Revered cleric, Archbishop Emeritus Ayo Ladigbolu, has disclosed that the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, inspired his decision to set up a non-governmental organisation to cater for the mental health of Nigerians.
Ladigbolu, who is the founder and Executive Director of Oyo Metro Suicide Prevention and Counselling Initiative, disclosed this in a recent interview with the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State.
According to the Oyo Prince and a leading contender for the Alaafin stool, he was convinced of the need for Nigeria to pay a closer attention to the mental wellbeing of her citizens after the first lady, who was then a sitting senator, introduced a bill to that effect on the floor of the senate in 2017.
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In the interview, which was conducted mostly in Yoruba, Ladigbolu said, “On June 17, 2017, during a plenary session of the senate, Senator Remi Tinubu, who is now Nigeria’s First Lady, solicited the support of her colleagues for a bill that sought to make the government pay greater attention to the mental health of Nigerians, both old and young.
“But, despite her impassioned appeal to the Senate, while also calling their attention to the increasing rate of suicides amongst young people, her colleagues merely paid lip service to the idea and eventually shot it down.
“It was at that moment that I made up my mind to start doing something in my personal capacity to campaign against the menace of suicides. And, since we started, we’ve been doing the best we can.”
Ladigbolu appealed to President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the renewed hope promised Nigerians by his administration does not exclude care for the mental health of citizens, adding that “it is important for the nation to do whatever is necessary to stabilise the mental health of our old people and also care for the mental position of our young people as well.”.