Children begging for alms along the expressway Mission Road, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. PHOTO/Collins Ojiehanor.
By COLLINS O. OJIEHANOR
In Nigeria, where the vibrant laughter of children often masks a heartbreaking reality, countless young lives are ensnared by a web of violence, neglect, and abuse.
From molestation to domestic violence, early marriage, and female genital mutilation, these issues loom large in a society struggling to provide the necessary support for its most vulnerable members.
Recent news reports have shed light on horrific incidents—teachers arrested for assaulting students, parents charged with horrific acts of violence against their own children, and the tragic stories of children rescued from human traffickers.
For many Nigerian children, the world is not the playground it should be, but rather a battleground filled with trauma and despair. UNICEF data reveals a staggering 6 out of every 10 children experience some form of violence, with fewer than 5% receiving any help.
Among the many affected is 17-year-old Tomiwa Alade, whose bright dreams have dimmed under the weight of abuse.
Sitting quietly, his voice a fragile whisper, Tomiwa recounts his story. “It started when I got to SS2,” he begins, reflecting the weight of his past.
“I was always good in school, but then everything changed. I’m never happy,” he confesses, his voice barely above a whisper.
The joy he once found in school has been extinguished, replaced by thoughts of despair.
“Schools and parents should care for children,” he urges, highlighting the desperate need for attention and understanding.
Similarly, 14-year-old Musa Ibraheem’s life was shattered by conflict. Fleeing from violence in Borno State, he now wanders the streets of Benin City with his little sister, their survival dependent on the kindness of strangers.
“I hear the sounds of gunshots in my dreams,” Musa reveals, his trauma evident in his trembling voice.
His mother, a pillar of strength amidst the chaos, had gathered her children and fled, their escape hidden within the cramped confines of a tomato truck to Edo State.
Musa’s arrival in Benin City did not bring the respite they hoped for. Instead, it marked the beginning of another battle, a battle for survival. Musa’s days were filled with the anxiety of finding food and the constant worry for his breastfeeding mother and sisters.
Detailed information on Nigeria’s mental health situation is captured in the World Health Organisation (WHO) mental health atlas.
“Some people use to give us money or food, but many people use to pursue us and shout at us” he confirmed.
Nights were worse, as the darkness brought with it the haunting echoes of his past. “It’s hard to sleep and I’m always scared, because we use to sleep in different places” he confided, the fear evident in his young eyes.
In another corner of Nigeria, 15-year-old Christabel Okojie grapples with the profound grief of losing her father. The emotional weight is compounded by academic pressures that leave her feeling isolated and overwhelmed.
“I feel sad all the time,” she shares, voicing a struggle that many children face in silence.
Her mother, struggling with her own grief and the burden of providing for the family, found it difficult to offer the emotional support Christabel needed. Each day was a battle to survive, leaving little room for addressing the silent cries of her daughter’s heart.
“The time I wanted to register for WAEC,” Christabel recalled, “because of my result that I did not perform well and I paid for enrolment late, my teacher was shouting at me and asked me to call my father to school. I felt sad and didn’t want to go to school again because my father is dead and my result was poor because of his death.”
Breaking the Stigma
A young girl hawking tiger nut drink and hibiscus tea, at Ring Road, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. PHOTO/Collins Ojiehanor.
In a society where mental health remains a taboo subject, many children’s struggles go unnoticed. Parents often fear seeking help, worried about social ostracism.
As Mrs. Osose Enoma puts it, “Talking about mental health is like inviting shame into your home.” This stigma creates an invisible barrier, preventing children from accessing the support they so desperately need.
Child safety advocate Tolulope Akingbade emphasizes the need for schools to cultivate supportive environments. “We need to create a space where children can express their feelings,” she says, advocating for a shift in how mental health is perceived and treated.
According to UNICEF Nigeria, abuse in all its forms are a daily reality for many Nigerian children and only a fraction ever receive help. Nigeria has the largest number of child brides in Africa with more than 23 million girls and women who were married as children, most of them from poor and rural communities.
