The Thursday Tribune Series
Every Thursday, the Asido Foundation shares fresh perspectives, educational insights, and reflections on mental health through a nationally syndicated column in the Nigerian Tribune. Explore our archive of articles that shape conversations and challenge stigma.
Showing 1 - 10 of 241 articles
Why Bother About Suicide Prevention?
September 17, 2026
Suicide was classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2012, as a public health emergency, for several reasons. It is a PREVENTABLE tragedy where an individual intentionally takes their own life. In many instances, it is on account of treatable situations such as mental disorders, commonly depression, or life stressors that can be mitigated.
Read More
Decriminalization of Attempted Suicide in Nigeria: Congratulations to Asido Foundation and other Champions but What Next?
September 10, 2026
Kunle is an undergraduate who has been struggling with severe depression. He does not recognize that he is depressed but struggles to find any joy in life anymore. Contrary to common assumptions, nothing terrible was happening to him. He had a comfortable job, earned well and had a supportive family – parents and siblings. He just couldn’t shake the feeling of misery, and his performance began to drop at work. His supervisor told him to take 2 weeks off and go on a break until he gained his drive back. He started fearing that he may lose his job. Kunle became convinced that he is the black sheep of the family who has let everyone down. The family will be better off, and their lives will be perfect without him. He started contemplating suicide.
Read More
The Emotional Impact of Gambling
August 20, 2026
Gani started gambling at the age of 14. It started with betting on ram fights. His uncle saw that he was pretty ‘lucky’ and started taking him to the lottery bet shops to pick numbers. Whenever they won, they would spend the money at the local bar. He would eat different types of food he typically couldn't afford. By the time he was 30, there was no type of gambling or Ponzi schemes he hadn't participated in. He recently lost all his savings towards buying a new taxi cab on gambling during the World Cup.
Read More
Celebrating Asido Foundation @7: Seven years of reducing shame and stigma around mental health in Nigeria
August 6, 2026
Across Nigeria and indeed the African continent, a young child may be denied of the opportunity to attend school because the child has a seizure disorder. A young adolescent may drop out of the University because of psychosis. A female with mental illness may be taken to a traditional or religious healer where they are chained and may be sexually abused. Others may suffer food deprivation, physical beatings (purportedly for exorcism), and so on. Many affected families are stigmatized and ostracized.
Read More
Your Health Is in Your Hands: Test. Track. Thrive.
July 30, 2026
Ngozi is a trader in Onitsha market who has not visited a clinic since she gave birth to her last child, who is now 10 years. She considers going to the hospital without being sick a luxury, especially when she opens her stall at six in the morning and closes at 10 pm. She feels constantly tired. She notices that her head aches more than it used to, and that climbing the stairs to her apartment leaves her slightly breathless in a way it did not five years ago. She mentions this to her sister, who tells her it is stress. She agrees. She does not check her blood pressure. She does not know what her blood sugar is.
Read More
Your Brain Cannot Wait: Access, Equity, and the Promise of World Brain Day 2026
July 23, 2026
Babatunde is a 58-year-old retired civil servant in Ilorin. He had been told at a routine medical check two years before his stroke that his blood pressure was dangerously high. He was given a prescription he couldn’t afford. He felt well and could not ‘feel’ his high blood pressure. He reasoned that if something were seriously wrong, his body would tell him. His body eventually told him on a Tuesday morning when he woke with a severe headache, found that his right arm would not cooperate, and tried to call for his wife but found that the words came out in the wrong order. He was rushed to the hospital for urgent care. He was experiencing a stroke due to his uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Read More
Realizing the hopes and aspirations of young people – today and for the future
July 16, 2026
Chiamaka is 31, a single university graduate from Enugu who relocated to Lagos three years ago to pursue a career in digital marketing. She is educated, skilled, ambitious, and hardworking. She has a contract job, but the pay is not enough to save meaningfully. She had planned to have a fulfilling career, strong finances and to have started her own family by the time she was 30. She feels like her aspirations are quietly becoming unreachable. She experiences persistent anxiety that makes her feel like the ground keeps shifting beneath her. She scrolls through the achievements of her peers online and feels simultaneously proud of them and quietly diminished by the comparison.
Read More
The Favourite Child Syndrome: The Influence of Parental Preference on Their Children’s Mental Health
July 9, 2026
Bola is the third of five children. Her older sister was "the pretty one." Her younger sister was "the baby." Her two brothers were automatically valuable as boys. She was nothing, not the first, last, a male or particularly beautiful by her family’s standards. She describes her childhood as being invisible. She worked fiercely to excel, graduated top of her class, earned a scholarship to study abroad, and built a successful career in the UK. She financially supports extended family, including siblings and parents. Despite her achievements, her parents still barely acknowledge her. When her "pretty" sister (who's achieved less but married well) visits, it's a celebration. She is resigned to the situation, and it no longer bothers her. Chidi is the first and only son of his parents. He was the favourite amongst his siblings, and he knew this destroyed his family. He was treated like royalty, attended the best schools, studied abroad, and received startup capital from his parents. His sisters, on the other hand, were told to manage and were constantly reminded that they were girls whenever they complained or needed help. His sisters barely speak to him now. Family gatherings are tense. Two sisters have cut off contact entirely. He feels a sense of guilt and feels like he has lost his sisters. He is now trying to reach out to them and make amends. He enjoyed the attention growing up, but with hindsight, he realises now that it was very destructive and certainly not worth it.
Read More
The Loneliness Epidemic Among Men: Why So Many Men Are Alone in a Crowd
July 2, 2026
Chukwudi relocated to Canada for a PhD with hopes of applying for permanent residency for himself and family so his wife and children can join him from Port Harcourt. His wife and children remained temporarily in Port Harcourt hoping that things would move smoothly within 2 to 3 years so the family can be together again. His stipend as a Doctoral student was barely enough for his needs and he had to start doing odd jobs at weekends and nights to have a little extra to send home to his family. Within months of his arrival, the euphoria faded into persistent tiredness and extreme loneliness – especially as the winter cold and social isolation hit him hard. He missed his dear wife and children but had to be strong to encourage her, as she frequently cried on the phone. But after hanging up, he also cried from sheer exhaustion and frustration.
Read More
Fatherhood and Mental Health
June 25, 2026
Femi is a 29-year-old man who grew up with a father who was physically present but emotionally cold, never expressed affection, dismissed tears, and communicated primarily through criticism. When he got married and had his first daughter, he was determined to be different. He read parenting books, attended antenatal classes with his wife, and was present at the birth. By his daughter's first birthday, Femi was experiencing significant anxiety. He was hypervigilant about his emotional responses, constantly monitoring himself for signs that he was "becoming his father." When he raised his voice once during a stressful moment, he spiralled into shame and intrusive thoughts that he was becoming like his father and that he was not a good enough father. He began avoiding being alone with his daughter, which his wife found confusing and hurtful. Femi was caught between the genuine desire to parent differently and an absence of any lived model for what emotionally available fatherhood looked like. Femi reluctantly connected with a psychologist and started therapy sessions. Therapy focused on processing his own childhood, distinguishing his identity from his father's, and building tolerance for normal parenting imperfections.
Read More