About 64 million Nigerians are suffering from various mental illnesses without being aware of it, says a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Professor Chinedu Nebo.
He made the revelation on Monday while speaking at the Second Public Lecture organised by the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu.
“64 million Nigerians suffer from one form or the other of afflictions of mental illness," Nebo said.
According to him, the causes of causes of mental illness to include genetic composition, neurological and psychological experiences and environmental stresses.
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Nebo, said many people are unaware of the development because federal and state governments have failed to provide awareness.
“The prevalence of these situations have been escalated by the fact that there is high level of poor knowledge and understanding of the malaise of mental health disorder and the positive treatments required by the growing population of mentally ill patients."
The Professor dismissed the widely held belief that mental illnesses are caused by supernatural forces.
“The belief that many Nigerians seem to hold that mental disorder is a result of supernatural forces and, therefore, only responds to cure through traditional practices and supernatural incantations," he added.
Nebo was a Honourable Minister of Power for the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the tenure of former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.