There is growing concern among stakeholders and officials about paranoid ideation and the urge to commit suicide which are becoming common in Nigeria and are currently manifesting in the increase in the number of people plunging into the Lagos Lagoon.
Although the reasons why people attempt suicide are varied and complex, what is certain is that the victims are often subjected to severe emotional and physical pain they cannot bear.
In achieving their suicide ideation, one location, which is the Lagos Lagoon has become so protuberant, recording gory tales on frequent basis.
The Lagos Lagoon, which is more than 50km long and three to 13km wide, is a beauty to behold.
It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spit two to five km wide, which has swampy margins on the lagoon side.
Amid many interesting spectacle to behold like fishing and other routine activities, which make the Lagoon thick, the current reality is that it has become an attractive suicide spot.
The spot became popular when a Lagos-based medical practitioner, Dr Allwell Orji, committed suicide by jumping into the Lagoon.
His sad end quickly followed the case of two women who attempted to jump into the Lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge and were rescued by the police.
One of them, Titilayo Momoh, a 65-year-old textile dealer at Lagos Island, explained then that she was tired of living as a result of a huge debt hanging on her neck.
She said, “The problem I face is too much for me. I want to go back to God. If God cannot address my problem here on earth let me go back to him.”
Momoh noted that she had been abandoned by those that should help her, including her son.
For Mrs Abigael Olayinka, a 61-year old who caught the picture of a frustrated woman, life has been unfair. Childless, poor and saddled with the burden of taking care of her husband who is down with stroke, she said suicide seemed a better option.
Recently, a 67-year-old man, Oluwatoye Bamgboye, who hails from Oju–Ore, Ogun State, attempted to jump into the lagoon in Lagos.
According to Bamgboye, after selling his assets to settle a loan, he lost his job.
The sexagenarian was stopped from jumping into the lagoon by officials of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command.
Bamgboye said, “Today being my birthday, I have decided to end it all. The burden and the frustration are too much for me to bear. My wife has abandoned me in the process”.
A 21-year-old man, Odunare Olalekan, recently committed suicide by jumping into a lagoon at Epe in the Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State.
A viral video showed Olalekan sitting on the handrail of Berger Bridge and suddenly jumped into the lagoon.
The latest incident that has sent tongues wagging is the case of a lady identified as Adetutu Adedokun, an official of the Department of State Services who jumped into the Lagos Lagoon on Thursday
The lady said to be an unarmed combat instructor recently got engaged and was said to have alighted from the vehicle conveying her and jumped into the lagoon.
Suggesting that suicide is a global problem, a status report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on suicide showed that more than 3,000 people die daily due to suicide.
This is equivalent to one life being lost every 40 seconds, accounting for approximately 800,000 deaths per year globally.
The world health body further said suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among young people aged from 15 to 29 years, and also accounts for over 700,000 deaths globally yearly, with 77 per cent of all global suicides occurring in low and middle-income countries, the WHO added.
WHO Nigeria Country Representative, Walter Mulombo, stated that for every suicide that is committed, it is estimated that more than 20 had been attempted and each suicidal death is a public health concern with a profound impact on those around them.
In Nigeria, the MD/CEO of Pinnacle Medical Services, Dr Maymunah Kadiri, relying on a study conducted in 2019, stated that 12 per cent, representing one in 10 Nigerian adolescents, had attempted to kill themselves.
Kadiri who is also a mental health expert said the reason for the increase in suicide, especially among teenagers in Nigeria is the fact that teenage years are critical formative years in the life of any human being, adding that it is a fundamental phase for developing and maintaining social and emotional habits important for mental well-being.
“These habits include the adoption of healthy sleep patterns, developing coping mechanisms, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills, and learning to manage emotions. Supportive environments in the family, at school and in the wider community are also key at this time,” she added.
Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has made all of these more difficult, Kadiri said, “Yet, a few programmes on the continent focus specifically on young people and there is little recognition of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the youth. Also, while young people often learn from their peers and build their self-image through socialization, global disruptions have limited these interactions
To stem the trend of suicide among teenagers in Nigeria, the managing director said the time to act is now, even as he advocated that teachers and education system should provide an important and immediate solution to this mental health crisis in Nigeria, and across the continent.
Kadiri said mental health issues cannot be solved by professionals alone.
“We don’t have enough of them. I am one of only 250 psychiatrists serving a population of over 200 million Nigerians. By comparison, there are about two million registered teachers in Nigeria. So, simply from a numbers perspective, training teachers will go a long way to helping share this burden,” she stated.
She disclosed that research has shown that mental health services in school systems can create an environment of care that is good for the child’s education and mental health.
The mental health expert continued: “If teachers are trained on how to recognize, understand and act on signs of mental health issues among their pupils, then we would go a long way in reducing such trauma in the youth.
“Schools already use medical students, nurses, or non-government organizations to provide extra support. But if we integrate the World Health Organisation’s training to support our teachers, then we can widen the safety net. The WHO programme helps teachers identify and deal with such issues during the course of their work.
“The warning signs are here: our youth are in crises. And in Africa’s resource-restricted environment, we must use all the means at our disposal. Africa’s teachers are already at the frontlines to support our children. We must make sure they have the resources to do so effectively”.
In the same vein, the founder, My Beautiful Mind Organization, Miss Oluwanifemi Sowole, urged Nigerians, especially the youths, to remove the pressure coming from social media and focus on themselves in order to avoid mental health illness.
Sowole said, “Do not expose yourself to anything that can trigger your anxiety in a negative way. The next step is to seek professional help if you are depressed and having nightmares. It is best to deal with all those feelings with your mental health provider.
“I understand what everyone is going through and of course, it is heartbreaking, but you should not shy away from your emotions. Allow yourself to feel what you are feeling and speak to someone about it. We now have a coalition of mental health experts who are ready to be of service to you. Please make use of that opportunity and take charge of your mental health.
“The importance of setting suicide prevention as a priority public health agenda by countries cannot be overstated, particularly where access to mental health services and availability of evidence-based interventions are already low. I will like to remind us that suicide continues to remain a serious public health concern with a profound impact on all”.
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