#but then i read her latest book and now she has a debilitating substance abuse situation and it's upsetting.

[freelanews-blog]

Of Suicide, Young People & Children (1)

I will like to bare my mind on the recent disturbing happenings. It is no news that in the last few days, we have lost some rather young individuals to the cold hands of death. Regrettably, dying in Nigeria has ceased to become news. News, like I was taught in the hallowed walls of my department in the University, is something prominent, odd, with proximity, etc. Death in Nigeria has become so commonplace that almost none of the news elements makes it worth reporting. Boko Haram killings, Herdsmen, ritual, kidnapping, etc., has made death a commonplace, expected phenomenon that thrives in our clime. …A Suicide Too Many Suicide, however, is something that still baffles us as Nigerians, once touted to be the happiest people in the world. Suicide came really close to home for me, when seeing a friend of a friend whom I can swear from his looks and demeanour to be the last person to contemplate suicide, hang from his neck at the cricket pitch podium of his university. The young man dropped a suicide note which read something like this: “I wish to end the controversy.” Recent spate of suicide in the country has a certain twist to it. What is strange in the recent recorded deaths is that in less than a week, at least four young persons were reported to have committed suicide- a crime where someone takes their life, and a few attempts was aborted. I will not bore you with the long details though. The first is about a 100-level student of the Kogi State University, Ayingba, Miss Rebecca Michael, who allegedly committed suicide after her boyfriend reportedly broke up with her. I gathered that the victim recently gained admission into the varsity’s Department of Philosophy. Premium Times reported that one Loveth, a university admission-seeker recently took her life in Ekiugbo, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. According to a witness, she was reportedly displeased with the 163 mark she got in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME. Like many victims, she consumed three bottles of Sniper, an insecticide. Closely related to this is the attempted suicide by one Segun, also an admission seeker who is, as at press time, reportedly battling for his life having garnished his Sniper with milk. Segun had scored 167 in the last released UTME result. A Niger Delta University student, Aduba Daniel also committed suicide by drinking Sniper after he discovered he had ‘carryover’ in his courses. This came shortly after Ayomide and Ajani Damilola of University of Lagos were reported to have killed themselves following the accusations that they stole clothes in their hostel. While writing this, news filtered in that one Ebuka, a very young man has committed suicide, barely a month to his wedding due to his fiancée’s behaviour-infidelity perhaps? According to an insider, Ebuka took his own life by taking Sniper. Now, this is after recent reports of the suicide of Gospel Singer allegedly affiliated with the RCCG, Michael Arowosaiye. He allegedly over issues that had to do with accommodation. This deceased allegedly hanged himself with his belt. Perhaps, the one that got tongues wagging and people dumbfounded is the suicide of Chukwuemeka Akachi, a final year student of the Department of the Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Nigeria Nsukka, UNN. He was reportedly on his way to graduating with a First Class result when he terminated his sojourn on earth. Now, people have been flooding the young man’s timeline-perhaps to decipher what could make someone so young, handsome, undoubtedly very intelligent, and with a bright future ahead commit suicide. The general consensus is that perhaps, the root of his long standing psychological problem stemmed from his childhood. Pouring through his timeline a few days ago, I was almost tempted to blame his parents for ‘criminal negligence,’ but seeing that I can never have the full picture, blaming anyone will not bring the boy back and the fact that the living must go on living, I decided otherwise. I for one, do not agree that the late Akachi, a self-proclaimed atheist was depressed. Why, among other things, he did not lack more than the average poor student seeing himself through school, neither were his grades poor or did he have emotional issues stemming from a relationship gone sour…at least none that is known. I believe that Akachi had grabbed the theoretical existential philosophy of life. He had come to the conclusion that there wasn’t much to life and continued living is of no use. I also believe that if he had experienced a fraction of the life he has so much ‘theorized,’ he could have been alive this moment. All through his childhood and young adult life, the red flags were everywhere but that criminal negligence blindfolded all that should have noticed. A negligence that allowed a young child pick up certain books to read without guidance, negligence that no observant mother, father or sibling noticed the many attempts of this young man to end his life-not when he consumed kerosene, the petrol episode or the numerous times he flirted with the idea of plunging a knife through his stomach, none! His friends are also complicit in this negligence. “I felt more could be done,” Akachi was said to have posted on his Facebook on May 12. “My mental health has been on life support for a while now. Thanks to those who call. Text. Visit. “Speak to me. May we always remember. May we never forget. You May have added a few hours, months or days to my time here. But you know life support is expensive right?” if these are not red flags, then I don’t know what is. I however deviate. Akachi’s case is not my primary focus but suicide, and how we can help our children steer clear from it. Suicide is a complex issue involving numerous factors and should not be attributed to any one single cause. Not all people who die by taking their own lives have been diagnosed with a mental illness and not all people with a mental illness attempt to end their lives by suicide. People who have died by suicide typically had overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, despair, and helplessness, research has shown. Suicide is not about a moral weakness or a character flaw. People considering suicide feel as though their pain will never end and that suicide is the only way to stop hurting. A 2001 World Health Organisation report on the global challenge laments lack of adequate access to treatment for the mentally infirm by many developing nations. “Constant exposure to severely stressful events, dangerous living conditions, exploitation, and poor health in general all contribute to the greater vulnerability of the poor. The lack of access to affordable treatment makes the course of the illness more severe and debilitating, leading to a vicious circle of poverty and mental health disorders that is rarely broken,” the report states. It, however, says nations should ‘‘de-emphasise focusing on traditional mental health institutions but focus on community care alternatives. Such institutions (formal mental health facilities) lead to a loss of social skills, excessive restriction, human rights violations, dependency, and reduced opportunities for rehabilitation. Countries should move towards setting up community care alternatives in a planned manner, ensuring that such alternatives are in place even as institutions are being phased out,’’ the world body said. Someone has blamed the rising suicide among young people on poor upbringing, substance abuse, and what he termed, “looking for the easy way out.” His argument is that many parents have made things look too easy for their children. Unlike the struggle of the butterfly coming out of its cocoon makes it strong to flap its wings, parents actually remove cocoons for their children. What you now have are young people who run away from the slightest challenges or take the easy way out-suicide. Interestingly, suicide is the second leading cause of death in people ages 10 to 24. Knowing the often subtle warning signs plays a crucial role in prevention. According to the latest data from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 24. Suicide does affect children and adolescents, and avoiding the topic won’t help them learn how to get help if they need it. One of the misconceptions about the discussion of suicide is that talking about it causes children and teens to think about it. The truth is that parents can never know for certain whether or not a child experiences suicidal thinking if they are too afraid to ask the question. Suicidal behaviour in children is complicated. It can be impulsive and associated with feelings of confusion, sadness, or anger. The so-called “red flags” people are cautioned to look for can be subtle in young children. While a young adult might say something like, “You’ll be better off when I’m gone,” for example, a child might say some something like, “No one cares if I’m here.” Studies on suicide and suicidal ideation among elementary school age children are limited and tend to have small sample sizes. This makes it difficult to draw direct correlations between specific triggers and suicidal behaviour. One study published in Pediatrics, however, compared characteristics and precipitating factors for suicide between elementary school children (5-11 years old) and early adolescents (12-14 years old). Results indicated that children who died by suicide more often experienced relationship issues with family and friends (compared to relationship issues with boyfriends or girlfriends for adolescents.) Both groups were likely to suffer from mental health disorders. While adolescents were more likely to experience depression or dysthymia, children were more likely to experience attention deficit disorder, with or without hyperactivity. To be continued. Read the full article