Scary spate of suicide in Nigeria

Suicide is a global public health problem and Nigeria is one of the epicentres of suicide in the world today. In time past, suicide was alien to Nigeria. No matter what, Nigerians would want to stay alive believing “e go better” (there would be positive turnaround). In recent times, the trend has changed owing to varying contemporary challenges.

Suicide is a global phenomenon having a deep consequence not just to the dying person but also towards the bereaved, the community and society.

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. Currently, Nigeria is reporting the highest number of depression cases in Africa.

Like in many developing countries, suicide in Nigeria is grossly under-reported and under-documented due to the non-existence of a vital statistics system and the sensitive nature of the subject. The dearth of data is also shrouded in stigma, and cultural and religious sentiments associated with suicide in Nigeria.

Deaths by suicide are perceived as sinful, a taboo and caused by evil forces, so the family are oftentimes stigmatised and denied social opportunities. People prefer to hide the mode of death, declaring suicides as accidental deaths or as homicides. Many of the reported cases rely on police and hospital records, neither of which are comprehensive and might have been influenced by the bereaved.

Unfortunately, suicide is a crime in Nigeria according to Section 327 of the country’s Criminal Code.

Research evidence on suicidal behaviour in Nigeria documents the use of chemicals, self-cutting, burning with petrol, hanging and firearms as methods of suicide. Several other methods arose as persons who engage in suicide are sometimes ambivalent and some are impulsive responses to psychological stressors.

Factors attributed to suicide are personal risk factors including financial constraints, family history of suicide, loss of loved ones, mental illness, physical illness, substance abuse and so on.

In Nigeria, the suicide phenomenon remains under-explored, and there has been insufficient attention to the content analysis of Nigerian news portals on the demography, methods and risk factors for suicide in Nigeria. A total of 350 suicide reports were identified between January 2010 and December 2019.

In recent times, there has been a mixed trend of successful and failed suicide cases in Nigeria. While many believe that the reason behind suicide attempts is frustration occasioned by poverty, it goes beyond that. If that assertion holds true, then we should have only poor people on record lists of those who died by suicide or had attempted suicide.

Both the rich and poor exhibit suicidal tendencies. It is not only money that provides happiness. It is failure to access other sources of happiness that brings about depression which in turn triggers suicidal thoughts.

Life, most times, is not always straight in its dealings with some people. In its unpredictability, life does not come clear in a pattern to some; it may play out in a complicated manner to others, and to a few others, it may be smooth and easy as they sail in the journey of life.

What appears to be one person’s expectation may be what someone else does not regard valuable. This could be said of our needs in every aspect of our life as human beings.

One’s mental health is threatened when his thoughts and actions are always against normalcy.

Mental health is not just the absence of disease, infirmity, disorder or disability, it is a state of complete wellbeing, physically and mentally. It involves cognitive and emotional wellbeing. You can’t tell just by looking at someone what they are going through, buttressing the fact that our challenges are not always written on our faces as human beings.

How we think, feel, interact and act are all largely affected by the current state of our mental health. It, therefore, means that our mental health is an integral part of our health and completely encompasses our whole life and living.

For instance, a Lagos accountant with a giant telecoms company, Folake Abiola, died by suicide as she was said to have been suffering from depression for years before she eventually ended her life.

So also, sometime in April, this year, a 65-year-old man was prevented from jumping into Lagos lagoon by the police. The day happened to be the sexagenarian’s birthday as he attempted suicide out of frustration and personal challenges.

Another case was also reported in February this year, when operatives of the Rapid Response Squad prevented a woman from dying by suicide as she was stopped from jumping into the Lagos lagoon.

In December 2021, a Diploma holder, Lekan Odunare, was filmed jumping into the depths. It was his wife that later revealed that the suicide action was driven by depression and frustration.

It was also reported of how patrol officers of the Lekki Concession Company, saved a young man from taking his own life on the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge.

And just this last Thursday, a woman,later identified as Adetutu Adedokun, a staff member of the Department of State Services jumped into the Lagos Lagoon.

Meanwhile the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, in a statement on Thursday said the driver of the taxi claimed she was having a heated conversation with her fiancé and subsequently alighted from the car and jumped into the lagoon.

Cases of failed and successful suicide attempts are inexhaustible. It has become a source of concern to us as a nation. There is no good health without good mental health. Biological, socioeconomic and environmental factors are major determinants of one’s mental health.

If attention is not paid to these factors, then one is failing in mental health care. We must not leave the responsibility of taking care of our mental health to chances. Proper awareness of mental health would help in the care and treatment of persons who are mentally unhealthy.

Mental health is not a destination, but a process.  Our current state of mental health is a reflection of how we are faring in our life’s journey. Your journey can only be fine if you’re healthy mentally.

It’s important to make clarification on mental illness with respect to what many believe out there. Mental illness is a mental disorder or condition that affects emotions, mood, thinking and behaviour. It does not mean an outright insanity or to be deranged mentally. It extends beyond schizophrenia.

Amidst hopelessness, we need to reassure ourselves of hopes. Override your thoughts and feelings with the unlimited possibilities. You are not your thoughts. Your thought could be misleading.

So be kind to yourself by strongly keeping hope alive when thoughts of hopelessness crawl in. It is in hoping and speaking out that help comes. Ensure you speak with someone when you feel depressed; be heard, be understood and then, seek help from counsellors and mental health therapists.

Any time suicidal thought is coming to you; always remember it’s not over until it’s over. A living dog is better than a dead lion. There is hope for the tree that is cut down. Again, remember the pains, sorrows, anguish and regrets suicide leaves for the bereaved, community and the society. Avoid it like a plague.

The government at all levels should increase investment in health facilities and social amenities that will increase happiness.