Rape by CIA officer in Algiers; Violent offences not more in the mentally ill.

I have been reading some materials on forensic Psychiatry in recent times. It is widely reported that crime and violent behaviour is not more in psychiatric patients than in the normal population.
I know that a lot of people will dispute that but it is supported by research!

So I was not surprised a few minutes ago when I saw on Associated Press video on Yahoo about the case of a CIA chief in Algeria( a muslim convert himself) who was alleged to have raped two muslim women at separate times. The report even had it that videos of him having sex with many women at different time were recovered in his apartment. He was reported to have used some drugs on the women whom he picked up at the bar in the American Embassy. One onders how a highly discilplined and thorough Agency ould not have discovered this man in their routine review and screening of officers.

Well, sexual indescretion is one of a number of mental illnesses like Mania, Schizophrenia and some sexual disorders and even personality disorders, as well as substance use but these are usually not highly planned but many atimes spontaneous as their lack of good judgement and disinhibition takes the better of them.

So next time you are wont to argue about aggression, violent and violent crime in the mentally ill know that it is not particularly more in the mentally ill than in the normal population. In fact, there are a number of factors that come to play in the issue of aggression, violence and violent crime. These include Genetic and physiological factors, psychological factors and a small group of Psychiatric causes. But as you know, these is important as it may be treatable or manageable.

As a matter of fact, social factors like poverty and poor parenting pattern(either too harsh or to permissive or even deprivation in many forms) seem to be more important than other factors.
Moreover , exposure to physical abuse or neglect in childhood significantly increases the risk of violent offending in later life for both men and women.

The way in which genetic factors mediate the increase in offending is unclear but involve the hyperactivity and low IQ which are factors in children for subsequent adult offending. A lot has also been said about the Y -chromosome and hormonal abnormality due to the fact that ration of men to women vilent offenders at least in the prison population could be as high as 30:1! We know that low serotonin function in the brain hace been linked with impulsive aggression!

So with the few things that I have mentioned above, you will agree with me that the CIA offecer is not likely to be a mentally ill person and so his case goes on to butress the fact that violent offending is not the exclusive behaviour of the mentally ill.Infact, it may not be particularly more in the mentally ill!

Poor Judgement; Reinforcement for Corruption!

So many things came up from my visit to Psychiatric Hospital, Uselu. It seems as if my creative juice which seems to have dried up for some time was just let loose by that visit. It seems to be getting secreted my the minute from the experiences I had during that visit.

Now, I had some arrears of salaries that I had not received for some time paid me in person during that visit. The interesting thing is that I had already received some amount which is for the arrears of CONTISS and was so happy about it, only for a colleague to point out to me that I still had not received at least 3 months arrears from about 15% increase in salary that was paid in November, 2006 for the earlier months of that year. The interesting thing is that I had written some letter of authority which I sent to a friend and colleague for the money to be collected on my behave. The claim is that I must have to write such as long as I have left the services of that hospital.

And so, my visit was to touch base, to sign a couple of forms to register for my forth-coming examination and then to collect the above arrears. Like I was saying before, I had to go back to accounts section of that hospital to ask for the 15% salary arrears. In the process, the record of my bank account was called for and all the account resolved. So I was paid the money. Now, the interesting thing is that the account section had always have my bank details in their records and yet they refused to pay in the money until I have to show up in person! Is that not incredible? Is that not poor judgement? Well, maybe it is just plain corruption that is embedded in the system!

So, I have some catching up to do and I will like to stop here since I have made my point. But seriously, when will we lift our nation out of this quagmire of wide spread distorted thinking that is embedded in the system that is festering corruption? Why can't we just simply do the right things and put our nation on the road to greatness. After all "righteousness exalted a nation and sin is a reproach to any people".

I will be talking more about this widespread poor judgement which is reinforced by corruption that is embedded in the system in subsequent post. For now, I am out of here! Keep moving and think right!

Communication; essential ingredient in building relationships.

My visit to Psychiatric Hospital was eventful and fulfilling. I had already told you about that experience. I am in my study all right. I already proposed to do more study these days than being on the net.However my mind just wandered to a statement made by one of my senior colleagues in that hospital. He said that the scope of Psychiatry is wide because even in the professional exam, someone can just record a scene at the market place and ask questions about it. That is the practicality of Psychiatry; it has a lot of relevence in everyday life.



