THE Mental Health Act of 2021, which replaces the Lunacy Act of 1958, has been applauded by psychiatrists for quite a number of reasons. First, the Lunacy Act was cruel and outdated.  

Unlike the old law, the Mental Health Act of 2021 guarantees the rights of those with mental health conditions. For instance, any person who discriminates against a mentally ill person in terms of housing, employment, Medicare and other social services, runs the risk of being prosecuted.

A landlord, for instance, cannot evict a tenant, an employer cannot sack an employee, and a medical doctor cannot refuse treatment to a patient on the basis of their mental health status. Such a landlord, employer, or medical doctor could be sued.

The Mental Health Act, however, does not compel or impose an individual on an unwilling landlord or employer. What the new law does is protect the rights of every Nigerian under the Constitution, such as curbing discrimination on the basis of one’s mental health status.

Second, the Mental Health Act has effectively ended the practice of transporting people who have been arbitrarily determined to be mentally ill into a secluded sanitarium (now known as mental health hospitals) where they are chained and abused in the name of treatment.With the new Act, those receiving treatments now have the right to participate in formulating their medical plans. 

The Lunacy Act was formulated as mental health legislation for Nigeria during the colonial era. As a crude and ineffective update of the ancient British Lunacy Act of 1890, it was already outdated when it was bequeathed to Nigeria. Interestingly, the British, who created the Lunacy Act, had abrogated it several decades before Nigeria swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.

Even in name, the Lunacy Act was derogatory. Semantically, the word, lunatic, encompasses idiots and persons of unsound mind, which is not always applicable to all mentally ill persons. Ethically, words such as ‘lunatic’, ‘mad’ or ‘crazy’ are not permitted in modern-day healthcare rehabilitative vocabulary. “Mentally ill” is the appropriate general expression because healthcare is deliberately language-sensitive in order to encourage the elimination of stigma and discrimination. 

While the Lunacy Act perpetuated the stigma, fears, and superstitions associated with mental illness, the Mental Health Act 2021 ushers in a reform by focusing on the management of the mental health of all Nigerians. It also outlines strategies for mental illness prevention and control, as well as treatment and rehabilitation of the mentally ill.

While we join experts in mental health to applaud the new act as a rebirth in mental health for Nigerians, we also chip in a word of caution. Nigeria is hardly lacking in good laws. The problem is often the implementation or enforcement of the laws. 

The Mental Health Act must not end up as a good law only on paper.  

No law is ever perfect. It is appreciated that the Act is yet to be gazetted, during which amendments can be made, and domestication at state and local government levels can commence prior to full implementation. 

The gazetting and implementation of the Act are urgent. In several respects, we believe there is room for improvement in terms of amendment in the near future. Our stand is that this should not be delayed or denied.