Rising cases of suicide: Reasons some Nigerians are taking their lives

ADEOLA OTEMADE reports that suicide is a rising daily occurrence, though most incidents go unreported, just as in some cases, the reasons behind them remain a mystery.

It is not uncommon for people to wake up to the news  that their otherwise happy-go-lucky co-tenant or acquaintance had committed suicide. Sometimes there are suicide notes, and sometimes there is none. Shock and disbelief often accompany such reports, as people wonder why such a person could take his or her life. No matter the story or how pathethic the situation for the suicide victim might be, people often do not approve of it, partly as a result of our cultural experience that, in many societies in Nigeria, frowns on it.

Suicide cases are now becoming common in Nigeria. There is hardly a day that suicide cases  would not be recorded in parts of the country, especially with the current downturn in the naton’s economy which has forced many into deprivation and want.

But why the sudden spike in suicide cases and what are its causes? Experts often point to depression and other psychological problems in which case normal, happy individuals suddenly withdraw from social contacts due to some internal issues they had been battling with for a long time.

Efe, a language instructor, was once a sufferer of depression which he had been fighting. The otherwise happy individual suddenly became a loner and since then has been in and out of the problem. But through prayers and consciously working on himself, he was able to overcome the issue. He was also lucky to have a family which understood his problem and gave him all the support he ever needed.

Sharing his experience with Sunday Tribune, Efe recalled the trauma he put himself through wheneher he relapsed into depression.

“Firstly, when I’m depressed, I feel convinced that life is meaningless. What is meaningless, therefore, can be discarded. So there is a lingering thought to escape the harsh reality that all one has been chasing is for nothing. Whenever these episodes come, it is usually as a result of deep reflection and taking account of what I’ve been through and how far I’ve gone in my pursuits. Once it is not as satisfactory as I had envisaged or hoped, I would descend into deep sadness.

“Often, I would lock myself indoors and cease to interact with others. Food will become tasteless, music useless and life meaningless. What follows would be profuse tears and regrets and wishes that things could have turned out differently. I take all the blame and wonder why I didn’t do any better.

“Comparison sets in and all I would think about is all my mates who had achieved so much, and why I was nowhere near what they had amassed. Sometimes, it is not about material wealth or taking failure as the lack of money. It’s usually about my dreams and aspirations, targets and goals. Once these things are not met, I recline into depression. But my family gave me the space to grow, by supporting me through prayers and by showing me love,” he narrated.

Another victim of depression, who pleaded anonymity, told Sunday Tribune how she had been battling with depression and suicidal thoughts for more than 10 years but gradually became stronger and better each passing day.

“No one would believe I have suicidal thoughts each time I relapse into depression. Often it comes as a deep retrospection of the decisions I had made in my life’s journey; the mistakes I can’t undo, how people had broken the trust I had in them. I often become disappointed at the fact that despite my being nice to people, they do not really care about my sanity. I would cry at night for days, losing my sanity and my peace of mind; I lose interest in lots of things, music, movies, food, and reading.

“I become grumpy, irritated and mood-swings are common on such days. I still battle with depression, although I have a job, a promising one at that. I have a relationship currently and I can say my partner is one of the best I have ever been with. But despite all these, I still go through episodes of depression, mental breakdown and become emotionally drained. I won’t be surprised if one of these days I take my own life; but I am trusting God to help me overcome the problem,” she stated.

Sunday Tribune spoke with Dr Moyosore Maitanmi, a consultant psychiatrist at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, on the major signs and issues surrounding suicide. According to him, suicide stems out of many psychological issues which include schizophrenia, depression, and alcohol and drug abuse, among others.

“It (suicide) is said to be second highest cause of death among people aged between 15 and 29 and there had been an increase over the years. This increase can be attributed to the socio-economic problems in the country, ranging from unemployment, increase in poverty level to the effects of social media.

“Also, people now see it as a way to gain attention. For example, on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, quite a number of youths have attempted suicide. Such incidents were well-reported by the media and there had been an increased incidence of people trying to commit suicide on that bridge. Nigeria is said to have the sixth highest prevalence rate of suicide worldwide and the highest in Africa,” explained Dr Maitanmi.

