Osogbo’s growing army of mentally ill people

By Tunde Odesola


WHAT could account for the growing population of mentally ill people and mendicants in Osogbo, a first-time visitor to the Osun state capital would wonder? Is it hard drugs? There is, at least, one mad person on each major road in the Osun State capital.









Residents of No 7-9, Boladejobi House, Fagbewesa Road, Osogbo, put up with a most unwanted neighbour, a mad woman, who took over the frontage of their house with heaps of rubbish such as pots, pans, rags, sticks. She lived in the flower bed, where she defecated, cooked and slept. She had a large nylon with which she covered herself when rain fell. A resident, Kayode Oke, recalled that efforts to get her packing had failed because she would always find her way to the place some weeks after being displaced. The black madwoman was displaced last week through the efforts of officials of the ministry of environment. The woman, who spoke good English when she was being forcefully displaced, pleaded with the officials not to beat her and to allow her collect her ”properties.” This was after she had resisted initial eviction. Oke recalled, ”The woman is a very good cook. She goes to the market to buy pepper, tomatoes and onions, which she grinds by herself and cooks vegetable soup with.” A resident, who maintained anonymity, said the woman had to be evicted because she had constituted a nuisance value because her faeces were washed by rain into a stream used by people in the area.

Aboje is a friendly madman who roams virtually all parts of Osogbo. A mechanic, who often mimics traffic wardens, he begs for money from people. When our correspondent asked him what could be responsible for a car to jerk, Aboje retorted, ”It might be carburettor or the fuel pump problem. Go and bring the car and let me fix it for you.” A resident, Mr. Gbenga Faturoti, who has lived in Osogbo for about two decades, linked Aboje‘s predicament to Indian hemp use.

Another madwoman occupies a portion of the Old Governor‘s Office frontage. She also begs for money from passersby. This madwoman is obsessed with gathering plastic bowls and washing. She has all manners and sizes of plastic bowls. A pastor, who held an open air crusade in front of the Old Governor‘s Office sometime ago, attempted to deliver the madwoman. The pastor placed his hands on her head in prayer and announced to his cheering, large audience that the woman had been cured. Alas! The woman is still as mad as a hatter and she still begs for money from motorists in front of the office, which houses several government agencies.

There is yet another aged, hefty madman with white dreadlocks and beards, who walks about energetically, charging at people occasionally along Station Road, Osogbo. A lean, naked madman with fingers bloated as a result of infection from rings, which he has never removed from his fingers for-God-knows-how-long, ‘controls‘ the Olaiya-Oke-Fia axis of the state capital. Another smelly madwoman strolls along the Gbaemu-Oja-Oba Road, while some others occupy various portions along Igbonna-Ayetoro-Stadium-Ikirun Road axis. Four wild looking madmen roam Olaiya-Jaleyemi-Asubiaro-Isale Aro area of Osogbo. On Monday, an old madman caused a stir at the Correspondents‘ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Osogbo, when he wrapped himself up with polythene and slept under a vehicle during a rainfall. Many people thought he was dead.

The correspondent of The Nation in Osun State, Mr. Soji Adeniyi, had an unforgettable experience in the hands of a madman in Osogbo on Tuesday. A purse containing three ATM cards, five SIM cards, and documents which Adeniyi forgot in his car, was picked by the madman along Alekuwodo-Oke-Fia Road. A group of youths saw the purse with him and tricked him into giving it to them. Because the madman threatened to kill them if they fail to return the purse, Adeniyi had to give the purse to the youths in order to return it to the madman, after retrieving his ATM and SIM cards. Adeniyi said, ”The madman wore my ID card on his neck and walked about Osogbo. This was what the young guys saw that made them call me.”

While the head, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Osun Command, Mrs. W. Audu, sees a correlation between drug abuse and madness, world acclaimed ifa scholar, Ifayemi Elebuibon says three factors are responsible for madness. Elebuibon, the Awise of Osogbo, said mental illness could develop through heredity, evil attack and drug abuse.

Head of Physiology Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Otas Ukponman, said social stress and use of hard drugs could lead to depression and mental illness. He, however, explained that the level of depression and maniac swings depends on individual variations. The NDLEA boss said some parents brought their wards who, were into drug abuse, to her agency for counselling.

The Nigerian Baptist Convention, recently dedicated a week for mental health.

Also, President, Association of Resident Doctors, Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Dr. Bolaji Olaoye, said ”it is not only the naked people you see on the streets picking rubbish that are mentally ill. A lot of people in ties and suits are very mentally ill. Most anti-social behaviours are signs of mental illness. There is the need for government to build homes for the aged and mentally ill people.”

The revelation of Olaoye might explain the reason for some anti-social behaviour among members of the society. It‘s in Osogbo, like other capital towns, that some officials at the Nigeria Prisons Services, state headquarters, drive against traffic. It is also a common sight to see police vehicles drive against traffic at will. Top government functionaries, student union buses, Tokunbo smugglers, soft drink producing multinationals and Osogbo based sachet water producing companies etc constitute public nuisance through reckless driving, dangerous parking and over speeding, while the state sector of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Osogbo, watches helplessly.

