Pharmacists stage walk against suicide in Osun

Members of the Association of Lady Pharmacists (ALPS), Osun State chapter, on Wednesday in Osogbo staged a walk against suicide, urging Nigerians facing challenges not to see suicide as the last option to end their individual problems.

The pharmacists, displaying banners, condemning suicide trekked from Nelson Mandela Freedom Park to Oke-fia and Olaiya junction attributed an increase in suicidal rate to socio-economic problems.

Speaking during a chat with  Tribune Online, the chairperson of ALPS in Osun, Pharmacist Egunranti Omolola Funmilayo said “we noticed that of recent, there has been a lot of reports about the increase in people committing suicide, giving flimsy excuses as reasons for their actions.”

According to her, “as a result of this, we as lady pharmacists in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) resolved to create awareness and sensitisation against suicide.”

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“We know that as we are doing this, people will be aware that no matter how terrible their situation is, suicide is not the best option. We want our people to know that what is happening to them had happened to some other individuals before and they did not commit suicide”, Egunranti remarked.

She continued, “whatever the magnitude of the problem anybody encounter, there is always a way out. Anyone facing one challenge or the other should not go to the extreme end of committing suicide. It is not worth it to take ones life, no matter how bad or hopeless the condition may be.”

“Any individual facing challenge should seek help by talking to someone about it. When you talk to someone about your problem, it is a step ahead against suicide. They should be conscious of the fact that there is no problem somebody else has not encountered before.”

“We want to tell both young and old, the working class and students that whenever we notice that somebody is making suicidal talk like what am I doing in this world, we should immediately contact someone close to such person to intervene before the troubled individual commit suicide”, Egunranti added.