The Young Progressives Party (YPP) candidate for Ifako-Ijaiye Federal Constituency, Buraimoh Peter Folajimi, has charged Nigerians youth to see the electioneering process as means to sustain their mental health.
He said for the sake of our mental health, we must be involved in leadership and electing good leaders at all levels, adding that “We must understand that with bad leadership, we are at the risk of mental health condition”.
Folajimi made the call in a speech titled ‘Youths’Mental Health, delivered at World Health Day at the United Nations Information Center, Lagos, recently.
According to him, the fight against mental health conditions is multifaceted and we must tackle it from different fronts.
“Let us abstain from the abuse of substances, let’s also speak up and avoid bottling up emotions especially when suicide begins looks like the only way out. More importantly, let’s get involved in voting for leaders that will sustain our mental health through youth-friendly policies and actions.
“We have heard and read several stories of how people have committed suicide because of the effect of the frustrating economic conditions of the country. I am not by any means justifying the actions of anyone who has committed suicide, I am simply pointing out the government’s failure and how it has contributed to mental health conditions.
” We will be remembering how a government failed its people and how young Nigerians were sent to their early graves after staging the most coordinated and peaceful protest in the history of this country.
“We also live in a country where the government attempted to silence the voice of youths by banning twitter, an act that affected young Nigerians who make a living from influencing,” he said.
He, however, lamented that youths barely have a voice in a country where criminal profiling of youths is based on appearance, owning a laptop, and probably owning an expensive iPhone. As youths, we need a holistic approach to secure our mental health from every possible threat.
Speaking further, he noted that every government must ensure that its people are exposed to favorable social, economic, geopolitical, and environmental conditions.
“These kinds of exposures reduce the risk of insecurity, injustice, poverty, and other social issues that can contribute to the possibility of having mental health conditions.
“The Nigerian government at its different levels have over the years failed to protect the lives of its people, provide a viable economic environment, create employment opportunities, and even intentionally bullied youths through instruments of the states such as the police,” he said.
While speaking on the solutions, he explained that as individuals and as a society we all have roles to play to clamp down on mental health conditions especially those that lead to suicide.
“Simple steps such as avoiding stress, keeping friends who will encourage you to develop your potential, seeking counsel from family and friends or professionals seeking medical help in cases of addiction make the huge difference in sustaining mental health.
He commended the convener of the conference, Mrs. Tobi Abodunrin who has deemed it fit to draw our attention to the relevance of mental health, especially at a time when our nation is in the process of transitioning to a new government.
