Mental health: Naija banks will humble you

As October ends today, amongst many things to remember about this month, mental health awareness has been at the fore. As a nation, Nigerians went through a lot this month, especially with the upgrades and glitches in the banking sector. Some banks have not completely “recovered,” as a few are giving their customers some challenges in accessing their funds. If there was something that wearied our mental health this period, it was the glitches. Veteran actress Kate Henshaw said to me while sharing her experience with one of the banks, “They should leave banking for those who can actually perform the function. Let me not write about my own experience on Monday. In this day and age? In 2024?” Another person said, “Mine showed me miscellaneous as sender,” then Bunmi.A. said, “I wrote two invoices for the same amount to two different clients in the same week. I got a payment not knowing who it was from, transaction history not showing, until I requested a bank statement.” The comments were back-to-back. This situation made several people look like liars, and others deliberately used it to lie. I wish I could completely say everything has returned to normalcy, but I can’t because many people still have their money hanging somewhere. My friend, for instance.

For the purpose of this article, let me call her Ayo. Ayo has a good relationship with her domestic staff. When she wants to pay their salary, she would often tease them for sending her Opay, Moniepoint, and the like. “I can never use those banks.” She always said that to them. About a week ago, she wanted to make transactions with two long-standing banks, but she couldn’t. She told me she had to swallow her pride and asked her chef and maid to help her make two different payments separately from their accounts, and she refunded them later. She hasn’t gotten over the look on her maid’s face when she was trying hard not to laugh out loud. “Mary, what is it? Why are you laughing?” she asked. “Madam, have you forgotten you said you can never use Moniepoint or Opay? But you are asking me to send money for you from mine, Ma.” Her maid said, to which Ayo replied, “Mary, it’s like you don’t want to collect your December bonus again?” Ayo teased. When she was narrating the story to me, I couldn’t help but laugh too. She said she ate the “humble pie” and has opened accounts in both banks she had been looking down on. You trust that I wouldn’t let that slide, so I said to her, “So, your rejected stones have now become your chief cornerstones, right?” I asked, and she responded, “Kemi, my dear, I have eaten the humble pie; Naija banks will humble you,” She said.

“Nigerians went through a lot this month, especially with the upgrades and glitches in the banking sector.”

I sincerely hope that everything gets back to normal. It’s better now, but it can be much better.

Still on the matter, despite being a month when mental health issues have been at the forefront, it mustn’t end in this month alone. The awareness must continue. Why? You ask me. Well, if we agree to the definition of mental health as defined by WHO, which states that mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community, and the aforementioned matters to you, then you will agree with me that this conversation must be an on-going one even after the month of October.

Read also: More worries as economic hardship worsens mental health crisis

As I wrap this up, again, I remember the startling statistics that Nigeria has one psychiatric doctor for every one million people. So, that means, every time I put a call through to Dr Maymunah Yusuf Kadiri to ease off some stress through conversations, or “harass” her for her articles and contribution to Women’s Hub Magazine, she is at the same time responsible to answer 999,999 others who are in dire need of her attention? No wonder, every time I say “Dr May, how are you?” she often says, “Kemi, you don’t understand how that question makes me feel; we rarely get asked.” You see why I wrote at the end of my previous article https://businessday.ng/columnist/article/mental-health-awareness-month-lets-talk-about-it/ that, “Everyone needs therapy, doctors included.” This indeed is the truth.

Finally, since studies show that one in every four persons is experiencing one form of mental illness or the other, before you get uncontrollably angry at someone who never ceases to get on your nerves, ask yourself, is he/she one of the four? It will help you handle the matter well. While you are at it, this is an inner conversation you are asking yourself. Speaking this out to ask someone if they are “one of the four” has the potential to result in circumstances beyond your control. You have been forewarned…My hand no dey there o!

Kemi Ajumobi is Editor, Women’s Hub, BusinessDay.