Suicide is not an option

A 19-year-old, Tmilehin Faith Opesusi, committed suicide on Monday, May 12, for scoring 190/400 in the 2025 Joint Admission Matriculation Board Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Two days later, Wednesday, May 14, the examination board admitted there were technical glitches in the conduct of the examination. As such, about 379,997 candidates, whose results were negatively impacted, would be made to retake the examination.

In recent times, when you visit any of Nigeria’s higher institution campuses, you are bound to see the inscription ‘Suicide is Not an Option, strategically positioned to catch the eyes. Suicide, irrespective of the cause(s), is a global health challenge that needs concerted efforts to confront.

Suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population) in Nigeria was reported at 4.99 percent in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognised sources.

According to Dr Titilayo Tade, deputy director, Medical Social Services, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), and training coordinator, Suicide Research Prevention Initiative (SUPRIN), the suicide rate in Nigeria in 2019 is 6.9 per 100,000, which is higher than the 6.5 rate in 2012 but under-reported or miscoded. Other available evidence suggests that Nigeria’s suicide rate of 17.3 per 100,000 stands above the global 10.5/100,000 and that of Africa’s 12.0 per 100,000 estimates. This suicide figure may even be higher than estimated if there were to be proper reporting, documentation and statistics.

“And there is evidence of poor-quality public services, economic disparities and lower levels of trust in institutions; all these collectively contribute to the stress and mental health challenges that are behind the high rate of suicide in Nigeria.”

Latest NOIPolls notes Nigeria still has a high corruption index, detailing eight in every 10 Nigerians (80%) saying the level of corruption in the country somewhat doubled over the past year, with the police on top of the most corrupt, followed by the parliament. And there is evidence of poor-quality public services, economic disparities and lower levels of trust in institutions; all these collectively contribute to the stress and mental health challenges that are behind the high rate of suicide in Nigeria.

IK Muo (2019) concluded on why people commit suicide, with an excerpt from a paper presented, in which, out of a sample of 10, 90 percent were students, 50 percent were due to project/result issues, and 40 percent were due to ‘failed romance’ – it ended with ‘Suicide is NOT an Option.’

Also, he shared the outcome of a more extensive investigation that lasted three years. (2019 – 2022), involving a sample of 217 but with some preliminary remarks. He admitted some of the classifications are not sacrosanct. For instance, among the causes of suicide are depression/frustration, academic challenges and marital/domestic issues. It is obvious that depression and/or frustration could have been caused by some of the other variables, like academic or marital issues.

From the sample of 217 he obtained from all over the world but mostly from Nigeria, there were more males (62%) than females (38%), and in terms of age, most of them were aged between 30 and 50 (33%), followed by those between 20 and 30 (27%). Students constituted 19 percent of the sample, while those aged below 20 made up 17 percent. Six of them were little children below 10! 6 percent of the sample were aged above 50, with two of them aged 82 and 85.

The causes vary, with failed romance as the highest (22 percent); frustration/depression, 19 percent; and marital/domestic issues, 17 percent. People who were ashamed or could not stand the consequences of their action were 12 percent, and among these, some committed suicide in detention while some did so before they were caught.

Academic challenges were responsible for 6.5 percent, while the rest, grouped as ‘others’, were 23 percent. Hanging, the ancient method of suicide, won the gold medal (35%), quickly followed by the use of pesticide (snipper) et al. (32%).

However, statistics at times hide more than they reveal. Going through all these cases, there were certain peculiar, strange, surprising and emerging phenomena. The strangest were the cases of Gregory Elles, executive director of Counselling and Psychological Services at the University of Pennsylvania, who committed suicide on the 2019 World Suicide Prevention Day (10/9/19); Pastor Wilson, who committed suicide immediately after burying a suicide victim; and Fr Harkins of St James Parish, Kansas.

When people who spent their lives advising suicidal people and mapping out strategies to minimise suicide, or preaching that lives were sacred, resort to suicide, it becomes obvious that suicide is a mysterious affair. Some of the cases looked so unbelievable, like three young persons who committed suicide because one was scolded, another lost the battle for Remote Control’ to the sister, and the third killed himself because the mother could not give him N700 immediately (she asked him to wait till the following day). There are increasing cases of murder-suicide, those who kill others before committing suicide and people who commit suicide so as to punish others.

Unfortunately, some of these people have weaponised suicide by killing themselves to punish or get even with others.

As we all can realise, suicide is not a youth-only affair; involvement has cut across age and sex, and even those who are knowledgeable about such matters are falling into the allure of suicide. The World Health Organisation, worried by the increasing rate of suicide globally (40 suicides per second), has suggested the ban of dangerous pesticides.

Finland, where suicide was once highly rife and became a national embarrassment, implemented policies to limit access to firearms and poisons. And the arrival of a new generation of antidepressants, with fewer side effects, in the 90s may also have contributed to bringing down the rate there.

The menace of juvenile suicide, like our first paragraph, is here with us and may not be in a hurry to abate. The Finland model is a useful approach to this challenge, but more coordinated and sustainable nationwide efforts are needed from all – the legislative, judicial and executive arms of government, across levels, and the NGOs and religious organisations – to reduce to the barest minimum the rate of this threat.

Our advice to Nigerians is, irrespective of the circumstances, suicide is NOT an option, as no condition is permanent – it will surely come to pass.