Let’s shut this door

In the face of many stories of suicide and attempted suicides making the rounds, I have decided this week to publish an article written by my brother and friend Dr Olumuyiwa Sorunmu, consultant Psychiatrist based in Perth Australia: A fine gentleman and an expert in his field. As the issues of suicide and depression continued to escalate in Nigeria, he called to share his thoughts at the time Dr Orji committed suicide. I therefore present you his thoughts, profound and illuminating. Please share with others. Here are Dr Sorunmu’s thoughts in a piece he aptly titles “Let’s shut this door”

“The news flash was dark. It was rude. And for a member of the caring profession it was a tragedy. The news of a man, in the full glare of the public and the company of his employee, hurling himself over the 3rd mainland bridge straight into the belly of the lagoon was too hard to read. I can only imagine the stunned silence of his employee and other witnesses and the spontaneous wailings that must have followed the silence: The empathy that a fellow man feels at the rites of passage of another and the tragedy of the mode of it.

Watching a fellow man pass into the great beyond as naturally is sad. Watching real life suicide is a tragedy. The tragedy of suicide is the more pronounced as most suicides are often preventable. And in a society like ours, where suicide is rare and far between, where community cohesion is a priced asset and the resilience of our society is well acclaimed, one begins to wonder why such an event like this has happened. It is a question we must now confront, together as a nation.

Are we as a society doing something wrong? Are we as a society inadvertently leaving the door open for suicide to sneak in? In my opinion as a member of the caring profession, entrusted with the huge responsibility of keeping our fellow men healthy, I firmly believe it is necessary to open the discourse now.

We must start this process by paying homage to the life and work of the doctor that passed away. And to pray for strength for the family that is left behind; to offer support to the family and shower them with love.

I believe that the Nigerian Medical Association and the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria should be leading this national discussion at this time; educating people about the tell tale signs of a person in distress and pointing people in the direction of assistance.

It is important to emphasise that it is erroneous to assume this is a medical problem alone. Societal cohesion, economic prosperity, relationship peace, adolescent care, management of executive stress and various types of addictions are associated/ direct causes that we as a society must tackle together. Government, religious bodies, colleagues and neighbours all have roles. We must love each other, support each other and live together like the African village of old.

Finally, it is educative to mention the commonest medical causes here briefly. Depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, and chronic medical surgical condition can all cause or predispose to suicide. If your friend or neighbour is withdrawing, losing weight, eating too much or too little, please do something. Call him. Call your pastor/do something. We must all work together to stop this plague. Let’s firmly shut this door. In fact, lets slam it and throw away the keys”.

Eugenia Abu