Jane Willie: The Voice Behind Mental Health Talk Show across Continents

By Salami Adeyinka

In the quiet hours after midnight, when loneliness weighs heaviest, a voice emerged from the airwaves of Southeast Nigeria that would change thousands of lives. Between 2008 and 2019, Jane Vanessa Willie, known affectionately as Lady V turned her radio programmes “The Talk with Vanessa” on Dream 92.5 FM into a lifeline, reaching over 500,000 listeners grappling with addiction, heartbreak, depression, and isolation.

Today, that same compassionate voice resonates on a global stage, Willie prepares to make history as the first African graduate in nearly 50 years from the University of Illinois, Springfield’s prestigious CACREP-accredited counseling programme.

Jane’s radio programme became the second most-listened-to program across Southeast Nigeria, remarkable not for entertainment value, but for its unflinching engagement with mental health at a time when such conversations remained taboo in many African communities.

“People don’t just want advice. They want to be heard and seen,” Willie said, articulating the philosophy that transformed casual listeners into a devoted community of 25,000 followers and sparked countless stories of transformation and renewed hope.

But she refused to let her impact stop at the microphone. Armed with certifications as a Marriage and Relationship Coach from the Institute for Marriage and Family Affairs in the United States and as a Family Systems Engineering Practitioner, she founded Janessa Foundation International, which has delivered mental health support, material aid, and free medical care to over 1,500 underserved individuals in partnership with institutions like The Eye Specialist Hospital, led by Dr. Nkiru Zikor-Akaraiwe, Africa’s Governor for the World Glaucoma Association.

Willie’s groundbreaking work caught the attention of the Obama administration. In 2016, she was selected as one of just 100 Mandela Washington Fellows from over 10,000 Nigerian applicants, a distinction that brought her to the Presidential Summit in Washington, D.C., where she delivered a powerful challenge to Western media narratives.

“Africa is not that frightening”, she said. “And we are not all hungry. Let Africans tell their own story, and American mainstream media shouldn’t only tell stories about Boko Haram,” she declared during a panel discussion. Her remarks earned public support from Frank Sesno, former CNN White House correspondent, who praised her courage and clarity.

When COVID-19 deepened the mental health crisis among young Africans in 2022, Willie launched a Campus Tour across tertiary institutions in Southeast Nigeria. At her alma mater, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, she addressed 150 students on mental health awareness and resilience but characteristically, she didn’t stop at words. Jane awarded scholarships to students facing financial hardship, including Eke Chizoba, a law student living with disability who had been forced to defer his final year. Her intervention enabled him to complete his education, embodying her conviction that mental health advocacy must address the material conditions that compound psychological suffering.

She now serves as chapter president of Chi Sigma Iota, an international counseling honors society whose membership is based on Faculty recognition of exceptional academic and professional achievement. Dr. Jim Klein, an Associate Professor of Counseling at the University of Illinois Springfield, offered a striking assessment: “Jane has made an indelible and positive contribution to our program, this university, and the field of counseling. I might also add that she’s left a permanent imprint on me as a person, and I am better for having had the opportunity to cross paths with her.”

Her latest venture, Ahava Circle Inc., extends her mission to American soil. This U.S.-based nonprofit not only provides therapeutic services to underserved communities but creates clinical training opportunities for counselors-in-training, addressing the critical shortage of behavioral health professionals while ensuring the next generation learns to practice with the same compassion that has defined Jane’s career.

Willie has also contributed her expertise as a columnist for BellaNaija and appeared as a featured expert on TVC and other prominent media platforms, expanding her reach beyond direct service to shape broader public discourse on mental health and relationships.

“Life becomes truly meaningful when your purpose extends beyond yourself,” she often tells her followers. “I’ve found mine: bringing color and hope to lives touched by too little of it.”

From a young woman speaking into a microphone in Enugu to a clinical therapist and nonprofit leader bridging continents, Willie has built something rare, a career where professional excellence and profound human compassion are inseparable. In helping thousands find their voice, she has ensured her own will echo for generations.