Kindly allow me to seize this opportunity to inform you of my intention to bring to public view , my new book christened:"TRAUMA OF THE DREAD-LOCKED " in which I have unzipped my mind concerning my three years of agonizing experience where-in I shuttled through five different hospitals seeking mental health care for my son, Dada , who had put up with mental illness since 2019.
73 years old designer of the World Trade Center, Robertson Leslie, had during his lecture on Post-September 11- attack , been asked by one of the engineers :
"what could you have done differently in the design and construction of the international edifice ?"
" I wish I had made the pillars to stand up a little longer, " He answered in an emotion-laden voice.
" I mean every person was important, everyone deserved a chance to get out ." He added, still trying to fight back tears.
Just as the whole world had indicted terrorists who carried the dastardly act in which America's single largest loss of life was recorded , Robert Leslie also had all the reasons to pass the buck and blame it all on the terrorists , but he was no man to do so.
By that singular and uncommon act he gave a new definition to personal responsibility.
It is along this frame of
Robertson Leslie's school of thought that I have also contemplated what my answer would be , should my son and future generation turn around to ask why I have decided to bring issue of mental illness (which they consider as private matter) to public forum , even as a topic for a book ?
There is no doubt that in the past three years in which we have been putting up with untold agony of shuttling through five different hospitals for the treatment of my son, the question that had seriously nagged my mind and constituted a weight on my conscience is this :
" Are you not one of the architects of this mental illness ?
Knowing what the spiritual connection between the two words ; "Trauma "and "Dread-locked " portends for insanity, I have been wondering if this lunacy of a thing would have become the portion which my son ought to have nursed for so long if I had functioned FULLY in the three areas of spiritual office and gifts which God endowed me ?
First , I am a writing Prophetologist, gifted in prophetic utterances; second , I am a Psalmist endowed richly with composing and singing songs of praise and thirdly , I am naturally empowered as a youth mobilizer, having been involved in youth leadership in the past fifty years .
Regrettably however, I have in all of these three fronts behaved like the Biblical recalcitrant Prophet Jonah , who in shirking responsibility, is used to delegating others to carry out messages which God had directly asked him to deliver to the world.
One of the ways which therefore opens up to me towards fulfilling personal responsibility lies in writing this book , being an echo of confession and repentance while allowing it to co-exist with the second book, ( THE EXCELLENCY OF KNOWING HIM) itself being a confession of testimony and path to living a life of chastity .
I intend, soonest , to launch the two new books to raise an endowment in my concerted effort to assign value to my collective experience on this matter and I am hopeful that, given your good disposition to helping humanity , you would not hesitate to assist me in ensuring the attainment of my lofty goals for the mentally disabled people and right orientation for our youths.
OLALERE FAGBOLA
WHY RAISING AN ENDOWMENT FUND FROM THE TWO BOOK PROJECTS ?
(a) Part of the proceeds realisable and realized at the launching would be committed to mass production of the two books in three major languages other than English language towards full sensitisation of the public .
(b ) Register a non governmental organisations with interfaith disposition to champion the following aims and objectives.
( MAIN OBJECTIVES)
(1)To give rehabilitation to selected mentally disabled patients who have successfully undergone medical treatment .
(2) Conduct sensitisation campaign in pursuit of an understanding of the problems associated with the mentally ill.
(3) Helping the family of the mentally disabled patient to cope in pursuit of the welfare of their relatives.
(4)Conduct and support research that promotes mental health.
(5) Encourage holistic attitude to mental health care in order to embrace interdisciplinariness.
(6 ) Encourage movement that would lead to the reviewing of our obsolete legislation and change of hostile attitudes of society against the mentally disabled people.
( OTHER OBJECTIVES)
(7)Liberating the Church ( African Instituted churches) from mental and spiritual laxity and laziness especially on their ill-informed perception of Dadas or Nazirites who are often bamboozled into wearing dreadlocks as a result of religious doctrine.
(8) Freeing innocent children from spiritual and societal bullying through re-defining bullying and parental/social responsibilities.
(9 ) Liberating mental health care givers from parochialism and western-oriented paradigm. Reorientating them on sound mental health care /ethical values.
(10) Liberating the perception of society on mental illness and legislation on mentally disabled patients from mental cruelty.
(11)Liberating the Nigerian youths from being victims of unmet expectations which often lead to needless depression through over reliance on DIRECT INTERPRETATION OF EQUIVOCATION ( DIE) which is the style peculiar to motivational speakers.
(12) Liberating mentally disabled patients from stereotype rehabilitation in which they are prematurely discharged from hospitals only to face stigmatisation and hostility from the society.
(13) Liberating Nigeria's educational system and institutions ( especially tertiary education) from unintended evil consequences of industrial action/ strikes .
Investigations which I have conducted revealed that ASUU prolonged strike has tolled negatively on the mental attitudes of undergraduates in the South western part of Nigeria, judging by the number of mentally disabled students admitted at hospitals during this period.
* Comparative data analysis is being processed to confirm this.
OLALERE FAGBOLA
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