Depression, not angry river gods responsible for suicide – Lagos Commissioner

The Lagos State Commissioner for Homes Affairs, Dr. Abdullateef Abdulhakeem, has urged residents in the state not to be forced by depression to commit suicide.

He said this at the grand finale of a Qur’an memorisation competition organised by the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Oshodi in the honour of late Alhaji Shuti Adedamola.

The commissioner, who was the lecturer of the occasion, faulted the claim that suicide committed by the doctor and the attempt made by another woman in Lagos showed that ‘gods of river are angry and need to be appeased’.

He explained that depression was responsible for the attempt by some Nigerians to commit suicide, saying that such action was not peculiar to Nigeria.

He said, “We know that all over the world where people commit suicide, it is not because of the god of river are angry. We tell people that it is depression. Depression is a state of worthlessness – a state where you have looked at yourself and said the world is meaningless, what am I waiting for? Let me kill myself.

“Suicide happens all over the world. People need to take the right perception to events as they unfold in their lives. We must ensure that people do not go into depression out of misinterpretation of their circumstances.”

He appealed to Nigerians not to be frustrated by the economic situation of Nigeria, stating that the challenges of Nigeria were lesser when compared to some countries.

Abdulhakeem said, “Nigeria still remains one of the best countries in the world in terms of climatic conditions. Many nations are going through war and bad climate condition among others. What we are experiencing in Nigeria is a battered economy by the bad leadership of the past which the present government is trying to repair.

“Many people are sacrificing a lot, Nigerians must continue to persevere, endure and know that it is a passing phase. It took many years for other countries to stabilise too. Nobody should blame suicide on what is happening in Nigeria because if you go to advanced and more developed countries, the rate of suicide is higher than these.”