A psychiatrist at LAUTECH, who pleaded anonymity, said some churches and mosques also contributed to the stress that led to mental imbalance. The psychiatrist said, ”Many churches and mosques see fake visions and tell the husband that the wife is a witch and is seeking the downfall of the man. The man would lose sleep as a result of this and would become suspicious of the wife. Lack of sleep could lead to mental illness. The husband might start to behave in a funny way after a period. Social stress is a contributory factor to mental illness.”

Commenting on the development, the Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Kazeem Adio, said many of the people roaming the streets were not really mentally ill, adding that some of them were just hungry and beggarly people. Adio said that government would look into the situation with a view to evolving a lasting solution.

http://odili.net/news/source/2008/jul/27/413.html

Who is bewitching my people?

Who is bewitching my people?

Aplenty. Firstly, you can ask the state politicians whose welfare of the people is not their concern. They are busy trying to grab a much as possible so that their descendants up to the 9th generation will not lack. Secondary, blame President Yar Adua and the Federal legislators whose role is to uplift the downtrodden masses but rather engage in all manners of political and economic robbery. Some of the mentally ill you mentioned is as a result of severe economic stress. You also hear that billions of dollars is being expended on frivolous projects that has nothing to bear in improving the lives of the people.


It is not only in Osogbo that you have many mentally ill people. I am sure if statistics are taken you will find that the number of mentally distressed people have grwon exponetially all over the country.

Nigerian public are very miseducated about individuals who suffer from mental illnesses. They simply lump the mentally ill with the homeless and destitute.

The people you see walking aroung naked on the streets of nigeria, talking to themselves are individuals suffering from severe mental illnesses such as shizophrenia or dementia that have been left untreated for several years and the individuals are far gone.

Drug abuse and sociaetal pressures are major contirbuting factors to this predicament as no one is born in this state of mind but are able to develop the disorder.

The continues attribute of withcraft or demonic possession as causes of this sickness are simply sillly ways to understand something that you are miseducated on which is why a pastor cannot heal someone by simple laying of the hands. The governments duty is to at least provide minimal treatment for these individuals in the form of communites for individuals with this ailment in an effort to protect them from the the ignorant public.

To let you know how ignorant Nigerians are of this subject matter watch how many people respond to this thread.

Chei!!

yes, the government needs to provide free treatment for mentally ill people. There's obviously no philanthropist bold enough to take on the task.

tpia:

yes, the government needs to provide free treatment for mentally ill people. There's obviously no philanthropist bold enough to take on the task.

They at least need the drugs to stabilize their condition so they do not get worse. If i had the money I would do it.

They simply lump the mentally ill with the homeless and destitute.

@Morpheus, nobody lumps them together. It's just that our society is survival of the fittest and where will they go? If you are homeless in Naija, be rest assured you'll dine with mad people.

They at least need the drugs to stabilize their condition so they do not get worse. If i had the money I would do it.

Is it the fake orthodox medicine in our markets that will make them more deranged? I wonder why we completely dumped traditional or homoepathic medicine in Nigeria because they seem to be the only authentic source of medication in Nigeria.

DeepZone:

Is it the fake orthodox medicine in our markets that will make them more deranged? I wonder why we completely dumped traditional or homoepathic medicine in Nigeria because they seem to be the only authentic source of medication in Nigeria.

Studies do show there are alternate treatments for mental ailments as it is all the mind and not really a disease per say but a disorder. I advocate any therapy that has been tested as evident in helping individuals with this illness including medications that exist in the western world.

Studies do show there are alternate treatments for mental ailments as it is all the mind and not really a disease per say but a disorder. I advocate any therapy that has been tested as evident in helping individuals with this illness including medications that exist in the western world.

True!!!! But, do you know that sometimes these mentally ill patients in nigeria are moved from one location to another at night maybe by local govt officials? Don't be surprised that over half of the mentally ill in Osogbo are not even from Osun state or it's environs.

DeepZone:



True!!!! But, do you know that sometimes these mentally ill patients in nigeria are moved from one location to another at night maybe by local govt officials? Don't be surprised that over half of the mentally ill in Osogbo are not even from Osun state or it's environs.

What is the reason for moving them around?

What is the reason for moving them around?

City cleansing. they know that when you move a mentally deranged person 200 miles from home, he/she may not find his/her way back.

DeepZone:

City cleansing. they know that when you move a mentally deranged person 200 miles from home, he/she may not find his/her way back.

A mentally ill person is not mentally retarded. Unless you are talking about people who are far gone into their situations 9about 5% of cases) how many of such can you round up at a go and simply displace them and even if you did. 95% of them would be able to find their way back to wherever the came from.