Madness

MADNESS: A SOCIETAL MONSTER


The term ‘madness’ could be used in many ways; but in this edition, our interest lies in the aspect of mental illness or degradation. Pardon me, I wish to begin with a short story.

One fateful day, I and three other young men, fellow executive members of a certain organization Oru Youths Platform (OYOPLA) which I happen to be the founder/leader were heading to a certain town in Oru in our private car to see a prominent personality; Oru is an ancient community that comprises of Oru East / West Local Government Areas in Imo State, Nigeria. Within five to six minutes drive which ushered in about ten kilometers (10km), we encountered three mad persons on the way. One of us, Mr. Charles Nlemeke (Financial Director) who was on the sterling couldn’t hold his breath; so he thought aloud, “Is like this town has the largest number of mad people in this community (Oru)?” The rhetorical question suddenly broke the silence that had lasted for over three minutes. Thereby, an uncontrolled unified laughter followed suit. But I maintained a slight smile. After some seconds, I bombarded the insinuation with another rhetorical question, “How sure are you that, those mad persons weren’t imported from your town?” Subsequently, another great laughter burst in. ”But, Presido might be right,” said the Director of Ethics, Mr. Longinus Onyebuchi who was trying to be on my side. Then, the Vice-President General (VPG) Mr. Joseph Ozor suggested that we go to one of our Legal Advisers for more clarification. According to him, the Legal Adviser would be in the right position to know the actual fact about the community. We all unanimously agreed to dance to the tune of the VPG.

Brethren, any reasonable person can figure out that the above conversation was a joke. We decided to laugh over the circumstance (madness) so it wouldn’t affect our respective psyches. Of course it shouldn’t have been a joking matter because ‘madness’ has become a very serious issue in our society. And, this is where the context of this lonely edition lies.

There are two distinct mood a certain mad person might belong to, which are violence and calmness; a mad person could be violent or calm. Pardon me, I wish to narrate another short story.

There was a day I was sitting at one of the joints situated at Wetheral road in Owerri; still in Imo State. I was very observant just as I had always being, as I was sipping my chilled drink. Suddenly I noticed that a certain mad man was walking in an opposite direction with one pretty young lady along the road. At their point of meeting, the mad man in question quickly hit the lady at her lips with one of his bare hands. Everyone around was shock by the incident. The lady sustained an injury on her lower jaw. We all began to sympathize with her. On the other hand, the mad man kept on moving as if he never did anything. Believe me, the scene was dramatic; but it wasn’t funny.

One of the men who was sitting with us called the lady and inquired from her if she had known the mad man, or had ever met him before. To me, that was a rhetorical question. Arrant nonsense; total ignorance coupled with stupidity! We frowned at such question that lacked an action word or verbal term. By His grace, I used the avenue to educate the man who tendered the silly question and also, everyone in the gathering. I let them know that the mad man was a typical example of a violent mad man. In other words, he was suffering from psychosis. And such persons are scattered all over the nook and cranny. Let’s ride on!

Whatever branch/mood a given madness belongs to, the cause could be natural, medical, spiritual, or physical. Let’s commence with natural causes.

The cause of a certain madness could be natural. That is, it can be caused by nature. And, this is where curse (spell) sets in. one may ask if ‘curse’ truly works. Yes, it actually works if the recipient of such curse is not innocent. Believe me, if you’ve wronged anyone in the past and never cared to seek for forgiveness and as well embrace total repentance, you must in one way or the other receive the consequence of such evil or ungodly act if the person places a curse on you. The person in question may not even care to place you under spell if he/she is truly a Christian. But whatever may be the case, I want you to acknowledge that, nature fights on behalf of the innocent whenever he/she is being hurt by someone. Frankly speaking, there’s too much power in nature.

Secondly, madness could be caused by medical/health problem(s). Some of the Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) such as syphilis could lead to madness. If anyone is infected by any of them and refuses to go for adequate treatment, at a point or an acute level, it may result to psychosis (madness). So, an infection is also one of the causes of madness.

There is/are also spiritual means of madness. This is where ritualism/cultism comes in. For instance, if one is being initiated into a certain secret confraternity; and he/she was asked to carry out a particular ritual or sacrifice which he refused or failed, there is a tendency that the person would incur madness as an outcome of his rebellion/failure. Apart from madness, there are other repercussions the person may encounter. I’m of the view that the above words are enough to explain this paragraph. Note that one of the causes of madness, nature, mentioned above can also be classified under this (spiritual).

Above all, there is also a physical cause of madness. If one receives a bullet in his brain, it could be a pathway to madness if an adequate and urgent measure is not taken. More so, constant reading (studying) without adequate intake of food or absolute rest may also lead to psychosis. There are other physical activities that affect the brain such as incessant intake of hard drugs like cocaine and marijuana which are also possible means of madness.

All the causes of madness discussed above could be avoided; so one needs to be extremely careful because carefulness remains the best approach to it. A popular Igbo idiomatic expression says, “were ire gi guo eze gi onu.” Meaning, count your teeth with your tongue. Though sometimes temptation sets in; that is more reason we are bound to remain prayerful and faithful. Yes, that is the suitable key. Don’t forget, there’s no absolute or total cure for madness. Thus, “prevention is better than cure.” Another Igbo adage says, “agboja onye ara, ogayi akusi ntawu.” That is, if a mad person has been treated or cured, he/she would never stop thinking aloud at all times. ‘Thinking aloud’ is a situation whereby one indulges in self communication in a manner in which his/her voice sounds to the hearing of other people around. Thus, “prevention is better than cure.”

The Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have a very vital role to play here. They ought to organize educative and inspirational seminars and workshops relating to madness, from time to time. On the other hand, the concerned government agencies should ensure that those mad people on our roads are consistently taken to a special home or psychiatric hospitals with the object of maintaining a serene environment.

Brethren, it’s time for break. Remember, ‘all work no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Perhaps it may lead to madness, not just dullness. Who knows? Think about it!

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COMR. FRED NWAOZOR

frednwaozor@gmail.com