UDUS Students Share Lessons, Call for Campus Mental Health Centre at SHIELD Summit

The students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS) who attended the SHIELD Mental Health Summit held on 7th of February, 2026 at the MH3 lecture Hall have shared the some lessons they learned and called on the university to establish a mental health centre close to students.

The summit was organised by the SHIELD Nigeria, to educate students on the importance of mental health, help them recognise signs of mental distress in themselves and their peers, and encourage them to take responsibility for their well-beig.

Delivering the keynote address, Professor Bakare Abdulfatah, a consultant psychiatrist at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) and visiting consultant at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, explained that stress can gradually develop into mental distress when it becomes overwhelming.

He said academic pressure, family conflict, peer pressure and excessive social media use are common causes of stress among students. According to him, academic stress and examination pressure remain the most common challenges students face.

“I see no reason why a student needs to read till daybreak if they manage their time well. If you have a lecture by 12 pm, go to the library by 8 am and read for four hours instead of wasting time,” he advised.

Some of the students who attended the summit told Digest Press that the summit helped them better understand mental health and how to support others.

Adeleme Fahuzah, 100-level Pharmacy student, said she she learned in the summit how the brain influences decision-making and the risks that some young people face when they lack proper mental health awareness.

“I learnt there are two basic parts of the brain, the limbic brain, which drives instant gratification, and the executive brain, which helps with long-term decisions. If the limbic system is not properly trained early, it can lead to bad decisions before the executive brain fully matures,” she said.

Fahizah also shared a personal experience about a friend who showed signs of mental distress years ago when there was little awareness or support available.

She added that peer pressure, comparison and high expectations are major pressures affecting students’ mental well-being, urging students to “own their happiness and decisions.”

Fahizah urged the university to establish a mental health centre within the campus to enable early intervention whenever warning signs are noticed among the students.

Another attendee, Ibrahim Walida, a 100-level Nursing student, described the summit as an eye-opening. He said he wouldn't have understand anything if he had not attended the summit. 

Attending the summit had shaped his understanding of mental illness, signs, prevention, and treatment, he said.

He noted further that many students arrive on campus with the mindset that studying at UDUS is very difficult, which can worsen stress, especially when combined with financial challenges.

She urged the university to give mental health the same attention as other health concerns by providing access to psychiatric consultants and increasing awareness on campus