatigue, anxiety disorders, and depression, urging stockbrokers and corporate workers to adopt healthier coping strategies.
She added, “The issue of burnout, stress, anxiety, and depression can be common among them because it is a workplace. They must not only be mentally aware but take deliberate steps to ensure they remain mentally stable.”
Kadiri encouraged Nigerians to speak openly about mental health, reject stigma, and avoid substance abuse as a coping mechanism.
She urged organisations to invest in preventive mental health programmes and create environments that support psychological well-being.
Echoing her remarks, Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr. Olugbenga Owoeye, said the scale of Nigeria’s mental health burden had reached alarming levels.
“About 50 million Nigerians currently live with one form of mental health challenge or another,” Owoeye revealed.
He said, “Money is important, but the brain that makes the money is much more important. The mental health of Nigerians is as vital as the economy itself.”
Owoeye called for the creation of Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) and workplace wellness initiatives across high-stress industries, like finance, oil and gas, and telecommunications, stressing that mental well-being should be treated as a key factor in national productivity.
“We are glad that the NGX received us, as this shows openness to the conversation. There is a need to establish structures that take mental health seriously,” he said.
Owoeye stated that while the federal government was making efforts to strengthen mental health services, private stakeholders and corporate organisations must actively support access to care.
Providing a legal perspective, Chairman of Pinnacle Medical Services, Mr. Yusuf Kadiri, SAN, advocated the decriminalisation of attempted suicide, describing it as a mental health emergency, not a criminal offence.
“When someone attempts to take their life, that person should not be criminalised. Before anyone gets to that point, they have needed help, but help has not been forthcoming,” he said.
He also said, “I am in favour of reforming our laws to remove provisions in the Criminal and Penal Codes that criminalise attempted suicide.”
He urged families to pay closer attention to their loved ones and to intervene early when emotional distress was noticed, adding, “We need not get to the point of suicide before intervening. In your homes, look around; check on your loved ones.”
Speaking on behalf of the NGX stockbrokers, Chief Executive Officer of Highcap Securities Limited, Mr. David Adonri, thanked the psychiatrists for their advocacy and timely reminder.
“Our work can be extremely demanding,” Adonri said.
He added, “We are grateful for this reminder that our well-being is just as important as the markets we move.”
Equally speaking at the event, President of the International Visitor Leadership Alumni Association of Nigeria (IVLP), under the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, Mr. Adedayo Oketola, emphasised that mental health must now be seen as a national development and leadership priority, not merely a medical issue.
Oketola said, “Mental health is the foundation of effective leadership, innovation, and national productivity,”
He added, “As we continue to build the next generation of Nigerian leaders, we must prioritise emotional intelligence, resilience, and mental well-being in our workplaces, schools, and institutions.
“Without mentally healthy people, we cannot have a healthy nation or a stable economy.”
Relatedly, consultant psychiatrist, Dr. Vincent Udenze, attributed the inaction on implementation of the Mental Health Act to lack of funding.
Udenze spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at, “The Conversation Conference 4.0,” organised by Intersect Consortium, with the theme, “Mental Health as a cross-cutting priority for Adolescent Health, Maternal Well-being and Response to GBV.”
He expressed concerns that even though mental health was becoming very topical, the country was still not giving it the due attention needed.
He said, “Can you imagine the fact that President Buhari signed into law the Mental Health Act, but today we can’t implement it because there’s no budget to fund the commission.
“So yes, we have ticked the box, but really, we’ve not done that much.”
Udenze, who is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Intersect Consortium, also decried the shortage of psychiatrists, despite the pervading number of trauma cases across the country.
He stated, “We don’t have enough psychiatrists, we don’t have enough psychologists, but there’s a lot of traumas in the community. So, a young girl watches her father and mother being killed, then she is raped.
“Complex trauma is happening amongst us, to our sisters and brothers, especially in the North East. There’s distress, there’s stress, there’s poverty, people can’t get to work.
“You might not find a psychiatrist or a psychologist to go into the hearts of Borno, but the people there need treatment.”
Udenze said the time had come to have conversation around what type of training people in trauma need and conversation with universities to establish diploma training on some complex trauma work.
He said, “Is it time to start having a conversation with universities to say, listen, can we send this book to you for five months, six months, and get a diploma so you can actually do some complex trauma work because a good number of times we do this work, but have we actually made a difference?”
According to the consultant psychiatrist, a lot of international organisations are making a difference by empowering and teaching people to provide interventions.
He said, “As we look at maternal health, as we look at adolescence, as we look at GBV, the conversation really has to be around how do we make a difference to this population.”
Sunday Ehigiator and Onyebuchi Ezigbo