Popular Nigerian television host, media entrepreneur and WithChude interviewer Chude Jideonwo has bravely opened up about his long-hidden battle with Tourette syndrome, a neurological condition characterised by involuntary movements and vocal tics.
When first diagnosed, Jideonwo was advised by his doctor to keep the condition private for fear of judgment and misconceptions in Nigeria, where public understanding of the disorder remains limited.
For years, he endured unexplained twitching, compulsive behaviors, and vocal outbursts that several doctors initially dismissed as imaginary.
In a recent BBC News Africa interview and his bestselling memoir How Depression Saved My Life, he shares the raw reality of living with the condition. “I remember telling the doctor that I don’t feel comfortable in my own body, and that I feel like my body is not my own,” Jideonwo revealed.
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He further explained the onset of the symptoms: “It started when I was a child and I began to show symptoms that frightened my mother… A friend had apparently told me it could be Tourette a while before, but though the symptoms fit, I just didn’t take it seriously. It sounded too ‘foreign’.”
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After receiving a proper diagnosis from a neurologist, he recalled the moment of clarity: “What I had was Tourette’s Syndrome.”
Jideonwo is now using his platform to challenge stigma and encourage others. His powerful message to Nigerians: “My advice is: If you feel it, then it’s valid, you no dey craze and even if you dey craze, it’s still valid.”