With a healing touch, Nigerian initiative addresses mental health and substance abuse disorders

In 2003, Sani Gomna, a young man who had just taken office at the Gombe State House of Assembly in Nigeria, experienced a terrifying encounter that would alter the trajectory of his life.

While walking home one night, he froze at the sight of a gaunt, naked figure blocking his path. The figure lunged toward him, leaving Sani gripped with fear.

“I shouted at the top of my voice, ‘Jesus’, and the creature disappeared,” Sani recalls. The following morning, he was no longer the same.

Sani, popularly known as “Kichi-kichi Uban Naira” in local political and drug circles, withdrew from society, lost his appetite, and became erratic. “I would walk around aimlessly, sometimes even without shoes, and consume alarming amounts of drugs – 50 tablets of tramadol in a day,” Sani says. “I even got into fights with moving vehicles.”

Sani’s descent into substance abuse and mental illness is part of a growing crisis in Northern Nigeria, where over 30 million people are estimated to suffer from drug use disorders.

Sani’s struggles began after losing his parents at the age of seven. He and his siblings were left in the care of an uncle vying for political office. Following his uncle’s election victory in 2003, Sani joined his entourage but soon...

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