The factors responsible for suicide, according to Dr Maitanmi, can be hereditary. For instance, if a family has a history of suicide, there are tendencies that such an occurrence might happen more in that family than in one that has no history of suicide.

“If a family member had committed suicide in the past, other members are more likely to repeat it than a family which has no history of suicide. Also there are genetic studies responsible for it. For example, Twins studies have shown that identical twins are likely to commit suicide than those that are not identical.

“This means that there is a factor in their genes that predisposes them to committing suicide, unlike those who are not twins. There are some mental health problems that predispose one to suicide like depression, schizophrenia, alcohol and drug abuse. The factor behind this has shown that these people have a low level of serotonin which is a chemical in the brain that controls our mood and emotions. Once this chemical is low in a person, they become depressed, and prone to having suicidal thoughts.”

Dr Smart Chongo, Founder/Executive Director, Smart Suicide Prevention Initiative, in an interview with Sunday Tribune expressed his frustration at the dearth of accurate data on suicide in the country. According to him, suicidal cases are increasing on a daily basis but getting adequate data seem impossible.

“In Nigeria, to say the trend in suicide cases are dropping would be totally wrong. As a matter of fact, we receive up to 200 calls daily from people experiencing episodes of depression and suicidal attempts. But the reality is we do not have a data base that can correctly give the statistics of suicidal reports. But I can affirmatively tell you that the cases are increasing.

“The MMM Ponzi scheme of 2016 increased the rate of suicide as many people became victims and since then, it has not dropped ever since. The current economy of the country has actually played a major role as the calls we receive these days centre on economic problems, job loss, businesses shutting down, unemployment and what have you,” he added.

However, the role of the social media in the rising cases of suicide also cannot be glossed over, as some people take to it to give vent to their emotions, anger and what they are passing through generally. Sometimes, such emotional expressions are met with an angry mob, while some of the victims do not take such outbursts seriously until they slip into depression to the point of committing suicide. The social media is a world on its own; while some people are lucky enough to find help there, many others are shunned or even abused.

According to Kolapo Adekoya, a counseling psychologist, “the social media can be a safe space, bearing in mind that platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter are just places where people meet to interact. So it’s not strange to find various types of posts. Some people do not have anyone around to talk to, so they feel safe airing their personal life online. In some instances, they could be lucky to find help, and sometimes they are shunned,” he added.

As a way out of the problem, an Islamic scholar, Alfa Raji Hamed, recommends prayer. He said: “one cannot downplay the hurdles of life; as a matter of fact, life is full of ups and down, but as a believer one must rely on God. Taking one’s life is not the way out of life’s troubles. It is even a sin to take one’s own life. So we should rely only on the grace of God.”

In the same vein, Pastor Deji Olapade, of Crosswalk Church, Ibadan, believes that there is nothing prayer cannot do. He added that having suicidal thoughts, episodes of depression and battling with addiction could be taken care of spiritually by relying on God.

“No one has the right to take the life that one couldn’t create by himself. Suicide isn’t the way out. We all know what the country is going through. Unemployment is on the high side, insecurity, inflation, poor education and what have you. But what does the Scripture tells us? It says that we should be of good cheer, for Christ has overcome the world. It is normal when one experiences disappointment and difficult times; but tough times don’t last, only tough people do,” he stated.

 

Role of government

According to Dr Maitanmi, the government should work towards creating awareness in terms of mental health, sensitising people of the dangers inherent in keeping to oneself and not opening up to people around.

“This is where the role of social media comes in; we should create awareness about the dangers of keeping to oneself, and bottling up emotions. People should know that taking one’s life is not the end, neither is it the solution to the problem. The government needs to create more platforms for people to seek help in battling addiction, depression and mental health problems. To book a session with a therapist is expensive; government should make the platform available to people and also at a cheaper rate. They should bear in mind that the mental health of the people they are leading is very important,” he concluded.

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