Institute of Stress Management and Tinubu Support Group hold awareness seminar and free medical outreach in Garki, warn that unmanaged stress threatens health, marriages and productivity.
By Hassan Hussain
The Institute of Stress Management, in collaboration with the Tinubu Support Group, has called on Nigerians to embrace effective stress management practices to promote healthy families, stronger communities and national development.
The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute, Dr. Fredrick Abuchi Obidigwe, made the call at a stress management awareness seminar and free medical outreach organised in Garki, Abuja.
Obidigwe, who spoke on the negative effects of stress on community development, said unmanaged stress could undermine health, relationships, productivity and overall well-being.
He explained that the initiative was part of the Institute’s corporate social responsibility efforts to take stress management education and basic medical services closer to communities.
According to him, similar programmes had been organised in Aso Village and Sabon-Lugbe II along Airport Road, Abuja, where more than 200 youths benefited from seminars and medical outreach, while over 21 widows were empowered.
He added that the Institute had also provided scholarships for orphans from Junior Secondary School One to Senior Secondary School Three, as well as annual accommodation support for a less-privileged single mother.
Obidigwe said the partnership with the Tinubu Support Group was aimed at complementing the Renewed Hope Initiative by promoting health awareness and community-based interventions.
He urged residents of Garki and other communities to take the lessons beyond the seminar by promoting mutual care, healthy lifestyles and supportive relationships in their homes, workplaces and neighbourhoods.
Also speaking, one of the facilitators, Mrs. Lola Etta, highlighted the effects of stress on marriage, warning that unmanaged pressure could lead to frequent arguments, poor communication, emotional distance, financial disagreements and declining intimacy between couples.
Etta explained that prolonged marital stress could also affect parenting, family responsibilities, trust and respect, potentially resulting in separation or divorce if underlying problems remained unresolved.
She, however, emphasised that couples could minimise these challenges through effective communication, mutual understanding, shared responsibilities, financial planning and quality time together.
She advised couples experiencing persistent marital difficulties to seek professional counselling, stressing that stress must never be used to justify domestic violence or abuse.
According to her, a healthy marriage requires patience, commitment, respect and a willingness by both partners to confront life’s challenges together.
In his remarks, the Director-General of Tinubu Support Groups, Dr. Umar Tanko Yakasai, represented by his Chief of Staff, Hon. Sumaila Ibrahim Wakil, said the partnership was designed to support vulnerable communities with health-related needs.
Wakil described the outreach as a means of strengthening grassroots engagement and contributing to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting that positive feedback from beneficiary communities had encouraged the organisers to sustain the initiative.
He emphasised that medical interventions were necessary at all times because illnesses could occur unexpectedly, urging residents to take advantage of future outreaches and encourage their family members to participate.
He also called on residents to support President Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027, expressing optimism that the initiative would further strengthen the group’s grassroots mobilisation.
Also speaking, the District Head of Gariki Hausa Community, Garki, Alhaji Umar Abubakar, represented by the Deputy Youth Leader of the Hausa community in the area, Hon. Hamza Liman, commended President Tinubu, Vice-President Kashim Shettima and the organisers for selecting the community as a beneficiary of the free medical outreach.
Abubakar expressed appreciation to the Institute of Stress Management and its team for bringing healthcare services to the residents, describing the gesture as a welcome development for the community, and prayed for God’s blessings upon the organisers.
The programme was attended by traditional rulers, youths, councillors and other community stakeholders, including the Sapeyi of Garki Chiefdom, His Royal Highness Dr. Usman Nga Kapi.
