Death of “mad” Nigerian graduate stirs questions on media, family handling of mental illness
There is a heart-wrenching story in the “Metro-Plus” section of the Punch website about a Nigerian graduate who “disappeared” alive and “reappeared” in a well, dead!
That’s not the story. The family of the deceased, it was alleged, never reported the issue to the police, and that’s not the only story either.
Commenters on the Punch website seem to have objections to the way those of us in the media frame these kind of stories by drawing attention to how we tend to blame the realm of the metaphysical for these kinds of unfortunate occurrences.
This particular story quoted residents as saying Kehinde, 28, was afflicted by a strange mental illness which kept him in domestic confinement for about half a decade (sometimes with all his limbs chained to prevent him from wandering away).
Unfortunately, Kehinde “mysteriously” found his way into a well in the compound some days back and his bloated body was discovered last Friday, the story said.
It also said that the body was “hurriedly buried” the same day.
Some Nigerians are asking why our families, media and society are not handling mental illness “the right way.”
“I would advise Punch (and all news media) to have journalists that are knowledgeable in mental health to handle mental health reporting so as not only to report but to avoid spreading fear to the average Nigerians,” a commenter on the site who simply identified himself as “james,” said.
“They could also try to find out what kind of care was offered apart from putting this poor guy in chains,” the commenter said raising concerns about how Kehinde’s family handled the issue.
Although, there is apparently no evidence Kehinde was mistreated by his family, police said they never got whiffs of the situation until journalists sought police comments on the issue. Even after Kehinde’s death, the issue was not reported to the authorities, apparently.
“The matter was not reported and when our team went there, the occupants of the building denied that anything like that happened,” Punch quoted Police PRO Kenneth Nwosu as saying.
Commenter “james” had a word of admonition for us newsmen: “They should also report the poor state of health care in Nigeria so it could be improved. Attributing every misfortune to spirits or circumstances is an old fashioned perspective of viewing the world.”
Another commenter on the site said he totally agreed with “james.”
“Ayoijebu” said the same perception that every “madness is attributed to a spiritual attack has made it impossible for mental health patients to get help.” He said the same mindset pervades Nollywood, Nigeria’s movie industry.
“I doubt if Kehinde got medical help,” the commenter opined.
“I know someone who was also tied down in a church for months by the family. There’s nothing called depression in our dictionary.”
Sad, sad story…what do you think?.
