The Past and Its Troubles

I remember the first depression case I handled as a minister of the gospel.
The cause of it was the past
The young lady who got depressed and had to be brought back to Nigeria from the USA got depressed by looking at pictures of her secondary school friends on Instagram and comparing their progress with hers in real life
She was working for a tech company in Santa Clara, earning in dollars and had almost eight hundred thousand dollars saved in her nest egg
She was in a white dominated part of the USA, where she had to drive thirteen miles before she could meet another Nigerian or a black person whom she could relate with (Her uncle)
She was not a very social person by nature, and she was highly competitive
She said the more she saw her classmates from secondary school and UNILAG announcing their weddings and promotions at their various places of work, the more she felt like a failure.
She had no relationship whatsoever and had never had any reasonable form of relationship with the opposite sex, was still a virgin at twenty-eight (at the time), and had never been on a date in her life.
She graduated from UNILAG after studying Electrical Engineering, and moved to the University of Maryland to study Software Engineering.
She got recruited out of college by a big tech firm and celebrated the win as a big deal until she discovered that the job isolated her from life as she knew it.
Her parents and friends saw her as a young achiever who landed a jackpot of a job, she saw herself in the same light until tragedy struck.
She said her only means of socializing was to go on social media and scroll through the names in her yearbook to see how the familiar faces she knew were coping with life, and the more successful they seemed, the more depressed she became.
Success in this regard has nothing to do with money but marriage, finding love, going on vacations with their spouses, celebrating birthdays with their loved ones, and so on
She rarely posted anything of note because she didn't have anything of note happening in her life, except for her job
It got so bad one day, she attempted to take her life.
Her parents felt it was an enemy somewhere that was using diabolical means to destroy her successful life, and this led them to several spiritualists and prayer warriors.
They eventually brought her to me after she had spent some time at Yabaleft and another private psychiatric hospital.
The Lord told me it was not the enemy; she needed to live.
She needed to make friends, meet with people, laugh, find a sense of belonging in society, and interact with the world.
Her parents wanted her to go back to the United States and keep cashing in the dollars.
They didn't understand how any right-thinking person would be earning such an amount of money and not be eternally healthy and happy
Her father said, "There are people in Russia, Japan, China, who were in different cultures and societies with strange languages who adapted and survived, why would she not cope in America? The language they speak is English, and we all grew up watching their movies. What is the big deal?
After a year in Nigeria, she resigned from her American job, got a job with a bank in Nigeria, and settled into the Nigerian society.
She had reunited with many of her old friends by this time, dated twice, and messed up the relationships badly (baby steps), moved out of her parent's house to live alone in Lekki (This started with spending week days at Lekki and weekends with her parents until eventually she was doing two weeks on her own and eventually doing well by herself.
I was her friend for three years.
In those three years, we met at my office (I was a PA at a church in Magodo at the time) once ot twice a week, she would tell me about her week and how she was coping, and I would listen and advise her as to what to do to make new friends and fit right into society.
When she got better, her father came to my office to meet with my boss
He said he was uncomfortable with his daughter associating with me because she was raised with a certain standard in mind, and I was not it.
He didn't want the friendship I shared with her to evolve into something else and would like my boss to command me to block her on all social media platforms and ban me from meeting with her.
My boss explained to him that I was the only one who was able to help her when every form of intervention failed, and the progress she had made ought to lead to a thank you from her parents.
Her father said that was why he came, his daughter was getting better and had even asked him what she could buy for me as a thank-you gesture.
He said he was quite uncomfortable with that discussion because he didn't want anyone taking advantage of her emotions to access her savings and make her spend her money.
He said it was at that point that he decided it was best that I keep far away from her.
On my part, it was a huge relief.
I had wanted to walk away from the "friendship" because I felt she was fine and didn't need to check in anymore
When she got back from the USA, she refused to meet with any of her old friends or even make them aware that she was back in Nigeria
I introduced my own lowly friends from church to her, and we all took turns taking her out and including her in our youth outings to the beach, to the cinema, Christian concerts, and family Christmas parties.
I remember clearly that she was present at four engagement ceremonies and two weddings. Male friends took her phone number (I warned them not to date her, but to engage her in some talks and even take her out for lunch sometimes)
Her healing was a collective effort, and nobody asked her for a dime
It was through my team that she got her first interview with a bank in Nigeria and an engineering firm.
When she had settled in and adjusted to our lowly social level, she started meeting with her high social level friends and gradually moved on.
By the time her father came to see my boss, it was the third Christmas after I met her, and I had not seen her in weeks.
Her father left.
My boss called me into his office and said, "I know you must be hurt by that, but such is life."
My Boss's wife said, "That girl will relapse if her father continues to mount pressure on her to return to the USA because of the dollars. He sees you as a bad influence now because the girl is fine and he wants her to return to the USA, whereas it seems the girl is listening to you by insisting on staying in Nigeria."
I told her I believe she will be fine.
I blocked her joyfully
Operation Destiny Rescue was a success.
I moved on with my life.