Human Rights Watch highlighted several cases illustrating the pervasiveness of child marriage in Nigeria. This practice is further exacerbated by poverty, cultural norms, and the prioritization of family honour over the individual rights and health of young girls according to a UNICEF report..
The Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) in Lagos state reported handling 5,624 cases of domestic violence, rape, and sexual assaults between August 1, 2022, and July 2023.
Among these cases, a heart breaking 1,598 involved children who suffered emotional abuse as a result of being exposed to domestic violence within their homes. Additionally, 609 cases related to the separation and failure to take responsibility for children, neglect, child abduction, child labour, and custody disputes.
Data from a UNICEF survey reveals that young people in Nigeria are facing a mental health challenge, with 1 in 6 young Nigerians aged 15 – 24 saying they often feel depressed, have little interest in doing things, or are worried, nervous or anxious.
It is estimated that 1 in 7 (14%) of 10–19 year-olds experience mental health conditions, yet these remain largely unrecognized and untreated.
Adolescents with mental health conditions are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion, discrimination, stigma (affecting readiness to seek help), educational difficulties, risk-taking behaviours, physical ill-health and human rights violations according to WHO report.
Anita Moses, a 17-year-old girl, struggles with academic pressure. Her parents, hoping for a better future for their daughter, place high expectations on her. They dreamed of seeing her excel in school and secure a prosperous future, just like her older siblings who had set a formidable standard. “I study all the time, but it’s never enough,” Anita confided.
The closer exam periods loomed, the more intense her fear grew, gripping her heart and mind with an unyielding hold. “I feel like I want to faint. Whenever it’s close to exam period I get really scared even when I’ve studied and read all my subjects” she added.
Despite her efforts, Anita’s parents dismissed her concerns. They believed that hard work was the key to success and that any sign of struggle was a mere obstacle to be overcome by more effort.
The constant pressure has led to anxiety and a sense of helplessness for her. “It’s hard to stay motivated when you don’t have any support. You just need to work harder they would say.” The lack of career guidance and mental health resources at her school leaves her feeling isolated and overwhelmed.
Support For Mental Well-Being of Children
Children and women seek help from passersby, as poverty compound mental health complications in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. PHOTO/Collins Ojiehanor.
Child Safety Advocate in Lagos state, and founder, The Child Safety Consult, Tolulope Akingbade, explained that “Teachers and schools should create a supportive and enabling environment for children where love is maintained.
No discrimination, name calling, bullying or other assaults. The services of a professional counselling psychologist should be provided in a school where learners struggle with their mental health.”
ICT teacher and a mother, Queen Omolayo, sharing a scenario of how schools can promote and support children’s mental well-being narrated that “I have this particular student in my class, she doesn’t talk much, even when you ask her to speak you will still struggle to hear her.
So what I do when I ask her questions, I move very far away from her and tell her I want to be able to hear her from any angle I move to. I noticed she was extremely scared of what I don’t know, and her self-esteem was very low, so I started playing with her anytime we are talking I say more of jokes to make her laugh just for her to come out and be free,” she shared.
She narrated further that “Sometimes I send her on errands like go and get me a marker, bring my bag, get me a pen, all these is just to get close to her and make her feel comfortable with me. Presently, she’s now outspoken, tough am still working on her boldness but we can hear her now when she speaks.”
As a teacher trying to know what works best for a child, Omolayo says children need someone they can trust, confide in and someone they feel safe with.
“We need to create a supportive environment where children can express their feelings and get the help they need,” says Nana Sanu, a secondary school teacher. “Mental health is as important as physical health, and it’s time we start treating it that way” she added.
Stigma of Mental Health in Children
A baby left under the scorching sun while the mother begs for alms at Ramat Park, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. PHOTO/Collins Ojiehanor.
In many communities, mental health remains a taboo subject, surrounded by misconceptions and stigma. This is especially true for children, whose mental health struggles are frequently overlooked or misunderstood.