That is the thought that preoccupied my mind as I recapped all that transpired today. I surely saw the relevence of what I am doing in terms of establishing and maintaining good relationship be it at home, at work, at the place of worship and in the wider social context.

Communication is one of the most important ingredients of good relationships.Lack of good communication skills can spoil an otherwise cordial relationship. It can sometimes determine how successful our marriage, career or any other human endeavour we find ourselves will be.



Take for instance the case of an employee who decided to travel for days without the knowledge of the employer due to a certain so-called important issue. No permission sort and therefore non-granted. Yet the same employee is now evokes God when the employer decided to deduct the wage for the number of days that the employee was not at work. Maybe simple communication of the need to be away for certain pressing issues would have forestall such! Many people find it difficult to hold down a good job because of poor communication skills. They assume a lot of things, as if the next person can read the mind. They are lackadaisical about the work they do and only offer a lot of fantastic reasons for whatever lapses they have only when they are found out. It has been said that 'one's attitude determines the altitude'. They never really amount to much in terms of holding down a job or building career.



Take another case of two colleagues. One made a simple request of the other to take his call duty because he had reasons to travel at that particular time. The friend promised to check his schedule and get back to the colleague if he can take the call or not. He never did! Even when his friend was calling to find out about his decision and to know if he should make alternative arrangements or not he didn't pick his calls. The friend sent him text messages to know his decision, he never replied them! A simple no would have been okay. He however did not communicate with his colleague and yet did not take the call duty! He justified himself on having something very important to do. Simple communication about his decision would have solved the problem. Talk about an essential ingredient in relationships. If their is no effective communication channels, it can lead to prejudices, dangerious assumptions, gossips and even outright resentments.



There is no type of human relationship in which the need for communication is more obvious than in the area of marriage. A couple got married and later started having problems because the husband believed that God wants him to be in Nigeria and the wife insists that she must live abroad. Eventually they had to go separate ways because of this and other irreconcilable differences! One wonders if they never got to share their different believes and harmonise it before signing the dotted lines. Talk about communication.



Now, relationships are essential parts of the human society. The measures of the health of our relationships can give an insight into our personality which is a very important component of our mental health and well being or lack of it as the case may be. If effective communication can help in building and mentaining healthy relationships, it could be said that effective communication can help improve and mentain good mental health.

Need for Appreciation and Love; Lesson from my visit to Psychiatric Hospital,Uselu.

It is my wedding anniversary today. I had already got goodwill messages as early as 12.00am from one of my brothers and a lengthy one from my mum. Both admonition and prayers rolled into one! That is typical of my mother anyway,such a sweet woman she is. By the way I am going to be on the road today. At least I am going to be with my lovely wife in the evening. That is better than not being around at all which was the initial plan. That is because I was able to complete all that I set out to do in the City of Benin yesterday.

And talking about my journey to Benin. Well I must say that it was full of nostalgia. Right from the time I got to Edo state while coming on Sunday,it was like I am back home. i think I have a lot of fond memories of the place. Although I was initially doing everything to leave immediately when I came to the City, I later found my feet and it was not really easy leaving when I had to leave for Jos about a year and a half ago. Now, that may not be unconnected with the fact that I started my residency programme in Psychiatry at the Psychiatric Hospital ,Uselu, Benin City. I love Psychiatry ,and I have grown to love the people who introduce Psychiatry to me as a green resident.

However, the reality of the dynamics of Benin City soon hit me when my friend that was suppose to come and carry me from the park could not. One thing is that you have to be careful in Benin as a lot of robbery goes on in the city of Benin. I had to board a rickety cab that took me to the house! That is Benin o. Although the rate of robbery has reduced drastically after the ban of the movement of motorcycles after the hour of 7.00pm, yet it is dangerous for my friend to risk his sleek Nissan Maxima car.Hmmm!

So that was my grand entrance into the City of Benin. Come to think of it. The whole period was very eventful. not with the sharp contrast of the weather between Jos and Benin. I lost so much fluid to perspiration and had to drink a lot of water too! But the reception and the feeling of comradeship I got in the Hospital was great. Starting from the hospital maid attached to our call room and resident room who nearly fell me down while she jumped on me with excitement, to the nurses who displayed a lot of affection and the account and admin staffs and of course my own constituency, the doctors. I really did not know that I was that loved for the 10 months that I was at that hospital. I must confess that despite my believe in recent times that I am now less emotional than before and that I can do without all the outward show of affection, I found out that all that was wishful thinking and unnecessary. Everybody wants to be appreciated and loved!

