Joy Inyamu Akut

Today is the Day of the African Child, and this year’s theme reminds us that changing a child’s future doesn’t always require grand gestures. Sometimes, it begins with something as simple as turning on a tap, washing little hands with soap, or ensuring a girl has access to a safe and dignified toilet in school.

These may seem like small things, but they are the foundations of health, dignity, education, and opportunity.

The child we ignore today may become the adult who struggles tomorrow. But the child we nurture today may become the leader who transforms our nation. May we choose wisely.

I was invited by the Obstetrics & Gynaecology Department at the Federal Medical Centre Abuja for World Maternal Mental Health Day, and I was glad to spend time with our healthcare professionals and hospital management.

I got to speak on what I consider a silent pandemic… maternal mental health.

Do you know Nigeria has a Mental Health Act?
Before now, it was the Lunacy Act of 1958… an outdated and deeply dehumanizing law that used terms like “idiots” and permitted detention without consent.

Thankfully, the National Mental Health Act, signed into law in 2023 by President Buhari, replaced that framework. A laudable step forward. But legislation alone is not enough, as there’s a huge gap in implementation, awareness, accessibility, and funding.

And within this conversation is maternal mental health. Many people think the journey ends once a woman safely delivers a baby. But so many women continue suffering silently long after childbirth… emotionally exhausted, anxious, overwhelmed, depressed, and often told to simply “get over it.”

A woman can survive childbirth physically and still be struggling emotionally.

Maternal mental health is not just a women’s issue. It is a public health issue, a family issue, and ultimately, a governance issue. A struggling mother affects an entire ecosystem.

This is also why conversations around women’s representation matter. Not for tokenism or optics, but because real women bring lived realities into policymaking spaces. Representation shapes what a nation chooses to notice, prioritize, fund, and respond to.

We must build systems where women are not only kept alive during childbirth, but supported emotionally, mentally, and socially afterward too.

Why don’t you take more pictures?
Why are you averse to creating memories?

You meet friends, you leave, and not even a selfie.

Memories are good, but what’s even better is looking back at the image captured.
One image can bring back a thousand memories… even the smell and taste of the moment.

Why don’t you have fun with yourself?
Make silly videos.
Post some… keep some.

Where’s the child in you hiding?

Years down the line… you’ll regret not preserving the evidence that you lived.

When my brother was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease… it felt like my world had stopped.

I trust God o. But I didn’t want him to go through it. I wanted to take it from him… I wanted to be the one carrying that burden. Not because it would have been easy, but because love sometimes wants to carry what it cannot fix.

And when we were in London for his treatment, I was ready to give up my kidneys, even as I knew my sisters were too.

We would do everything. And anything.

We prayed, that was our primary response… even as we went for dialysis sessions. You would see my whole family crowding the dialysis department at Cromwell Hospital three times a week.

We left everything, our jobs, our lives… and all that mattered to us was his recovery. But we stayed in hope. By God’s mercy, we were not always moaning and grumbling in despair.

We couldn’t carry his infirmities like we wanted to… but thank God there was One who already did. Jesus did, so we didn’t need to.

Our desire to carry the disease for him was an emotional response born out of love… but even if we were able to carry it, it would only mean more pain for everyone. Double jeopardy!

God loved Jesus, yet He gave Him for us.
Jesus took our infirmities.
The chastisement of our peace was laid upon Him.
He took it all.
And by His stripes, we were healed.

That’s your rest.

I’m so grateful for God’s healing power in the life of my brother. God indeed took his infirmities. Took him off dialysis, and the grim reports of the doctors and he continues to thrive in his supernatural healing by the mercy of God. Thank you Jesus! 🙌🏾

In situations that seem dire… more than you can handle… know that Jesus already took it. Even when the pain intensifies, hold on to this truth, for in it lies your victory.