“The World Happiness Report, showed that Nigeria had dropped drastically from its 78th position to about 109 in the world happiness ranking.
In 2022, we are now in 118th position out of 146 countries, meaning that as the years have gone by, we have become progressively unhappy.
As of 2015, Nigerians were the 2nd happiest people in Africa, by 2017 we had dropped to the 6th position; today, Nigeria does not feature among the first ten happiest countries in Africa! “.
By Bode Durojaiye .
Suicide is a global public health problem and Nigeria is one of the epicentres of suicide in the world.
National statistics, have shown a noticeable increase in the cases of suicide across Nigeria.
People continue to jump off the Lagos Third Mainland Bridge into the Lagoon, or ingest ‘Sniper’, a disinfectant and all purpose cleaner, turned into a popular and easily available poison, to commit suicide. In a country where suicide is erroneously associated with spiritual causes, plus a paucity of psychiatric experts, curbing the malaise is undoubtedly challenging.
Every suicide is a tragedy that has a lasting impact on the survivors, including the families, communities, and entire nations.
Suicide is a common cause of mortality, that affects people of all ages. It is the fourth largest cause of death worldwide, among those aged 15 to 29. This is a global issue that affects all parts of the world, not only high-income nations. In fact, low- and middle-income nations such as Nigeria, accounted for more than 77% of all suicides worldwide.
Concern among stakeholders and officials regarding depression and the drive to kill oneself, which are becoming more widespread in Nigeria and are currently manifesting in a rise in the number of suicides, is growing.
The World Health Organisation’s findings indicated that about 30% of Nigerians have one form of mental illness or the other.
With the security situation in the country, and other social issues such as unemployment, harsh economic situatiins, poverty, and financial challenges, among others. it is believed that these figures have gone up significantly.
In a chat with two of the suicidal survivors, one common thing they admit to as survivors, is the show of regret.
This means they deserve to receive counselling, therapy, and other necessary support, because most people that tried to kill themselves never wanted to die; they just wanted the pain to go away.
Suicide is “the action of killing oneself intentionally”. Black’s Law Dictionary defines suicide as “the wilful and voluntary act of a person who understands the physical nature of the act, and intends by it to accomplish the result of self-destruction”, “the deliberate termination of one’s existence while in the possession and enjoyment of his mental faculties”.
It seems that two of the key elements of suicide in this definition, are the voluntariness and being in one’s right mind.
However, the argument is that, a person in their right mind, who isn’t suffering from one mental health issue or the other like Depression, is unlikely to intentionally or voluntarily kill themselves.
Self-killing by an insane person, a person not of sound mind, is not suicide.
A person can get so depressed and feels so helpless, that he/she starts to lose the will to live, and sees death as a better option.
With the youngsters who commit suicide, they may also suffer from mental health issues. But, could it also be the permissiveness of the world today, that people can do pretty much whatever they like to be happy, including take their own lives to be free, that has spurred them on?
I do not have an answer. We were taught at young age that suicide was a sin that God would not forgive, and those who killed themselves would surely go to hell. That position doesn’t seem to hold any water today.
The World Happiness Report, showed that Nigeria had dropped drastically from its 78th position to about 109 in the world happiness ranking.
In 2022, we are now in 118th position out of 146 countries, meaning that as the years have gone by, we have become progressively unhappy.
As of 2015, Nigerians were the 2nd happiest people in Africa, by 2017 we had dropped to the 6th position; today, Nigeria does not feature among the first ten happiest countries in Africa!
Section 327 of the Criminal Code Act provides that “Any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment”.
Those who fail in their suicide attempts, may therefore face prosecution, and a 1 year stay in a vile Nigerian prison, if convicted (which will only worsen their mental health, since prison conditions in Nigeria are deplorable, one of the worst in the world).
As if imprisonment/punishment is what they need! A person that is desperate enough to attempt to end their lives, obviously needs help, not imprisonment.
Personally, I find the provision to be rather ludicrous; it evinces the fact that the Nigerian State itself, does not really understand mental health issues and how to deal with them.
Furthermore, in these parts, talking about mental health issues is almost a taboo, let alone admitting to suffering from depression, schizophrenia or being bipolar; people are ashamed to admit to any form of mental ill-health, unless it’s a headache or migraine! Therefore, many suffer in silence, under so much pressure and go untreated until they explode.
We only recognize that all is not well with an individual when things become extreme, when we see them running around the streets in a state of undress, looking rough or talking gibberish.
To be continued…….