UniCal undergraduate rescued from suicide attempt

Jeremiah Chukwudi, a second-year student in the Department of Public Administration, University of Calabar, was on Friday rescued by his neighbours from taking his own life.

The incident happened at Uwanse Community in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River.

Chukwudi’s foiled suicide attempt in his apartment attracted a large crowd of residents of the area and passersby.

Weeping inconsolably, he told journalists that he was fed up with life, citing the enormous family challenges, as his reason for his action.

He said that due to the economic difficulties faced by the family after his father’s death, he had no means to pay his school fees before the Jan. 25 deadline.

Narrating his experience, he said, “I have been in difficulty for some time now, especially after my father was involved in an accident and his spinal cord severely affected.

“We borrowed so much money to save his life when he was on oxygen until there was nowhere else to borrow again.

He said his father eventually died on Dec. 24, 2021 and “my mother is not doing anything.”

“My exams will begin next week but I have not been able to pay my school fees.

“Meanwhile, the university’s portal will close on Jan. 25 and I will not be allowed to write my exams, if I did not pay my fees.

“After considering the burden of the family, which has weighed heavily on me and the fear of not writing my exams, I said there was no need to live,” Chukwudi said.

He appealed to the university management for an extension of the deadline “to enable students like me to pay and not drop out of the school.”

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to Gov. Ben Ayade on Education, Mr Castro Ezama, has waded into the issue.

Ezama charged students to refrain from taking the law into their hands, notwithstanding, the situation they found themselves.

He also appealed to the school management to extend the deadline for school fees to help students in similar financial difficulties, like Chukwudi.

In the meantime, he has been relocated to the university hostel for close monitoring.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr Effiong Eyo, said he had yet to receive the report.

The hike in tuition fees by the university from about N36,000 to N48,000 had caused agitation among the students, leading to palpable tension on campus.