Every human being is a political animal especially by the consequence of being born into a family that subsequently forms an important unit of the larger society. The business of governance is becoming more sophisticated and no one should be left as spectator. It is very apparent that irrespective of the soundness of knowledge and professional training of the middle class, the ultimate translation of their lofty ideas for the benefit of the society can only be possible through the political process. You cannot legislate and execute from your clinic, lecture room or the offices of our corporate business leaders.
My mental health advocacy experience has made me to conclude that no policy works if the government does not buy into it in the first instance; it also requires the political goodwill of the government of the day to ensure that such policy is fully implemented.
Our major political parties have various programs but they lack the clear-cut ideological fulcrum around which to articulate them which makes the art of governance at all levels flounder as they erratically respond to the traditional basic needs of the people.
For any serious government, the policy thrust should focus on mental health as a doctrine as they pursue : promotion of mental health, prevention of mental health disorders, improvement of the health and social functioning of people with mental illness, organizing services for early detection, care, treatment and rehabilitation to reduce premature deaths in people with mental illness, reduction of discrimination, protection of the rights and dignity of people with mental illness, promotion of psychological aspects of general health care, development of human resources and relevant research programmes.
It is very sad and unfortunate that when our politicians seek election or re-election, social welfare issues constitute the substance of their manifestoes but on winning the election, they focus on programmes that score cheap political points that do not enhance the mental wellbeing of the people ultimately.
There is no arm of government that does not require the mental health doctrine as a paradigm for articulating their policies. As a matter of fact, for any government department to be successful in the delivery of their mandate; it must interrogate the impact of such intervention through the lens of mental health.
We have had a fair share of remarkable rise of reported suicide cases in the media in our culture that traditionally conceals suicide reportage. This illustrates clearly the adverse effect of the economic depression on the mental wellbeing of the people. The instrument of government that are deployed to stem the tide of such a menace are policies with mental health paradigm.
Government departments with profound influence on mental health such as the health care services delivery, employment, trade and industry, education too since a lot of our students are abusing drugs arising from the poor socioeconomic conditions of their parents, women affairs dealing with the issues of domestic violence and patriarchal indulgence, police, prisons and criminal justice agencies who provide home for offenders with significant mental health issues , housing since there are a lot of homeless vagrants.
Other institutions in the society that are relevant include private businesses, insurance companies, private health care companies, the pharmaceutical industry , organized religion, NGOs concerned with poverty- alleviation , youth and adolescents ,human rights and many others who are under the direct administration of government by providing an enabling environment. Governance without a mental health paradigm is destined to fail as all policies crafted and implemented will definitely not yield the desired end products that will be beneficial to the people.
The inability of our post-independent elite group to forge a common ground in the leadership of this nation, possibly as a consequence of contending social forces led to several political upheavals which snowballed into the disruption of development of social welfare institutions with profound negative impacts on the mental wellbeing of the citizens. Our social welfare institutions never acquired a culture of their own as they were scanty, inadequate and poorly funded because they were not the immediate priorities of the political elite clan. The military governed with decrees without input from the people and gave very modest attention to the development of social welfare institutions that are crucial for our mental wellbeing.
As we celebrate this year's Mental health day focusing on mental health in an unequal world , there is a need for government at all levels to recognize and adopt the mental health doctrine as a fulcrum of all their agendas. The challenge with the masses who bear the brunt of the misrule of the elite class as grave mental health consequences is to learn to adopt healthy coping lifestyle , prevent self and family members from factors of predisposition to mental illhealth since the family is the most important unit of the society.
Dr Adeoye Oyewole
adeoyewole2000@yahoo.com
+2348034905808(Whatsapp only)
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