“You Cannot Criminalise Despair And Ignore Its Root Causes” — Dr. Ogenna Walter Ekwubiri Calls For Mental Health Reform In Nigeria

Dr Ogenna Walter Ekwubiri, founding father of the Motivating African Youths Initiative (MAY-I), has referred to as for the decriminalisation of tried suicide in Nigeria, urging the federal government to prioritise psychological healthcare, rehabilitation and financial empowerment over punitive measures.

Ekwubiri made the decision in an announcement issued on Tuesday in response to remarks attributed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio throughout deliberations on the Suicide Prevention Bill 2026.

She described the criminalisation of tried suicide as a difficulty of public well being, human dignity and accountable governance, arguing that survivors wanted care and assist reasonably than condemnation or imprisonment.

“Suicide survivors need care, not condemnation; rehabilitation, not incarceration; hope, not further despair,” she stated.

Highlighting the socioeconomic challenges confronting Nigerians, Ekwubiri cited United Nations estimates indicating that Nigeria recorded roughly 5 suicide deaths per 100,000 individuals in 2021.

She additionally referenced National Bureau of Statistics information displaying that 133 million Nigerians, representing 63 per cent of the inhabitants, had been multidimensionally poor in 2022.

According to her, a United Nations-supported meals safety evaluation additionally projected that 33.1 million Nigerians would face acute meals insecurity in the course of the 2025 lean season.

She stated financial hardship, unemployment, meals insecurity and insufficient entry to healthcare required pressing and sustainable interventions.

“We cannot continually demand resilience from citizens while failing to demand responsible stewardship, accountability and measurable improvements in their welfare from those entrusted with leadership,” she stated.

The MAY-I founder recommended Senators Asuquo Ekpenyong and Dayo Faduyile for advocating a healthcare-centred method to suicide prevention, urging lawmakers to prioritise laws that protects human dignity, promotes rehabilitation and strengthens assist techniques for weak residents.

She recognized the decriminalisation of tried suicide, inexpensive psychological healthcare, stronger social safety, youth employment and girls’s financial empowerment as key measures wanted to deal with the underlying causes of despair.

Ekwubiri, who can be the Country President of World Women Leading Change Nigeria, stated psychological well being, financial prosperity and accountable management had been interconnected pillars of sustainable improvement.

She famous that the proposed interventions aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, notably these addressing well being and well-being, gender equality, first rate work and financial progress, and powerful establishments.

According to her, Africa’s improvement must be measured past financial progress figures to incorporate the dignity, well-being, safety and alternatives out there to its residents.

“Nigeria cannot legislate away despair while neglecting the conditions that deepen human suffering. We must stop asking our people merely to survive adversity and start building systems that give them genuine opportunities to thrive,” she stated.

Ekwubiri urged governments, civil society organisations, improvement companions and the personal sector to work collectively to increase entry to psychological healthcare, empower younger individuals economically, promote ladies’s inclusion and strengthen public accountability.

Through MAY-I, she stated, she continued to champion youth management, ladies’s empowerment, entrepreneurship and sustainable neighborhood improvement.

“Leadership must never lose its humanity. The true measure of governance is not merely the laws we enact, but the lives we protect and the dignity we preserve,” she added.

She concluded: “A life saved is a future preserved. A people protected is a nation strengthened.”