Anxiety & despair as horrible images of depressed Nigerians in Canada flood Internet

It’s the internet age, and nothing seems to be hidden anymore, hence the phrase, ‘global village.’ First, it was the video snippets of visibly disturbed young Nigerians popping up on the internet, especially Tik-tok and Facebook. A particularly one shows a young Nigerian man, looking forlorn ad visible ill.

Responding to the voice behind the filming camera, he gave his name as Peter, explained that he is a student and that he came to Canada to study but things went bad, his father had stroke, ran into financial problem and he was now homeless but that’s the much coherence he could muster, as he trailed off, saying nothing, literally.

One thing is however clear, he is no longer mentally stable. In a faraway land where he probably has no friend or family and very far from home, it certainly does not look nice. Add this to the lonely lifestyle of that country, where everyone is for themselves and one may begin to understand why Peter looked the way he looked in that video.

Another viral video showed a mentally unstable Nigerian girl. The voice in the background explained that she was driven to that state by her lack of money, job and the inevitably became homeless. Now in an extremely cold country, that’s a torture that can lead to mental breakdown.

Numerous such videos abound.

Another particularly interesting video is that of young Marcel Tabai Yusuf, who is warning Nigerians not to think coming to Canada was a rosy adventure. Marcel had gone to Canada as a student, sponsored by his parents, but he had to quit school when his finances failed and survival became first and foremost for him. His sickle cell condition made things worse for him in the extremely cold climate. “Like, I was in school and everything.

I have sickle cell anaemia, I had to leave school. Not just because of that but other financial issues. Any Nigerian will understand what I am talking about.”

Clearly a considerate young man, Marcel, who said he slept in a street bus the night before after leaving hospital and who worked as a delivery man, is however determined to soldier on rather than bother his parents back home, especially his mum, whom he said sold her car for him to come over.

This, in spite of the fact that the bike with which he earned his living, had been stolen. Thank God for his resolve, and the fact that he is able to muster the temperament to withstand the challenge.

News reaching us suggests that many are not able to and are having serious mental breakdown.

A simple Facebook messenger message from a Nigerian living in the USA but who visits Canada regularly to this reporter read: “A lot of Nigerians are going insane in Canada; can you do something about it?

According to KB, a Nigerian who migrated to Canada 24 years ago and works as head barber/stylist at Royal Touch Barbering Services Inc. in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the situation is not pleasant at all.

In his assessment, two out of every five recent migrant Nigerians in that country are battling depression or some other mental problem. KB, a barber by profession who is owner/Head said he ascribed to the social life in that country, which leaves you all by yourself, and which many Nigerians, going by their upbringing cannot cope with.

He also cites the disappointment of lack of job or their favourite kind of job. “Some people have problems with the social life here, while for some, it’s the lack of job or inability to get their favourite kind of job. So they are forced to do jobs they don’t really want. That in itself shouldn’t be such a huge problem outright, as such situations exists back home in Nigeria too.

The problem however is, unlike in Nigeria where you have a lot of things and avenues to use to bounce off, such as places they can stopover and have conversations over a bottle of drink before heading home, that does not exist here. Because of my own job as a barber, I meet a lot of people and I’m able to hear different opinions from a lot of people; so I know that the rate of depression is high.

“The mental part comes in two ways. Some students get here and become used to drugs. They resort to drugs as their getaway. These are people who suddenly have enormous freedom at their disposal and start doing things out of the ordinary. I once went to a home/shelter, where I give them free haircut, where I met an international student. Surprised, I asked how he got there, and he said to me, ‘Brother, let me be honest with you, I’m a little bit of my own problem. School wasn’t going as it was supposed to be and I ended up using drugs; I had to sell off all my property to have a place to sleep, and now I’m sleeping here.’”

“Now, for that kind of person, his problem may not last long, because once his parents find out, they would make out a way for him; worst case, to start coming back home. But it’s a different case with a family man who abandoned everything in Nigeria, sold all his property to come here looking for that better life, and things suddenly turns out wrong and he is not able to make as much as he was making in Nigeria or expected to make; so he ends up working three, four4 jobs, and in the process loses time for rest and social life.

Bear in mind, social life is also very important to one’s mental health. For example I met a man who told me he sold everything to come to Canada as a visitor. We were talking as brothers and I told him, how long do you hope to stay? What if you don’t get a job or papers in time, what are your plans? He told me he didn’t have any plans yet, that he just wanted to see how he could get a stay. I then told him; do you know you can be shuttling between here and Nigeria while looking out for opportunities? He said he knew, but insisted there was nothing for him in Nigeria.

