Inside Ilorin’s Trado-Psychiatric Home

This is the story of a mentally ill woman seen recently   around Geri Alimi roundabout in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. Though people in her condition could be found in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria , her condition was particularly pathetic. She is carrying her baby girl who does not comprehend the realities […]

This is the story of a mentally ill woman seen recently   around Geri Alimi roundabout in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. Though people in her condition could be found in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria , her condition was particularly pathetic.
She is carrying her baby girl who does not comprehend the realities of life and thus requires the care, support and assistance expected of every mother. Sadly enough, the innocent baby girl is denied this motherly care, not for anything but the mental illness of her mother.
The middle-aged woman and her baby girl caught the attention of residents and passersby on Monday August 25 at the popular Geri Alimi roundabout. The woman was fast asleep early in the morning near a gutter with a black bagco bag apparently containing her ragtag wears and other personal effects, near her. Around her also were different kinds of handouts and meals doled out by good samaritans.
The mother was still asleep while the little girl was playing alone a few meters to her, obviously lost as to the condition of her mother, as observed by Daily Trust correspondent who was present. All of a sudden, the girl stood up trying to wake up her mother by pouring water in her mouth. Apart from being mentally deranged, it was gathered that the woman was drunk on account of excessive alcoholic consumption, as she was seen drinking from a bottle of gin which is believed to have worsened her condition.
People in the vicinity said they had been observing the woman at the area for a long time, but her destination was not known. Her name was not known, neither did anyone know any member of her family or the father of the child who was with her.
Sociologists say this is the case with many people with mental illness, in all climes and societies.
However, some good samaritans later drew  the attention of the state Ministry of Social Development, Culture and Tourism to the womans situation,and the Ministry swiftly mobilized its officials to evacuate the sick woman and her child.  
They were evacuated in a Hummer bus direct to the Olorunda Trado-psychiatric Home at Eiyenkorin, a suburb of Ilorin.
Olorunda Psychiatric Home has become a household name in the treatment of people with mental illness in the community, having been in existence for over three decades.

It has successfully treated and discharged 160 mentally ill persons. Recognising the work it is doing, the state Ministry of Social Development in 2010 issued it a  certificate to partner with the government “in the removal, treatment and rehabilitation of mentally ill persons in our society,” according to a letter written to it by the Ministry.
Our correspondent was at the Psychiatric home almost immediately after the woman and her baby were evacuated and taken  there for treatment.
Inside the Home were over 80 patients comprising children, adults and nursing mothers, who are afflicted with one mental sickness or the other and receiving treatment with different sad stories of how they turned patients in the centre.
One of the patients is a Police Officer who has now started regaining his consciousness. What he could however remember was the day he received his promotion letter, and the rest, he said, remains confusing  to him.
“I was promoted and the next thing was that I found myself in  a Psychiatric home,” the police officer (name withheld) told Daily Trust.
Several of the patients have different touching tales about their mental illness, but they are full of praise to the Centre for bringing them back to health.

Speaking with our correspondent, Alhaji Salihu Olori Olohunda gave an insight into how the psychiatric home came about. He said, “I inherited this home from my late father. He set up this place in 1980. It was initially located at Olori compound Adabata in Ilorin metropolis, but my father relocated the hospital to EiyenKorin, when the family compound could not cope with the increasing crowd and patronage.
“And since the existence of this home, the Almighty has been assisting us in curing mentally ill persons in the society. It is on record that 160 persons have been treated and discharged from our hospital. They are now integrated into the society.
Recently, the Governor’s wife, Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed was here to inspect the place, having seen the wonderful work we are doing.”
With the certification of the home in 2010, the State Government approved a monthly subvention of N20,000 which Olohunda added is too meagre. “Since the partnership with the state government, the Ministry always evacuates destitutes and mentally ill persons in the vicinity, and brings  them to my home for treatment. Recently, I treated a woman brought by the state government and she has since been discharged. The woman is from Jebba,” he said, while appealing to government to increase the subvention, and also assist in fencing the psychiatric centre.
Funding, he added, “is my major challenge. For instance, I spend N300 daily on feeding a patient. You can imagine how much I spend on daily basis on each of the patients, compared to the N20,000 I receive as monthly subvention from government. I will be grateful if this money is increased.”

Asked how he has been treating his patients, he replied that it is God’s doing. He disclosed that he usually prepares herbal concoctions  for the patients to get well, saying, “I will say the Almighty  has been doing it for us. What we do is to go to the traditional way and look for relevant herbs which we use in preparing concoctions. A lot of patients here have attacks which orthodox medicine cannot cure. No amount of injection can cure these attacks. The Almighty has blessed us with some of these herbs and traditional medicines, which are more powerful than orthodox drugs and injection.”  
He identified the causes of madness to include depression, stress, cannabis smoking, alcohol consumption and supernatural affliction.
“I must tell you that most forms of madness are self-inflicted. The men and women you see on the streets behaving strangely, found themselves in that condition as a result of their actions and inactions. Some are fond of smoking weed and consuming alcohol. All these could lead to madness.”
When our correspondent visited the centre for the second time after the woman and her daughter were evacuated, it was discovered that the woman had come back to her senses and had started recuperating.