BY TOYOSI OGUNSEYE


The suspected suicide of Motunrayo Ogbara, a 26-year-old ex-banker in Lagos State, is still generating a lot of comments in the metropolis and beyond, as many people are still shocked that a young lady that was full of life could have killed herself.

It is speculated that Ogbara, a graduate of Economics from the University of Lagos, was depressed and had made an earlier attempt at suicide last year.

Just as the news of Ogbara's death was breaking, a Lagos politician, Mr. Al-Mustaim Alade Abaniwonda, was also said to have jumped into the Lagos lagoon, after he alighted from his chauffeur-driven car at the Leventis Bus Stop, Marina.

Ogbara and Abaniwonda are among the many Nigerians who are reported to have taken their lives this year.

On July 7, Elizabeth Andrew of No. 17, Irawo-Owuro Street, Isheri Oshin, Lagos, was found hanging on the metal burglary bars behind a window in her apartment. Before help could reach her, Andrew was dead.

A month before that, Afeez Olaoye was also found hanging in his room at No. 4, Ajibulu Street, Mafolukwu, Oshodi, Lagos.

In the month of March, three suicide cases were also recorded in Lagos. The State Criminal Investigations Department got a report on March 26 that one Nnamdi Osita was found hanging in a classroom in a primary school at Satellite Town.

Just before Osita's case was reported, Ekpesikpe Iman was found dead in her brother's Ajegunle house after hanging herself.

Similarly, Azeez Nurudeen of No. 9, Amusa Street, Layeni, Ajegunle, was found hanging in his apartment.

These suicide cases are among the few that were reported to the police in Lagos this year. Last year, the police did not have any record of suicide between March and December 2010; while only one suicide was reported between January and March 2010.

The suicide cases are not limited to Lagos alone. In Jalingo, Taraba State, a 30-year-old woman, Mrs. Bilkisi Gidado, committed suicide after her husband reportedly took a second wife. Gidado was said to have set herself ablaze and eventually fell into a well in her residence.

Also in Ajuwon, Ogun State, Tobilola Ajihun killed herself after her longtime boyfriend, Simeon Akinremi, rejected her pregnancy.

Her suicide note read, "Please, I killed myself by taking rat poison because he rejected my pregnancy. I was sincere to him and I never double-dated. So, I decided to take my life and my God will revenge because I did not forgive him."

In Katsina, a 36- year-old man, Sabo Lawal, was said to have committed suicide by hanging himself with an electric cable in his house at the abattoir area of the town on July1. According to the witness, Lawal was a drug addict and had been living alone since he divorced his wife a few months ago.

In Okigwe, Imo State, Andrew Uba, 26, reportedly committed suicide over Manchester United's inability to win the UEFA Champion's league final on Saturday after placing a N100,000 bet on them to win ahead of FC Barcelona, reports said.

A few days before Uba's death, a 29-year-old man, Emmanuel Peter, allegedly committed suicide in the Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State after medical results revealed that he was HIV positive.

No doubt, this year has witnessed an increase in the number of Nigerians committing suicide; and the cause of the deaths varies across sexes, while the method used predominantly was hanging, followed by self-poisoning.

Even in Ghana, suicide is fast becoming a common occurrence. In a report released by the International Association for Suicide Prevention, the number of reported cases for 2009 was 21,500, and the statistics has continued to increase.

Most of the reported cases, according to the IASP, resulted from the complex interaction of casual factors, including mental illness, poverty, substance abuse, social isolation, losses, relationship difficulties and workplace problems. The main methods used by the victims, IASP says, are hanging, shooting with fire arms and poisoning.

A consultant psychiatrist at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, Dr. Adeoye Oyewole, says that even though there is an increase in the number of people committing suicide, cases of this nature have always occurred but people are hardly open about them.

He said, "Suicide is not just happening. It's just that Africans have mechanisms in their culture and religion that hide it. It is often considered a taboo for anyone to broadcast information that pertains to suicide, especially when it concerns royalty. In the past, we have had so many kings and monarchs in our environment commit suicide, but no one is willing to discuss it.

"The implication of this is that it is underreported and even the police do not get to hear about it because of the stigma attached to it. So, under-reportage is a major issue here."

Oyewole further said that suicide was on the increase as a result of socio-economic pressure. "There is an erosion of the traditional values and the family system. We've always had a fair share of economic pressure, but the presence of the Internet and mobile phones have increased the pressure. Most families want to send their children abroad for holiday and when these children come back, they pressurise their parents to give them what they saw during their visits. "Also, young ladies in urban areas want to give birth abroad, whether their husbands can afford it or not. That is why more suicides are recorded in urban regions."

Denys de Catanzaro, an evolutionary psychologist, says that those that face the greatest risk of suicide include the elderly, especially those who are a burden on their family, anyone who is ostracized by their kin, someone unable to provide for their kin, dependent on their reproductively capable kin, or anyone who has difficulty relating with the opposite sex.

He said, "All of these conditions will lead to emotional and psychological conditions that will make suicide more likely."

In the last 45 years, suicide rates have increased by 60 per cent worldwide. The World Health Organisation reports that it is now among the three leading causes of death among those aged 15-44 (male and female).

According to WHO, suicide attempts are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicides; and although suicide rates have traditionally been highest amongst elderly males, rates among young people have been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest risk in a third of all countries.

Sadly, youth suicide is increasing at the greatest rate.


http://odili.net/news/source/2011/jul/24/826.html

Are we surprised?

No way am killing myself , EVER!

Have been there, done that and have had my own share of emotionally turmoil and all the shiitty sandwhich life has dealt me.

Its called experience.something i acquired thro my hard knock life so far.
I see all of this negative stuff that i have gone thro to advice my kids in future, friends.

You dont have stress or cant seem to see beyound it, you might as well be dead.
The world is crowded as it.

Kill yourself if you think you cant handle it.

some ones going to get your job, your car, stuff and punna and were will you be?

worm food.