This stigma not only affects the children suffering from these conditions but also their families, who may be reluctant to seek help due to fear of social ostracism.
Despite Mrs. Osose Enoma’s deep concern, she felt powerless. “In my place,” she began, her voice heavy with emotion, “talking about mental health is like inviting shame into your home.
People will whisper, they will judge. They think it’s a curse or a punishment some kind of. You cannot open your mouth and say I want to take my child to see a psychiatrist, they will conclude that your child is mad”
As Mrs. Osose spoke, other women who were traders at the popular Oba market, in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo state, nodded in agreement, mirroring her struggle.
They knew all too well the stigma attached to mental health issues. Cultural taboos ran deep, and the fear of social ostracism loomed large, preventing many from seeking the help their children desperately needed.
Child Safety Advocate, Akingbade further explained the broader implications of this stigma, stating that when society stigmatize child mental health issues it affects their self-esteem and wellbeing.
“Stigmatizing makes it difficult to get the support children requires. Further leads to more health complications and physical performance,” Akingbade says.
She emphasized the need for community education and open dialogues about mental health among parents as they need to get adequate knowledge and awareness to understand mental health issues in children and address other areas of parenting necessary to improve their well-being.
Government and Policy Gaps on Child Mental Health In Nigeria
The Nigerian government has made efforts to improve healthcare services, but child mental health remains significantly neglected. In January 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Mental Health Bill into law.
A law that replaced the Lunacy Act of 1958, an act which does not represent the current realities of mental health.
However, Health and Social Welfare accounts for not more than 5% of the overall national budget in the sectoral allocation of the 2024 budget presented to the National Assembly, reflecting the low priority it receives. The National Health Policy in Nigeria includes mental health, but implementation is weak, and specific provisions for children are lacking.
Mrs. Peace Oluwagbenga, a registered nurse, shed light on the significant challenges facing child mental health care services in Nigeria. According to her, the country is grappling with a severe shortage of mental health facilities and professionals, which has left many children without access to the care they desperately need.
“There is a wide gap in the provision of mental health care to children in Nigeria,” Mrs. Peace stated. “The reason being that not all children have access to a mental health facility as there are few of them in the country.
Also, the awareness of rising mental health issues in our country still has a long way to go. There are still people who have not come to terms with mental illness and its effects on our society,” she confirmed.
Mrs Peace says many children are faced with hardship and are exposed to things way beyond their mental capacity adding that the government and parents need to put in place systems where these children can identify traces and symptoms of mental distress and have access to walkable facilities where they can easily get the help they need.
She further elaborated on how these challenges impact the quality of care provided to children.
“As I mentioned earlier, there are limited walkable facilities that are well-equipped, and there are few mental health providers and personnel in the field,” she stated.
Volunteers and NGOs Helping to Address Mental Health Challenges
Despite these challenges, Mrs. Peace acknowledged that there are some private individuals and entities who have shouldered the responsibility of helping children cope with mental health challenges.
“A lot of work still needs to be done. More investment needs to be made by both the government and the private sector in truly reaching out and rescuing these children. These children are the future of our beloved nation, Nigeria,” she added.
Despite some legislative progress, such as the recent Mental Health Bill signed into law, systemic gaps persist. The Nigerian government allocates less than 5% of its national budget to health and social welfare, leaving child mental health services woefully underfunded.
Mrs. Peace Oluwagbenga, a registered nurse, points to the dire lack of mental health facilities and trained professionals. “Many children are faced with hardship beyond their mental capacity,” she asserts, highlighting the urgent need for accessible care.
As stories of resilience and struggle continue to emerge, one thing becomes clear: the future of Nigeria’s children hangs in the balance. It is a collective responsibility—communities, schools, and the government must come together to address the hidden epidemic of violence and neglect.
Only then can the laughter of children transform from a mask of suffering into the joyful sounds of a brighter tomorrow.
