Nigeria before now tops worlds happiest people according to the United Nations ranking and suicide was sure not a common but all that seems to be changing since assumption of office of the Muhammadu Buhari led, All Progressives Congress government.
With the current economic recession, sociologists, Bello Ahmed tells NewsWireNGR that the number of Nigerians committing suicde will increase within the next months..
“When there is recession and the economic hits people too hard, they opt to take their lives, take a look at societies world over where recession happened, the case is no different.” Ahmed said.
Sociologists Ahmed continued, “So the answer to your question is a BIG YES”.
“Under the Muhammadu Buhari’s government, more people are likely to commit suicide and we will see them blaming the economy (with their suicide notes) because it is what is happening”.
“Many Nigerians can no longer afford meals, not talking meeting basic needs like rent and paying fees, the hardship will get to that point, that is what happens in an Economic Recession, also do have in mind that alot of cases will go un-reported”.
He said if Nigeria’s economic moves from recession to depression, then the number of Nigerians killing themselves will also go up..
National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, said, the recession faced is worse than expected, the report stated that Nigeria’s GDP at constant basic prices, contracted in the second quarter 2016 (Q2’16) by 2.06 per cent after shrinking 0.36 in Q1’16.
In a bid to understand the disturbing trend, NewsWireNGR brings you reported cases of persons that have commited suicide in 2016 alone, (names not just numbers) cases not reported by our platform weren’t captured as well as cases not reported at all in the media so it is likely the number is much higher..
A former Secretary of Mbiabong Village Council in the Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Ekanem Edet, aka Jolly Boy, has committed suicide only yesterday, the begining of the Month of September and the dead man’s suicide note blames the current government.
His friend and neighbour, Okon Effiong, told newsmen that the community woke up to discover Edet’s corpse dangling on a suspended rope from the roof of his apartment with a note left for Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari
He said a note Edet left behind before taking his life attributed his action to Nigeria’s harsh economy.
He added that the deceased, who was married with two sons, had often complained about the poor state of the economy.
He said, “Jolly Boy, who deals in Ogogoro, cigarettes, and other stimulants, decided to cut short his own life when it appeared he could no longer run his small family with the meagre earnings from his trade.
“He was a very sociable man and always shared his thoughts on issues. I don’t know why he should consider suicide as the last option to escape from these hard times.”
He explained that Edet, who was immediately buried after some traditional rites, was discovered dead by another friend, who came to visit him on the day of the incident.
A teacher in the community, Mfonobong Ekpe, said, “He used to complain that his petty business could no longer cater to his family’s basic needs and he could not afford the school fees of his children.”
Asuquo Bassey, a pastor at his local church, said, “He was always saying the bad economic policies of the government did not allow the common people to afford basic commodities like bread, yam and kerosene.”
A source in the community said the victim’s family members were reluctant to call the police when they discovered the incident.
He said, “The family members were not willing to report the incident to thepolice in the area.
“When they discovered the man’s lifeless body, they just wanted him buried and put everything behind them.”
NewsWireNGR recalls that in Lagos alone, First City Monument Bank Plc announced its manager, Olisa Nwakoby, committed suicide over bad loan, another 21-year-old man identified as Tope Diya on committed suicide at his work place in Lagos in the month of May 2016…
Forty-four-year-old Nwakoby, said to be the manager of the bank’s branch in Lekki, shot himself in the head over a bad debt estimated at N350m on Friday.
The deceased was said to have given out the sum as loan to a bank customer, who allegedly failed to service the loan.
He was reportedly under pressure from the bank’s management to repay the loan and became frustrated as he could not meet the demand.
In Ibadan, Oyo state, a former member of staff of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), Mr Popoola Adepoju, committed suicide on Tuesday evening, August 2nd of 2016.
The deceased hanged himself in his house marked No 17 at Ayegbami Zone 7 and the entire community of Idi Ose along Akanran Road in the Ona Ara Local Government Area of Ibadan.
He was said to have used a rope to tie himself to a ceiling fan in his room till he died.
Adepoju, 48, was said to have sent his children out of his earlier in the evening before hanging himself. His wife had also gone to shop where she sells cement.
The deceased was disengaged from the NEPA establishment at Abeokuta two years ago but had not been paid his entitlements, according to his family. He went into selling of cement to sustain his family.
Also, In Calabar the Cross River State Capital, a 67-year-old retiree, Mr. Okon Edet Iwang in August committed suicide in front of his room at 13B, Ekpo Iso Lane, Ikot Ansa in Calabar Municipality.
In the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, a middle aged man jumped from the NEPA building in Maitama area in July of 2016 and died immediately over what eyewitness attributed to the worsening economic Crisis.
In February 2016, In Ondo State, South West Nigeria, a 42-year-old man identified as Ayo Boye was Thursday found hanged on a tree behind a block industry at Adofure area of Akure, Ondo State capital.
According to the owner of the block industry, who identified himself as Olanrewaju, his workers called him on phone to inform him about the incident, stressing that on getting to his office, he also saw the lifeless body of a man hanged on a tree
Olanrewaju said, ” When I saw this I and I cannot identify the man I called my police friend who advised me to quickly report the incident at a police station”
