The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, has warned Nigerians not to discriminate against persons suffering from mental illness.
He also urged the management of the Aro Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Abeokuta, Ogun State, to seek ways of removing the stigma associated with the illness.
The monarch stated this when the new board members of the hospital, led by their Chairman, Ambassador Emmanuel Imohe, visited his palace on Wednesday.
Urging Nigerians not to discriminate against mentally ill persons, Gbadebo said the illness, like other common diseases, could afflict anyone at any time.
According to him, what the sufferers deserve is not pity but understanding.
He said, "I hope the hospital will continue to remove the stigma that is associated with mental illness. We cannot wish the sufferers away. So, sensitise the people not just in Abeokuta and its environs, but also across the country that anybody can fall ill in the head as malaria could attack anyone. They should not because of that treat that person as permanently sick and one that you have to pity all the time."
Imohe, on the occasion, had solicited the support of the monarch for the hospital.
He said, "I would like to join the chief medical director to thank you for the support that you have always provided to the hospital. We have come to thank you and to plead for more support."
Imohe, who is the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons, told the Alake that the Federal Government also needed the assistance of traditional rulers in its crusade against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country.
According to him, President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to stopping arms and weapons proliferation, adding that their presence is threatening the country's existence.
He said, "It is a programme which the president feels very strongly about and because he seeks to dismantle the template from which insecurity in Nigeria is drawing support, the fight against proliferation of small arms and light weapons is an indispensable aspect of that."
The Punch