Adolescents and young people make up nearly half of Nigeria’s 200 million strong population. This
youthful population bulge should be an advantage for the future, if properly harnessed. But
unfortunately, the harsh reality is that they are largely ignored, face enormous challenges and are left to
sort themselves out via peer influence and whatever they can glean for themselves via social media.
Females are even more vulnerable, with half of adolescent girls unlikely to complete secondary school
while the proportion of out of school children continues to balloon at alarming rates. These challenges
necessitated the University of Ibadan Research Foundation (UI-RF) to organize a stakeholders’ forum on
the 13 th November which focused on the theme of ‘Adolescent and Youth Health Policies in Africa:
Fostering International Partnerships to Contribute to Adolescents and Youth Health in Nigeria’.
Some of the pertinent areas within the myriad of complex challenges faced by these youth include
aspects of their mental health, sexual and reproductive health, drug abuse, vulnerable and out of school
children as well as the absence of adequate services for addressing these challenges. The Vice
Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Kayode Adebowale reiterated the commitment of the
University towards generating ideas and solutions that will address societal needs, and affirmed that the
Research Foundation is one of those vehicles for actualizing this vision. He urged all stakeholders to pay
close attention to the challenges of young people, noting especially that mental health issues have
become very common. He declared that the University of Ibadan has recently established a standing
committee for undergraduate mental health issues and tasked to develop a policy and strategic plan for
the University.
Professor Ayoade Oduola, the Director of the University of Ibadan Research Foundation reiterated that
as the Foundation celebrates its 10 years of existence, it was critical to bring all stakeholders together
and plan for our youth, so that the future of society and the nation can be assured. In his words, ‘we
don’t have a choice, as our adolescent population is projected to increase by 32% between 2019 and
2030, such that we would have 164 million adolescents by 2030. We simply cannot afford to be without
a plan for such a huge population that represents the future of our nation’.
The Chief of Health with the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) in Nigeria, Dr Eduardo Celades was
the keynote speaker at the event and he admitted the failures of stakeholders in the past, to effectively
identify and address the challenges of adolescent health, especially mental health. He mentioned that
with the very few numbers of mental health professionals in Nigeria, the practical solution was to
ensure that mental health was successfully integrated into primary health care. On the part of UNICEF
and other United Nations Agencies, he promised that they were in the process of re-evaluating their 5-
year strategic plan to ensure that there is improved focus on adolescent health challenges in Nigeria.
The keynote address was followed by a round table discussion featuring several experts to address the
various aspects of young people’s challenges. Prof Adesola Olumide, a community physician and expert
on adolescent reproductive and sexual health was on the panel, alongside Mr Kayode David Akinpelu, a
programs expert who works with youth. Other panelists were Dr Tolulope Bella-Awusah, a child and
adolescent psychiatrist and Director of the Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CCAMH) at
the University of Ibadan; Barrister Edem Ossai, an Education and Youth specialist; Mrs Oluwakemi
Ademola-Aremu who works with vulnerable and out of school children and Ms Ibukun Adeagbo, who is
an undergraduate student at the University of Ibadan and youth representative. The panel was
moderated by Dr Jibril Abdulmalik, of the Department of Psychiatry/UI-RF Planning Committee and
Founder of Asido Foundation, a not-for-profit mental health advocacy organization.
The key take-home points from the discussions and subsequent interactive session with the audience
include the need to ensure that adolescents and young people are nurtured using the analogy of a
cocoon that protects a growing butterfly until it matures. This is a responsibility that society owes to her
youth. It was established that mental health is a positive attribute that simply means a healthy mind,
which is critical for successful learning and fulfilling their potentials. The multi-faceted nature of the
challenges facing the youth can only be tackled across several layers including the family unit, the
media, religious leaders, schools, and government via the implementation of existing policies as well as
providing youth friendly centers, sports and recreational facilities and other opportunities to nurture
their talents and keep them productively engaged. The event also enumerated ways by which
adolescents can help themselves such as watching the company they keep and avoiding drug abuse. In
conclusion, nothing should be developed for adolescents and young persons without their active
involvement and participation. Special kudos to the University of Ibadan Research Foundation for
kickstarting these conversations.
Dr Jibril Abdulmalik
Tribune Article for the column “Your Mental Health & You”
Thursday, 16th November 2023
Asido Foundation
www.asidofoundation.com
Asivuri Consulting
www.asivuri.com
