Depression And Suicide: What More Do We Need To Do To Prevent It's Rise.

  

                                     Photo by Oladimeji Odunsi on Unsplash

As a mark of celebration to commemorate Nigeria at 60, this post looks at what could be done to reduce depression and suicide in Nigeria.

October 1 independence celebration this year marked Nigeria at 60. Generally in Nigeria and Africa at large a man of 60 is considered an elder who is expected to be wise by reason of the years of experience drawn from the different hardships and struggles of life. Having navigated many bumpy roads, he is supposed to be wiser, more analytical of situations and considers the interest of the younger generations when making decisions.

So, as Nigerian celebrates albeit on a low key, how well has the nation fared in it's the pursuit of the ideals of its founding fathers? While there are many who support the accomplishment of the present administration particularly in terms of creating opportunities for households and businesses to survive in the face of the COVID-induced hardships.

Many like me question the ability of our leaders to make decisions that will impact the lives of citizens for good. At 60 can we as a nation be said to be wiser than we were last year? Why are there more out of job people? Why are the sufferings of the people on the increase?

What lessons have we learned post-COVID 19?

These questions bother on the following facts

There are rising inflation and high cost of goods and services 

Increases in consumer spending as reflected in the hike in petroleum products, and electricity tariff, with no corresponding increase in wages and benefits. 

More university graduates add to the already existing pool of jobless people combing the streets around with little hope of actually landing a job and small businesses struggle to survive in an environment where bigger established brands decide prices to the detriment of small scale enterprises.

All these send the wrong signal and plunge many into depression as they see no hope of being able to scale through these tough times. As clearly shown in our earlier post, Nigeria occupies the fifth place in the incidences of suicide in Africa and fifteenth in the world ranking.

With the current statistics, how prepared is Nigeria to ensure that this figure does not go up and what measures need to be put in place to avoid more suicides especially those induced by the helpless and hopeless citizens face?

What do we need to do to avoid increases in depression and suicide? 

It is well established that depression and suicidal tendencies are linked to mental health and can be triggered by both internal and external influences. The internal influences can be controlled with the right mindset and where necessary managed with the help of experts. External influences on the other hand may be more difficult to handle.

However, with the right interventions, external influences can play a positive role in averting and eliminating depression and suicide. 

As a nation, the policies and programs of the nation should be open, inclusive, and proactively directed at alleviating the plight of the people.

People need governments that feel their pain. It costs more to fill the car with petroleum (gasoline) now as compared to July in the same year. When the cost of power, cable, food, rent, is added, the average civil servant is left with nothing to hold unto. One can only imagine how the low-income earner fares and the many thoughts and ideas that go through the mind.

This amounts to excessive stress on the daily living of people and oftentimes results in stress, depression and suicidal tendencies. Thus, it is expected that more attention is paid to the psychological needs of people by improving other aspects of their lives which boosts their mental health. 

On this ground, one can only expect the following 

1. That policies which will make the lives of the people be drawn and followed through

2. Government should build more affordable means of transportation to allow people to move around without spending too much on transportation and save more, since they have increased the prices of petroleum (gasoline).

3. Allow more people access to financial assistance through loans that have lower interest rates so that more youths can explore the option of business development. 

4. Give small businesses some leeway by reducing the price of raw materials to allow them to survive and with time compete with older firms. 

5. That public funds be used solely for public interest and not diverted to personal use.

6. That accountability and integrity two virtues that we are slowly losing will be restored so future generations can stand proud.

7. The African communal lifestyle which promotes together, love, and cares for your brother will be rekindled so that sharing what we have with the needy becomes easy instead of the lifestyle of selfish accumulation of wealth that pays no attention to the dying person next door.

8. That the happy and never give up the spirit of the African which pushes us to keep pressing and breaking the limitations of life be inculcated in our young. 

9. Parents must teach their young that happiness is a choice we all make so they can choose wisely. 

10. More jobs be created to cater to the rising number of University graduates.

11. That the continuous dangling of the sweet stick in the face of the people to cover up festering problems is never the way out. Let the issues and cries of the people be attended to. And lasting solutions proffered to end the suffering of the people and put depression and suicide far from society. 

When these are done, the chances of depression and suicide rising would be drastically reduced and more people will have confidence in their government and necessary Cost to reflect the needs of all.

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