Sociology of Mental Illness: the Study of the Un-institutionalized Mentally Challenged in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Nigeria
situated opposite a drinking joint), verbally cautions people from urinating in front of the centre. These examples show that any attempt to get their real or natural behaviour must not intrude into their natural settings except we are interested in the reactions to the intrusions. Since our study is about how these people live on a day to day basis, our interests are about how they are able to survive and what can be done to assist them to live better lives under more hygienic and safe conditions.
Ethical issues
Some ethical issues arise regarding the method adopted in this study. For example, is it ethical to draw inferences when the subjects who are also helpless do not know that their actions are being recorded? Is it ethical to elicit information about other people without revealing our mission? The response to the above questions is hinged on (1) the need to get unbiased true life state of the subjects. We are aware that the behaviours of the mentally challenged are often misdiagnosed or misinterpreted, wherein some are labeled as pretenders. Some have been maltreated, subjected to public ridicule or even killed. The condition these people live in is fraught with danger. They have no shelter from harsh weather and harassment from other human beings. There are cases of rape, since some of the mentally challenged females have been impregnated by unknown people, words have it that some have been killed for ritual purposes, (2) our attempt is a honest concern for the plight of these people and is meant to be a channel for revealing this to concerned and philanthropic bodies, the alternative is to continue to behave as if they do not exist and allow them to continue to live in squalor, (3) there is no doubt that these people have been neglected and rejected by the government, nongovernmental organizations and the rest of us. Whether we wish to admit it or not we have contributed to their state of mind through societal rejection and isolation and driven them further into inner minded people. (4) Society has never really been fair or kind to them or reckoned with them. In fact, these people have never been accorded any form of human rights. Even though the last Nigerian census claimed to want to count the mentally challenged, no figure has been released and the purpose was not to provide benefits to these people. In short, the rights of these people have not been guaranteed because nobody has bothered to study them. We also feel our attempt will create the much needed awareness by collecting useful information which we hope will accord them recognition and perhaps help to improve their lot. There is the need to know what the effects of societal rejection have done to these people. Finally, (5) the response which we are reluctant to give is more of questions. Who do we get permission from in order to be able to interact with these people? Is it their families, government or the subjects? Which is worse, complete rejection/abuse of these people by the society or our attempt to understudy them as prelude to understanding them? We prefer the latter.
Observations
There is no doubt that some people are operating in a different “world” from the one we have defined for ourselves, the question looming revolves around whether they are mad, or simply have problems with our interpretations of their lifestyles and as such their ways of communicating with the rest of us. A relatively high proportion (18 or 72%) of the population under study would neither speak nor engage in any meaningful discussion. However, interesting dialogue, as reported here sometimes ensued between the “mentally challenged” and the “sane.” We chose to present these cases because we feel a lot can be garnered about how interaction with the “sane” can aid the mentally challenged.
The scene was an open-air wedding reception. A neatly dressed man (one of our subjects) in an outdated Yoruba “dashiki” and wearing a big gold-like necklace with a large pendant stopped at a table to ask for money (henceforth called Banda). Somebody gave Banda some money and he walked away. It was said that Banda was mad and that he used to be a wealthy tailor and that his wives deserted him after the ailment struck him. Banda was seen some weeks later at about 9.00 P.M. (this was by chance the observer had stopped to purchase some roasted beef called “suya”). Unlike the first time, even though he had the same clothes on, the chain was gone and he looked unkempt. He had stopped to buy a cigarette from a Mallam. He was given his choice of cigarette and he paid for it. The observer was intrigued and wanted to know his next few actions. First, Banda put the filter end of the cigarette between his lips, struck a match with his palm cupped to prevent the wind from blowing out the flame, drew in the smoke, inhaled some and puffed out the rest in a ring. That is not all, he also asked for his