‘Nigerians facing depression over biting economy’

Former Special Adviser to Ondo State Governor on Health matters and ex-National President of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Dayo Faduyile, yesterday, said the current economic hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy had begun to have adverse psychological impacts on most Nigerians.

He stated this while delivering a lecture titled, “Existential Realities of Fuel Subsidy Removal and its Effects on the Mental Health of Nigerian University Workers, Overcoming the Challenges,” at the first Public Lecture organised by Senior Staff Association Of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State.

While examining the positive and negative effects of fuel subsidy on citizens, Faduyile: “The increase fuel pump price and its attendant effects on all aspect of our lives will further cause emotional trauma and torture on the psyche of those who are struggling to feed, broken homes and increase cases of divorce and suicide.

“The psychological effects of fuel subsidy removal and increase on pump price include cases of depression, aggressiveness and possible suicide. WHO has described poverty as the greatest cause of suffering on earth. There are various direct effects of relative poverty on the development of emotional, behavioural and psychiatric problem.”

He explained that people rely mostly on fuel for their day to day activities, hence the reason the policy has affected everybody, adding: “Government should be open, they should be more responsible to the need of the people, corruption has caused lot of problems for us, we should be able to get that corruption index lowered and be more accountable.

“The poor people rely on fuel mostly for transportation, it has affected food prices and the likes. However, for the rich, especially those who are into manufacturing, who have machinery, they have to pay more, I think the rich are also affected, but the rate is at the side of the poor.”

In his remarks, the Chairman of SSANU chapter of the institute, Olutayo Ogungbeni, urged government to consider giving living wage to workers to reduce the hardship being experienced by the masses.