Re: 264 Nigerians commit suicide in four years

I find your newspaper cover page feature story of Thursday, September 10th, 2020, with the above headline, very interesting, and soul-stirring.

Sadly, but true, from time immemorial, suicide, the act of an individual taking his own life, has always remained rife among mankind.

264 Nigerians commit suicide in four years

Arresting rising cases of suicide

The reasons why individuals take their lives, are multiple, and varied.

Such reasons can range from instances of personal losses, personal frustrations, regular intimacy with excruciating situations, as well as experiences with grievous disappointments.

Also, occasions of irredeemable insolvencies and debts, are some of the reasons why individuals choose the path of suicide, sometimes, rather than remaining alive.

Imagine that in ancient Japan, Japanese warlords who lost any battle, or war, chose the path of ceremonial suicide-as a pathway to self honour-rather than remaining alive to bear the ‘shame’ of their defeat in battle.

In my own opinion, however, I don’t think that any living human being should deliberately take their own life as a means of ending their sorrow, shame, depression, and /or personal frustration.

Human life is sacrosanct, and so, should be treated with commensurate respect.

Life is given by God through human parents, is sustained mysteriously by God, and will be accounted for by us all when we pass away from this phase of existence, so as to meet our Maker.

In this light, I am of the opinion that living man should, at all times, place some measure of value on their individual lives as well as the lives of others.

The fact that the United Nations has earmarked a particular day, September 10th, each year as World Suicide Prevention Day, is a further rebuke, and chide to living adult man and woman, not to deliberately kill themselves, for any reason whatsoever.

Mankind must always remember the age-old popular adage, which states: ‘’As Long as There is Life, There is Hope’’.

Suicide may appear to be a short cut to ending one’s trouble in life.

Often times, however, suicide victims end up causing more trouble for their loved ones that they left behind, rather than remaining alive, and striving to tackle the dilemma or problem that spurred them on to terminate their individual lives intentionally.

Ogbe, Patrick Adaofuoyi.

[email protected]

09031556482