By Ayo Dada
since August 21, when I first received the video of the gentleman in the video, to protect the man’s dignity and that of the family he left behind, I pondered and prayed about publishing the video, if it was the right thing to do. After Biodun Busari, The UK based Nigerian DJ’s suicidal death, I became convinced that the late man and his family will not mind to use his unfortunate incident to highlight this increasing problem, if it will save lives. I thank them for this.
The gentleman in the video took his own life due to the pressures he was under. In the video, he apologized to his wife, his children, his loved ones and everyone that is watching the video and begged for their forgiveness. He explained that he had no choice but to leave this world, “he couldn’t take it anymore”.
He expressed that his debt were too much, that he had lost his dignity as nobody believed him anymore. He said “his mind was nomore here”.
Members of his church were reported to have discovered his dangling body. Extremely sad indeed!
IF ANYONE KNOWS THIS MAN’S FAMILY, PLEASE, LET THEM EMAIL AD@MATAZARISING.COM or MATAZARISING@GMAIL.COM.
Thank you!
Once upon a time, Nigerians were reported to be the happiest people on the planet earth despite the economic hardships foisted on them by their respective leaders up until about six to ten years ago. Nothing seemed to bother them, their was nothing on earth that would make a Nigerian want to take his/her own life, they claimed.
Those days seem to be long gone, and it now seems that the claim is a myth as more and more Nigerians take their lives these days, as it is only America, the Russian Federation and Japan that have more suicides than Nigeria.
Three days ago, the lady in the video was seen attempting to take her own life on the 3rd mainland bridge in Lagos by jumping into the Lagoon below. In a video, the woman was fighting off her rescuers by shouting, “leave me alone”…
THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that Nigeria has the highest suicidal rate among African countries in 2016 with over 17,000 lives lost to suicide.
In a new report that estimated the cases of suicide globally, WHO noted that, across the world one person takes their life every 40 seconds.
The report was titled, “Suicide in the World: Global Health Estimates.” It was released on Monday ahead of the World Suicide Prevention day coming up on Tuesday.
Hanging, pesticide self-poisoning and shooting were the three commonest methods by which people commit suicide, the report reveals.
Giving the global estimates, it noted that about 800,000 people die every year by the act.
For Nigeria, WHO said 17,710 cases of suicide were recorded in 2016 at all ages.
Of these number of cases, 8,410 were females while 9,300 were males. The percentage ratio of men to women was 53:47.
The figure puts Nigeria as the leading country in the African region. It was followed by Ethiopia and South Africa with 7,323 and 6,476 cases respectively.
However, there are other countries that reported very high cases of suicide.
In the world, the top five countries were being led by India with more 2,15 000 cases in 2016, followed by China that had a total of 136,267 cases.
The other three countries are America, the Russian Federation and Japan. Nigeria followed Japan being the sixth highest globally.
On February 15, 2020, a 22 years old man Daibo Toju Davies Saturday, jumped into the lagoon on the Third Mainland bridge inward Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos State at about 9.30am.
Came February 23, 2020, Toju Daibo until last Saturday when the fresh graduate of the University of Lagos reportedly plunged into the lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge. The sudden turn of events has raised lots of questions, many of which still beg for answers.
February 23, 2022, an unnamed lady was on Thursday afternoon prevented from jumping into the lagoon in Lagos State through the Third Mainland Bridge.
On March 24, 2022, one Ms. Taiwo Titilayo Momoh, attempted suicide at the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos.
On April 5, 2022, Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Lagos have prevented a sexagenarian (name withheld) from jumping into the Lagos Lagoon from the 3rd Mainland Bridge.
The source said that the sexagenarian claimed that personal challenges had forced him to sell his house, land, and cars. He said despite that; he was still plagued by hardship, which had led him to attempt suicide.
NAN also learnt that the man had collected a huge loan, but the amount and source were not disclosed.
“Today being my birthday, I have decided to end it all. The burden and the frustration is too much for me to bear.
“My wife has abandoned me in the process,” a source quoted him as saying to the police
The above is only a microcosm of what the problem really is in Nigeria.
Despite being preventable, close to a million people die by suicide while the low and middle-income countries account for approximately 80% of the global suicides. Nigeria with a population of over 200 million is one of the epicentres of suicide in the world with a suicide estimate of 17.3 per 100 000, which is higher than the global (10.5 per 100 000) and Africa (12.0 per 100 000) estimates. According to global statistics, since 2012 there has been an increase in suicide in the country. Moreover, Nigeria, currently, has been reporting the highest number of depression cases in Africa.
Financial constraints and marital conflicts were most commonly assumed precipitating factors. Conclusion This study suggests that being male, married, or living in semi-urban areas are associated with suicide in Nigeria. Hanging (48.6%) and poisoning (32.2%) were the most commonly reported methods of suicide.
Mental Health Initiative launches TOLL-FREE mental health helpline 0800 800 2000
“The helpline couldn’t have come at a better time,” founder, Hauwa Ojeifo, said about the launch. “Nigerians are going through a collective trauma due to insecurity and the resulting genocide waged by the government”.
Taking care of our mental health, now more than ever, is an act of resistance.”
The toll-free number is an easy-to-remember number that ensures that the caller need not have call credit or airtime to access quality mental health support. 0800 800 2000 is picked by trained and licensed counselors who deliver on-the-spot counseling to calls at no cost to the caller.
Also, family members, relatives, neighbors, friends and colleagues need to be their brother’s and sister’s keepers at this trying and extremely difficult period in the history of Nigeria. We need to check on one another, encourage one another to seek help if we suspect any issue in that regard. We must inform the necessary authorities about our concerns.
Those who are suffering from depression, and or suicidal thoughts need to reach out to friends, relatives, colleagues and professionals as their is definitely help out their available to them. The government also need to educate people about mental health to reduce with the aim to eliminate the stigma attached to mental health in our society.
Sources: INCRI, General Psychiatry, Mental Health Initiatives.
Ayo Dada Texas. USA
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