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On October 10, 2025, as the world marked World Mental Health Day, history echoed through the halls of the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). For the first time, a psychiatrist, Dr. Maymunah Yusuf Kadiri, Consultant Neuro-Psychiatrist and leading mental health advocate — performed the NGX closing gong ceremony, making her the first in Africa to do so. Yet, for Dr. Kadiri, that sound was far more than ceremonial.
“The sound of that Gong was symbolic,” she reflected. “It wasn’t just announcing the end of a trading day; it was announcing the beginning of a national conversation, one Nigeria has avoided for too long: our mental health.”
Dr. Kadiri believes the sound marked a new chapter in how the nation must view mental well-being, not as a private matter but as a pillar of national development. “Mental health is national wealth,” she declared. “You can’t build a thriving economy with broken people.”
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Nigeria, she observed, is one of the most resilient nations on earth, but that resilience often masks deep emotional exhaustion. “We’ve turned endurance into identity,” she said. “We glorify strength and stigmatize vulnerability. From students struggling with uncertainty to mothers juggling multiple roles, Nigerians are running on survival mode.”
According to the World Health Organization, over 20% of Nigerians live with mental health challenges, yet less than 10% receive professional help. Too often, anxiety is dismissed as “small stress,” depression is blamed on “village people,” and therapy is replaced with “pray it away.” Dr. Kadiri warns that unaddressed trauma weakens not only individuals but also families, workplaces, and the economy. “A tired workforce is an underperforming economy,” she said. “A stressed nation cannot innovate.”
Her organization, Pinnacle Medical Services, alongside HowBodi Wellness Technologies and The Mental Health Conference, collaborated with the NGX to close the gong, an act she described as “destiny aligning purpose with platform.” The gesture linked mental health to economic health, underscoring that productivity and innovation depend on emotional stability.
Dr. Kadiri offered a powerful message to Nigerians: “Rest is not laziness. Even phones overheat, so will you. Talk about your feelings. Therapy isn’t for the elite; it’s for everyone. Employers must check on their teams. Kindness costs nothing but changes everything.”
She called for greater investment in mental health, from government funding and trained professionals to integrating wellness education in schools and workplaces. “If we can budget for roads, we can budget for resilience,” she said.
As the final echo of the Gong faded, Dr. Kadiri described the moment as a nation’s sigh of relief. “It said: it’s time to heal. Our greatest investment is in the minds of our people. The Gong has spoken, now, Nigeria must listen.”