And so for the feeling of comradeship and all the cooperation I got from the hospital community, I was able to complete all that I set out to do in 2 days in a day including collecting some arrears of CONTISS and 15% of Salary increase that have not been paid me. Well that story is for another post.

Now I am preparing to go back home and spend a few hours with my wife on our 2nd wedding anniversary, witness history of swearing in of Obama as the first black president of United State while at the same time I was just wondering what the feeling would have been if I had met a lot of unfriendly faces, resistance or uncooperative staff. That would have led to a lot of frustration and internal rumblings given the fact that I travelled such a long distance to have these things done. Now, I understand that the need for love, and appreciation is one the most important needs of man and the lack of it can be a psychostressor that may have serious consequences on your mental well-being. That is if it doesn't lead to frank mental breakdown!

Poor Judgement; Babangida's Theory on Guinea

I love psychiatry and it shows.It gives me a wider way of viewing things as against the parochial ways that I see people view things around me.That is what happened to me about 30minutes ago when on reaching home from church I browsed through a copy of this day magazine on Sunday that I bought on my way home.My usual practice is to browse the paper and then settle to read the whole paper through.However I had to immediately read a piece that is titled "IBB's Theory on Guinea".

Now IBB is the former military dictator who ruled Nigeria between 1985 and 1993.He was reputed to have organized the freest and fairest election in the history of Nigeria.But incidentally he also annulled the same election! Moreover, he came into power by staging a palace coup against the same military government in which he was the chief of Army Staff. In the course of his rule, he executed his childhood friend Mamman Vatsa for staging a coup against his government, because it is treason to stage a coup against a sitting government. One question I have always asked is this; Is the truth relative? Is right or wrong relative? Is there no right or wrong or does the concept of right or wrong depend on who is interpreting it? If a Mamman Vatsa was executed for conducting a coup, why is an Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida not executed for conducting a coup.Simple, he succeeded! However, let us face it, if I steal and was not caught but later found out it still makes me a thief.If I murder somebody and was not found out immediately and I was found out 5 years later, it still makes me a murderer. Babangida was a coup plotter,though he succeeded, that does not mean he is innocent. No, he was involved in treason and should be tried for treasonable felony. The sane goes for all that were involved in coup in the past, like Muhammad Buhari.

Why am I suddenly bringing up this line of thinking. It is because of what I read in the piece titled "IBB's Theory on Guinea".According to the article, Babangida says the military takeover in Guinea was a fitting and patriotic step to save a dangerous polarised country. Can you imagine? To Babangida's mind, the concept of right or wrong does not exist but anybody can leave his constitutional role and dabble into strange terrain all in the name of patriotism. He believes that a soldier that has the constitutional role of protecting the territorial integrity of a country can turn round and topple the government of the same country in the name of patriotism. He is inclined towards a master corrective role for the military on the political stage.He went against the constitution, got away with it and then canvasing that others should go against the law and the collective will of the people. The reason is very simple. His judgement was poor, was poor throughout his rule and still remains poor. He can openly say such folly because he was not tried for treason, and still enjoys the status of an ex-ruler being paid the tax payers' money and enjoying the highest honour of the land! If his government had been declared as illegal and an illegality by act of Parliament,he would have no audacity to make such outrageous pronouncement. At least, former president Olusegun Obasanjo received presidential pardon for a phantom coup before he could walk the streets freely and then went on to become a president.
So, for planning a coup, Babangida should be made to face the same treatment that he meted out to people who were caught planning a coup too. After all, Gideon Okar and co were also trying to save the country from the misrule of Babangida and his cohort who elevated corruption to an exalted position and institutionalized it.

So, judgement is an integral part of the mental state examination. It gives us an idea of the thinking of the individual. Over the years, Babangida as shown a lot of poor judgement, before, during and after government.Even in this days when military rule is widely condemned all over the world, he still maintains his poor judgement.One wonders why the Nigerian government will send such a person as representative in such an issue as the forceful takeover by the military in Guinea.