Sad As Calm Down Mummy’s Mum Death By Suicide Re-Echoes The Question, “Is Suicide A Norm Or A Taboo?”  -By Isaac Asabor

It is not an exaggeration to opine that since the news of the suicide committed by Mrs. Toluige Olokobi Babalola hit the virtual space early yesterday, November 8, 2023, that the nagging question, “Is Suicide A Norm or A Taboo?”, has been re-echoing, particularly amid where two or more people are gathered.

For the sake of clarity, late Babalola was a mother of three, whose son went viral online three years ago, for screaming “Mummy Calm down “repeatedly, thus endearing him to the heart of Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, who promised to meet the smart boy, Oreofe Oluwa Lawal, for telling her mother to ‘calm down’ in a viral video while he was about to be punished for his wrongdoing. It will be recalled that with his mom insisting that he still has to be flogged for his misdemeanor, the little boy sticks two index fingers in the air and said: “This is my last chance…my last chance in the world. “Governor Sanwo-Olu stated that he was spellbound by his sobriety, which reflected in his promise of “last chance,” when confronted with the fact that he was a regular offender.

Sadly enough, the news hit not a few social media enthusiasts that the mother of Oreofe Oluwa committed suicide. She was reported to have taken her life in Benin City, Edo state, leaving behind her husband and her three children. An X user whose handle is Samuel, @sammydo214, shared the sad news and revealed that he was at the scene on Monday afternoon, Nov. 6, and said she took her life without speaking to anyone about her problems. It was reported that the ugly incident happened in Benin. Given the foregoing, it is germane to opine that the question of whether suicide is a norm or a taboo, has remained a question that need to be answered, especially now that the rate of its occurrence is fast becoming rife to the consternation of many. It has become a consternation to many as it run counter to African tradition and scriptural injunctions.

Some of the questions being asked by many that truly seethe act as objectionable are asking “Why the high incidence of suicide in today’s society?”; “Why were highly placed people who  invariably did well during their earthly sojourn decided to commit suicide?” Another question that has continued to beg for answer is “Why born-again Christians are no longer see suicide as an act of disobedience to the word of God?” As if it is competition, some youths and teenagers have literarily being caught in the web of suicide. A perusal of the past issues of most newspapers would reveal various headlines that were cast in the following mould: “Man Commits Suicide After Failed Eye Treatment In Lagos”; “Family Man Commits Suicide In Lagos Hotel”; “52-year-old man drinks poison, commits suicide in Lagos”; “Corps member Commits Suicide Over Girlfriend”; “Suicide bomber kills self, 5 others at wedding venue in Borno”, “Final Year UNIBEN Law Student Commits Suicide”; FCMB opens up on bank manager’s suicide over N350m bad debt and some other eye-catching headlines.

No doubt, the foregoing headlines have revealed the state of poignancy which suicide has assumed in our today’s society. Ostensibly buttressing the foregoing headlines are some recent statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) that reveal the fact that no fewer than a million people die annually from suicide, which represents a global mortality rate of16 people per 100,000 or one death every 40 seconds. More worrisome is the fact that an estimated 10 to 20million attempted suicides every year. Surprisingly, Nigerians have also joined the list.

For instance, if the news is not trending in the media that a Nigerian jumped into the lagoon, it may be that a Nigerian has hung himself with rope.  Nigeria is becoming a country where so many things that were in the past considered to be taboo now happen by each passing day, and these include the extreme case of committing suicide. Depression which appears to be the major precursor to suicide cases is unarguably being mired in the labyrinth of ignorance as most people that are suffering from the ailment, more often than not, resort to the use of drug claiming that it makes them “high” and equally  “forget their sorrow”.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is not an exaggeration to say that in our contemporary society that the use of hard drugs, particularly Indian hemp, cocaine and even methamphetamine has become very common that some once promising youths and teenagers are now addicted to them.  There is no denying the fact that the proliferation of hard drugs has been cited as one the reasons why there are so many mad men and women.

For instance, it is no more a rare sight to see any young man or woman exhibit peace threatening level of insanity by soliloquizing and jaywalking on the streets of major roads. At the moment, it appears that most people do not see the act of suicide as an anathema or a taboo anymore the way our ancestors saw it. Many now see it as a form of civilization. No thanks to western culture that has literarily warped the sense of value of millions of people for African culture.

In fact, the rate at which people now terminate their lives, which is invariably a devil’s alternative, is pervasive and gruesome enough to make Nigerians rise up to say “No to suicide”. In fact the taboo has become so pervasive that it can literarily be said to be so thick that it can be sliced with a knife. To my view, it is high time government, at the federal level, through the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and the Ministry of Health jointly embark on an awareness campaign that can be driven with the message that “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem”. The message is self-explanatory as anyone that killed his or herself will permanently not come back to life any more as a result of a temporary problem he or she would have bravely faced and solved if patient and faithful enough to remain alive. In the same vein, clergymen that are wont to regularly deliver messages to their followers in mosque and churches should begin to lay emphasis on messages that focus on the grave implications of suicide. In fact, people in family units should be made to understand the arrays of symptom of depression to enable them put any of their relative suffering from it under watch.

According to Mayo clinic, a popular medical website, depression may occur only one time during the life time of a man where he is bound to experience multiple episodes of symptoms.  The symptoms cut across feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness, angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters, loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports and sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much In addition to the foregoing, it stated that tiredness and lack of energy over small tasks can also be considered to be symptom.

Others include, changes in appetite, which often reduce appetite and weight loss, but increased cravings for food and weight gain in some people. It continued by adding other symptoms that include anxiety, agitation or restlessness and slowed thinking, speaking or body movements and feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming yourself for things that aren’t your responsibility and trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things.

Also, frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide and unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches were also identified as symptoms of depression which is the major cause of suicide. There is no denying the fact that some readers of this piece may have been thinking of what is laughably called “African Remote-control” as the cause of the increasing rate of suicide in Nigeria. However, this piece is not looking at this issue from a superstitious perspective.

Finally, I am through this piece, urging the government at all levels, Non-Government Organizations in the country, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Sociologists to put heads together and find a way of nipping this mushrooming problem in the bud before the answer to the question, “Is Suicide A Norm or A Taboo” becomes affirmative.