Oluwatosin Lamidi
The Lagos State Government has attributed increase in the number of attempted suicide cases to high rate of mental illness, just as it debunked need to appease the river Goddess to curb suicide cases in the state.
The Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Home Affairs, Dr. AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef, stated that cases of suicide witnessed across the state was as a result of depression formed by mental illness.
AbdulLateet who spoke at a Quran Competition organized by Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Oshodi Central Branch, said that the situation was becoming alarming and requires urgent attention of governments at all levels and individuals to lend a helping hand so as to curb re-occurrence.
According to him, people allow emotions override mental well being, which consequence was the cases of suicide mission, urging that Nigerians should be more concerned about their state of health.
“We should pay a lot of attention to mental illness. What we are experiencing happens globally. All we need presently is take the right perception to events.
“We must ensure that people don’t go into depression out of the misinterpretation of the current circumstances, for example, Nigeria remains the best in the world in terms of climatic condition; what we are experiencing in Nigeria is bad leadership of the past which the present government is trying to battle to repair and fix,” he said.
He urge Nigerians to remain committed, persevere and put their hope in Allah their Creator saying this would curtail committing suicide.
“Nigerians must persevere, must endure, nobody should blame suicide to what is happening in Nigeria, because if you go to other advanced countries the rate of suicide is higher than this, what Nigerians need to do is to turn to the holy Quran and understand why they are in this world,” he said.
Abdullateef also noted that no suicide happens without an activating factor, which he said individual reactions to these factors lead them to taken actions contrary to logical thinking which may eventually spur them to commit suicide or make attempt to do so.
“All these suicides we talk about happen because of activating factor, there is also a believe do you have a rational belief of what has happened to you or irrational, if it is irrational you end up taken actions that have greater consequences and that is what we are seeing,” he said.
He also said no one should associate the suicides to not worshiping the god of river, he described such thoughts as ignorant.
“All these suicide are a result of depression, not because people don’t worship god of river, anyone that says suicide happens as a result this that person is ignorant,” he said.
Earlier, Amir (President) of the society, AbdulRasaq Balogun thanked Allah for the success of the Quran competition.
He urged all participants to take to the Quran as their guiding principle.
“We have organized this competition to revive the culture of reading the Quran among youths and even elders alike,” he said.
