Flood trauma haunts Lagos survivors with no mental health support
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- Daniel Ebiesua evacuated his Lagos home with his newborn, family, and mother-in-law during a June 28 flood, losing electronics, furniture, and documents, and now spends 35,000 naira daily on hotel stays.
- Dr Faith Aboloje, a trauma recovery expert, identifies increasing cases of climate anxiety and ecological grief among flood survivors, noting that the sound of rain alone can trigger panic attacks.
- Joseph Moko in Okun Alfa, Lagos, says he cannot sleep during rain due to fear of flooding, describing constant vigilance that causes mental exhaustion and disrupts rest.
- Glory Sunday, a smallholder farmer in Abule Ogun, lost most of her maize and all her ugu crops to floods, wiping out an expected 500,000 naira income and threatening her family’s survival.
- Kenechukwu Okosa lost nearly 8,000 fish and 32 chickens at his Cloudearth Farms in Okota when floods submerged the facility, leaving him and his partner contemplating abandoning the business.
- Prof Godson Ana of the University of Ibadan links repeated displacement from floods to disrupted livelihoods, survival threats, and cycles of climate-related anxiety affecting mental wellbeing.
- Arjun Jain of the UN refugee agency notes displaced families carry deep trauma beyond physical loss, with strong community networks serving as key psychological protection amid limited formal mental health services.
Why it matters: With over 29,000 Nigerian communities at flood risk and mental health services scarce, survivors face mounting psychological tolls—depression, anxiety, and allostatic overload—while humanitarian aid prioritizes shelter and food over mental care, deepening long-term vulnerability.