He actually said he would rather stay, suffer and die than go back to Nigeria. Not even my explanation that he would not be able to access medical help or any benefit moved him. There are some that have not even sold their property but just believe Nigeria can never be good and anything, anywhere but Nigeria. Now the danger of such mentality is emotional/mental breakdown.”

Employed but frustrated

According to KB: “There are people who have their papers, have jobs but are just tired of this place, because it is the same boring routine every day. They wake up, go to their 9-5 shift, come back home; the weather is not too friendly, they sleep, wake up, go to the same routine.

There are people for whom that is the source of their mental breakdown. And that is what I meant when I spoke about lack of social life. Some people have been known to migrate from Winnipeg here to Toronto or Montreal for this singular reason.

You ask them why and their answer usually is: ‘I’d be able to go out, party, catch some fun and avoid this boredom’” KB would go on to cite over-population as part of the reasons for the rife unemployment in the land. “Even the government is beginning to think that Canada is getting overpopulated.

When they started this migration offer, they truly needed people, but I don’t think they anticipated the impact on the infrastructure. And that is why you find people coming over with high hopes and not finding jobs. That disappointment is a recipe for mental challenge already. So I can tell you that the news of mental breakdown you’re hearing of over there is not too real but it’s also real. Mind you, we’re not talking of people going outright mad; for some it is stress and depression, for some it is drug abuse.

And it’s not about black or immigrants alone. It’s not unusual to see a car not moving after traffic lights have turned green at a junction; and when you approach the driver to find out why he’s not moving his car, you find that he’s deep in tears.”

Harsh economy, Nigeria not alone

KB also explained that the mistake most Nigerians are making is to think that every other country aside Nigeria is El Dorado. “The same economic hardship we have in Nigeria, we have here too. Everybody is just trying hard to cope.

The difference is just that here you have credit card and you can use it to meet up with urgent financial needs and pay later. I actually met someone just yesterday who was crying ad saying she wanted to move back to Nigeria because there are actually better opportunities waiting for her there.

But she’s scared of insecurity, insurgency, kidnap etc. so you can see that different things can be responsible for mental breakdown. Statistically in Manitoba, I think two out of every five persons are deemed to be battling a mental issue. As we speak, we’re in the mental awareness month, and there are helplines you can call to talk to experts if you’re experiencing anxiety etc.

For them here, a mental health situation is no big deal, but for us Africans, it is. And that is why even the person who needs help would not speak up; because he doesn’t want to be seen as ‘mad’; but it could be depression, anxiety and stuffs that can be addressed.” Asked what help is available for new immigrants facing mental challenges, KB said:

“What they do is check, what mental state? Is it depression? Is it anxiety or a result of drug use? Does he have bi-polar disorder? They first try to break it down. Here depression is considered a mental issue, whereas back in Nigeria it is nothing.

Does he know, seen or heard of any Nigerian going through these situations?

KB replies: “I have seen, and I have heard. Because I’ve been here so long, I can tell that this person is going through a lot because of the nature of my job. I have been here since 2001. As a barber, you’re almost like a shrink.

People will tell you their problems; you will listen and lend your advice or opinion. And from what they tell you, you can tell that this person is really going through something. And they are not telling you because they want a free haircut or discount; they just want to let out.

And the fact that you have a listening ear, sometimes you heal people without knowing it. It’s like the case of an elderly man who once broke down in tears while having a haircut; I asked what the problem was and he told me a small boy at his work place spoke to him anyhow. Meanwhile this was a man who said he had his own business, lived in a big house, had two cars, staff and even a driver. To the white people here, that is a mental breakdown.

He has been stressed beyond what he could handle. So I had to console him to take it in his stride. But the truth is did he do the job he was hired for well? Here, there is no room for respect if you don’t do your job; and age is not an issue.

Two days ago on Friday early morning one young Nigerian that came to study at University of Manitoba and living in Pembina broke the window of his kitchen, stormed out and went to a popular shopping centre on Pembina Highway broke glasses of many cars, broke into shops and destroyed things. By the time a total calculation of the things he destroyed was done it amounted to $70,000.

The police traced his house, retrieved his international passport and documents. They said they are repatriating him back to Nigeria immediately.

One of the reasons Nigerians don’t like hiring Nigerians is because of attitude. It’s either they start pilfering or they don’t take the job seriously. That being said, there are some Nigerian students you would hire and you would be grateful you hired them.”