A Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Femi
Olugbile, on Friday said 90 per cent of Nigerians
with mental disorders did not visit their
healthcare providers for attention.
Olugbile, who is also a former Chief Medical
Director, Lagos State University Teaching
Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, said such attitude will
have detrimental effects on both the individual
and the society at large.
"90 per cent of people, who have mental
disorders in our country, whether major or
minor, do not get to see any healthcare provider
at all for relief of their symptoms.
"So, they are not diagnosed or treated which is
a shame, because they have a detrimental
effect, not just on the individuals, but on our
society.
"Most people who have mental illnesses carry
them about; it is like they are working wounded.
So, they go to work and live their lives.
"They are not disturbing other people, but they
are under-performing at their tasks or they are
making wrong decisions as a result of the
illness.
"So, untreated mental illness, whether major or
minor, carries a cost both for the individual and
the society.``
Olugbile said that, at least, one in five people
would some time in life experience one or other
types of mental illness.
According to him, most of the illnesses that
people have are not psychotic such as
hallucinations, schizophrenia, they are anxiety
and depression.
"They are very common and often missed,
because people do not even recognise them as
mental illnesses, and they do not present
themselves to healthcare providers.
"They do not present, sometimes, out of
ignorance or just because the facilities for
intervention are not available or within their
easy reach.
"Those constitute the overwhelming majority of
mental illnesses," he said.
Olugbile said that there were approximately 100
psychiatrists in Nigeria due to brain drain which
had continued to be a challenge.
"Many Nigerian psychiatrists practiced abroad
because conditions of work in many Western
countries are obviously more attractive than
locally.
"Also, many young doctors prefer to specialise
in areas they consider more 'lucrative' such as
obstetrics and gynaecology rather than
psychiatry.
"Efforts are ongoing to get more young doctors
to show interest in psychiatry as a career.``
Olugbile said that it was a challenge and the
country has to think of how to creatively
provide mental health services to substantial
number of the people.