MALE DEPRESSION AND THE SOCIETY

                                                                                  Image courtesy of www.twitter.com

According to the World Health Organisation(WHO), "Globally, more than 300million people of all age groups suffer from depression. More women are affected by depression than men"

Depression in its entirety, whether male or female isn't something to joke with or to be taken lightly as it has led to the death of many sufferers because at its worst, it can lead to suicide.

Male depression and the society is the issue at hand so I'd limit this blog solely to male depression.

When a man is depressed, you often hear things like 'man up' 'be a man' 'don't be a pussy' etc instead of actually providing the help that the person in question is requesting for just because he is a man.

This person is feeling depressed and his gender doesnt make it less of what it really is but trust the society to assume that as a man you must get your sh*t together and not show emotions. This is one of the reasons why many men die in silence rather than seek help.

As a man, when you are passing through hell or are depressed, rather than keep to yourself or bottle everything up, SEEK HELP. Talk to someone. Could be a friend, family member, lover or shrink. Just open up to someone and forget all that societal construct of being a man or feeling judged for lack of 'strength' because talking actually aids the healing process.

PS: If you are or know any depressed person who needs help, they can reach the Nation Suicide Prevention Initiative on 08092106493 or Mentally Aware Nigeria on 08091116264

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ALL HUMAN LIVES ARE IMPORTANT

                   

I was having a discussion with a friend the other day about Jungle justice and he tried to explain to me that some of these people are killers themselves so they deserve to die. He cited a particular case where there have been incessant robberies in an area and that the robbers sometimes kill people. So on this particular day, two of these robbers were caught and burnt to death and he ended it with, "they have killed so they deserve to die."
I tried to make him see reasons that it is not up to the people to decide who dies, it is a matter for the courts but he was adamant and believes that jungle justice is right.

This young man represents a whole lot of nigerian youth and their point of view as regards the subject matter. It is a notion that I believe should be changed. It is enough to make a citizens arrest and then hand over to law enforcement but deciding the fate of the criminal (or any other human for that matter) is just taking it too far.

This kinda brings to mind the issue of abortion that have been making rounds in the news. The question is if it should be banned or not. This debate about abortion shouldn't even take place in the first place if we are really empathetic as humans.I strongly feel there should be an outright ban as we shouldn't be the decider of the fate of a foetus. Why kill and claim to be prochoice? You have no right to take another life even yours.

Whether One week or 32weeks old, all human life is sacred and important. Forget religion for a second and try to imagine what it would take to put together a human being if we were to be assembled somewhere bearing in mind what it takes to create a robot. I am pro-life, have been and would always be. Call me too conversative all you want but I think a lot of "social madness" hides under the guise of a liberal world.

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A LESSON FOR AFRICA: THE HIROSHIMA EXAMPLE

                                                                   Image courtesy of http://www.tesfanews.net

Having visited Hiroshima in Japan and left in awe of the developments even after the 1945 atomic bomb attacks, Prof. Krydz Ikwuemesi wrote in his book - A Critical Travelogue

"...But I know that even human beings work miracles and that the miracle of growth and development is not the monopoly of any race. A people only need the right will and spirit to be able to attain their golden destiny. To this extent, African countries, caught in the web of under-development and neocolonialism, certainly have a lot to learn from the Japanese experience..."

Japan was saddled with the task of rebuilding its country post WWII and looking at the country and how far they've come along, you'd agree with me that the leaders and its people did a fine job. For a place that was said to not be able to grow grass again to move from barren to what it is today according to Prof. Krydz's description is a feat that is only achievable with a changed mindet and a people's strongwill.

We as a people need to see ourselves as fit first and then tackle underdevelopment head-on. Our leaders need to wake up, see leadership as not just national service but a platform to drive development and also stop the habit of borrowing from foreign nations in the guise of developing their countries but instead enriching themselves and their generations unborn. This is just plain stupidity because as they squander this money, the future generation who is supposed to drive its development with revenues generated spend years and these resources paying the debt incurred by these crop of ineffective leaders cum thieves in power.

We need to believe in ourselves as Africans first and not really rely on the western world for everything. If they really want to assist as they claim, they should first start with putting a stop to the idea of colonial tax.It would shock you to learn that about 14 African countries are still paying colonial tax to France and we are not talking little money here but billions of US dollars. How do you expect these countries to grow with these conditions?

This is article was borne out of the desire to see us sit up as a continent and emancipate ourselves from mental slavery or neocolonialism if you like. We need a total overhaul of our mindset and start seeing ourselves as a strong continent that can drive its development. We need assistance in certain areas no doubt but overdependence on the same set of people who raped and sold us for years is what gave meaning to the term neocolonialism in the first place.

Wake up Africa!

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