I believe I ran into this same lady two years later in Dubai
I went to officiate a wedding
Someone from her high-level social class was getting married, and I was invited to join the couple
She saw me on the Yacht and was stupefied with shock.
"How did you get here?" She asked
I smiled and said the couple insisted that I must do the joining for their wedding.
We talked for a while after the wedding
She was flying back to the USA from Dubai while I was returning to Nigeria.

I got a strange call yesterday from her father. I didn't recognize the phone number.
He called
I picked
He said, "Gbenga, I came to check you at your office in Magodo, but I was told you had left that place a very long time ago."
I said, "Good afternoon, sir. Please, who am I speaking with?"
He said, "I am Mr So and So, your friend's daddy from Lekki. Do you remember me? My daughter used to be a part of your fellowship when we were living in Magodo."
I remembered him, and I greeted him politely
I asked him how I might be of help
He said he would like to come to my office to see me, or if I don't mind, I could come to Lekki to see him.
I said he will have to discuss whatever it is on the phone because I am very busy
He said, "Don't worry, I will cover your transport cost and other expenses. Are you charging per hour now? Whatever it is, I am good for it, just come."
I said, "I am sorry. I am not available, sir. Kindly send me a message on WhatsApp detailing how I can be of help, or send me an email, sir, and I will call you back at my convenience."

I heard his wife in the background saying, "Daddy, e so fun wipe ara ore o ya, e so fun wipe ore e n beere e, e so fun wipe emergency ni ko ma bo (Tell him his friend is sick, tell him his friend is asking of him, tell him it is an emergency, he should come now)

He said, "Your friend is back from the USA. She is battling with Chronic depression. We went to get her from the hospital over there and brought her to her house in Lekki. You know, that house has six other occupants. It is a six-flat apartment. She went out, returned home, and used her car to block the gate so that no car could go out or come in, then she went to her apartment and locked herself in.
We had to break into her apartment and forcefully bring her to the hospital
She asked for you, and that is why I am calling.

I said, "Awwwwwwwww, I am very sorry to hear that, sir. I will ask one of our ministers to call you so that she can be attended to. Whatever the minister tells you to do in terms of prayer, please do it knowing it is an instruction from the Holy Spirit.
As much as possible, surround her with friends and loved ones.
Is she married now? I asked
Her father said No.
I said, "Get people from your church who are closer to her age, to dote on her and care for her. She will be fine, sir."

He said, "So you are not coming?"
I said, "I am busy, sir. My apologies. I have a lot to do and I am not in town at the moment."

PS: I will be available on Friday at the Supernatural Life Assembly, Surulere for Avalanche of Healing and Miracles with The Flamin' Network and At Wordbase Assembly's Convention tagged "Good News or Shemuah Tovah" on Sunday, 12th October 2025 at Ago Palace, Okota.
If the Holy Spirit is nudging you to be at either of the meetings or both, please be there.