“Though I still struggle with tramadol sometimes, I don’t take codeine and alcohol again said 17-year-old Halima who started abusing drugs when she was in JSS 2. Halima’s voice reverberates with a renewed hope and courage to look to the future. She credits this continuing mental makeover to the mental health care and rehabilitation she…

When the Confederation of African Football first officially organised a continental football championship for women footballers in 1998, Nigeria played the big brother by hosting the tournament and by dint of hard work won the competition. Prior to that inaugural Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) tournament in 1998, the tournament, which was known as…

For Adamu Bello*, it was arduous understanding the waves of emotions hitting him and articulating how he felt to his parents and family was just an uphill task. “I have never heard anything about ‘mental health’ at home or school,” said the 16-year-old who was diagnosed with Mixed Anxiety-Depressive Disorder (MADD) about a year ago. …

“I was sexually molested by my aunt when I was ten years old. I am thirty-six years old and I still struggle with masturbation and depression,” said 36-year old Emmanuel Akintola, a victim of sexual abuse. That experience with his aunt scarred his mind and he would rather not talk about it. Eventually, he summoned…

The World Economic Forum has ranked Nigeria 122, four places behind the previous year, in the 2017 Global Gender Gap Report. The GGGR is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress over time. Since 2006, when the reports were first published to include more than 100 countries,…

On this International Women’s Day, as we #PressforProgress The Guardian celebrates these Nigerian women sweeping against global odds. Every morning, Sherifat wakes up early. Her work as a highway cleaner in Lagos State demands that she hits the road at dawn. As tedious and dangerous as her daily task on the job is, she is…