ABUJA – The National Association of Seaddogs, NAS, also known as Pyrates Confraternity, has cautioned against stigmatizing people with mental health and called for empathy to save their lives.
This is as the Zuma Deck of NAS, has canvassed for adequate rest for the military and para-militay agencies to avoid a brake-down that could lead to suicide.
Speaking at the commemoration of the 2025 World Mental Health Day at the Zuma Deck Anchor Point in Kubwa, Abuja, Second Mate of the Deck, Dr. Patrick Uju, emphasized the urgent need for empathy, rest, and support amid rising mental health challenges.
The event, themed around breaking stigma and fostering understanding, drew officers from the para- military; the Police, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Civil Defense, and Department of State Services, DSS.
Dr. Uju highlighted the global and local crisis, noting that “one in every four individuals you know at one point in their annual life has mental health issues.”
He stressed that mental health has emerged as a “debilitating health condition that grossly affects productivity in terms of the economic outlook of every country.”
Dr. Uju underscored the day’s focus on awareness and action: “People that have mental health issues don’t need to be stigmatized. They only need to be supported.”
The symposium featured insightful lectures on recognizing signs of distress—such as abnormal behavior—and responding with “empathy, that quiet talk, that lovely speech,” which he said could prevent tragedies like suicidal tendencies or fatal confrontations.
The choice to center security forces in the program was deliberate, Dr. Uju explained, given their exposure to “intense stress by way of their activities, postings, and duties.”
Many officers, he noted, suffer from chronic sleep deprivation and overwork, exacerbated by moonlighting to make ends meet.
“One of the panaceas to mental health challenges is adequate rest and nutrition,” Dr. Uju said, likening the brain to a car that needs nightly shutdowns to “refresh, reboot, and surge on.”
Drawing from recent national tragedies, such as the suspicious fire incident involving a newlywed military couple, Dr. Uju linked unchecked stress to catastrophic outcomes.
“With good emotional intelligence, with good attitude and empathy in that situation, that kind of fatal outcome could have actually been controlled or prevented.
“It’s not about finding people guilty. It’s not about stigmatizing people… It’s about lending a helping hand.”
A poignant highlight came from AIC Zakari Akilu of the FRSC, who shared raw insights into the daily stresses faced by road safety officers.
Describing 12-hour shifts from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.—often extended by emergencies—Akilu painted a vivid picture of the job’s toll.
“The lives you are going to save is more important than that one, two hours extra stress,” he said, but acknowledged the human cost: aggressive encounters with frustrated drivers who “flare up” and lash out at officers, endangering everyone involved.
Akilu candidly addressed interpersonal strains, recounting how personal frustrations spill onto the roads.
“Someone may have had an aggressive encounter at home, then he would bring that stress to the road… And when we stop him to try and calm him down, he would just flare up.”
Despite the calm demeanor required, he admitted, “No matter how calm you are with people who intend to agitate, it’s stressful. But at the end of the day, you have to take it.”
He also said that for those on the front lines, management strategies offer hope.
Akilu revealed FRSC’s in-house counseling services as a vital outlet: “No matter how good you are in managing stress, it’s always better to confide in somebody to help you take that load off. Mandatory rest periods also play a key role, allowing officers to “recollect and ease off.”
Akilu didn’t shy away from the inevitable impact: “Yes, no matter who you are, repetitive stress will always affect your mental health. All you have to do is find a way to manage it. Prevention is always the best, but at points we have to resort to management also.”
