Meet 5 Women Championing Mental Health in Nigeria

Mental health is a conversation we need to have more openly. Behind the smiles, achievements and everyday responsibilities, many people are navigating emotional struggles, painful experiences and challenges they do not always know how to talk about.

This year’s World Mental Health Day reminds us of the importance of listening to people with lived experience and ensuring their voices help shape the support and services they need.

Across Nigeria, women are doing important work to make mental health conversations more accessible, challenge stigma and create spaces for healing and recovery.

Today, World Mental Health Day, 2026, at Africa Rising Stories, we celebrate five women championing mental health in Nigeria. Through counselling, advocacy, emotional wellness, youth development and recovery support, they are helping change how we understand mental health and how we respond to those who need support.

Meet Tomiisin Balogun, Opeyemi Abiola-Ige, Morenikejimi Olaniran, Hauwa Ojeifo and Tega Omogor, five women whose work reminds us that mental health matters, that seeking help should never be a source of shame, and that everyone deserves the opportunity to be heard and supported.

1. Tomiisin Balogun — Helping Women Reclaim Their Joy

Tomiisin Balogun, also known as The JOY Merchant, is passionate about helping women heal emotionally and rediscover joy. Through JOY HQ, she creates spaces where women can process painful experiences, understand their emotions and work through the things they have carried for years. Her work challenges the idea that women must always be strong, keep moving and put everyone else’s needs before their own.

Through initiatives such as #ProjectHope, The Healing Hangout Experience and her emotional healing programmes, Tomiisin encourages women to acknowledge their pain rather than pretend it does not exist. Her message is simple but powerful: healing is an intentional journey, and women deserve the opportunity to experience emotional freedom, wholeness and joy.

2. Opeyemi Abiola-Ige — Helping Women Pursue Wholeness

Opeyemi Abiola-Ige is a counsellor and emotional wellness professional whose work focuses on helping people navigate their inner lives, relationships and personal growth. Through WholeSpace Wellness, which she founded, she provides a platform for counselling and support. She also leads The Wholesome Woman, reflecting her commitment to helping women pursue a healthier, more grounded and fulfilling life.

Her work brings attention to the importance of looking beyond outward appearances and recognising the emotional needs that may go unnoticed. Through conversations around healing, identity, relationships and faith, Opeyemi encourages women to become more intentional about their well-being and to seek support when they need it. Her work is a reminder that wholeness is not about appearing to have everything together; it is about making room for growth and healing.

3. Morenikejimi Olaniran — Putting Young People’s Well-being First

Morenikejimi Olaniran is an advocate for teenagers, with a strong focus on adolescent health, child protection and mental health awareness. As Founder and Project Lead of the Centre for Teens Health and Development, also known as Centre4Teens, she works to ensure that young people have access to information, life skills and opportunities that support their development. Her work recognises that the teenage years come with important physical, emotional and social changes that deserve attention.

Through Centre4Teens, Morenikejimi supports initiatives addressing mental health awareness, menstrual health, reproductive health, self-esteem and the broader needs of young people, including those in underserved communities. By creating opportunities for teenagers to learn and engage with these issues, she is helping make conversations about well-being more accessible to the next generation. Her work reminds us that supporting young people means caring not only about their education, but also about their health, confidence and emotional well-being.

4. Hauwa Ojeifo — Turning Her Story into a Movement for Change

Hauwa Ojeifo’s journey into mental health advocacy is deeply connected to her own lived experience. After navigating the effects of an abusive relationship and living with mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, she began speaking publicly about experiences that many people in Nigeria were afraid to discuss. Rather than allowing stigma to keep her silent, she turned her experience into a platform for others to find their voices and access support.

In 2016, Hauwa founded She Writes Woman, a movement working to give mental health a voice in Nigeria. The organisation provides services including a 24-hour toll-free mental health helpline, teletherapy and support communities, while advocating for the rights and dignity of people living with mental health conditions. Through her work, Hauwa is challenging stigma and demonstrating why people need more than encouragement to speak up: they also need accessible support, understanding and systems that respect their rights.

5. Tega Omogor — Supporting Women on the Road to Recovery

Tega Omogor is the founder of Flourish Life Centre, where her work focuses on rehabilitation, recovery and mental wellness, including issues related to trauma and addiction. Her work draws attention to the fact that struggles with addiction and emotional well-being can be complex, and that people navigating them need appropriate support rather than judgement. Recovery is not always a straightforward process, and understanding the person behind the struggle is an important part of providing compassionate care.

Through her work, Tega brings attention to the importance of creating supportive pathways for women who need help rebuilding their lives. Her focus on recovery and mental wellness contributes to a wider conversation about how we respond to people facing difficult circumstances. Her work reminds us that a person’s struggles do not define their entire story, and that with the right support, there is room for healing, recovery and a new beginning.

Different Stories. One Important Mission.

These women are contributing to mental health in Nigeria in different ways: by creating safe spaces for women, encouraging emotional healing, equipping teenagers, challenging stigma and supporting recovery.

Their work also reminds us that mental health is not a conversation for professionals and advocates alone. It concerns our families, schools, workplaces and communities. We all have a role to play in creating environments where people can speak honestly, seek help without shame and receive the support they deserve.

At Africa Rising Stories, we celebrate women whose work is helping build a more compassionate, informed and mentally healthier society.