The Progressive Students’ Movement (PSM), a pan-African students’ group, has called for sensitisation against suicide in all tertiary institutions in the country as a way of stemming the menace.
The President of PSM in Nigeria, Mr Bestman Okereafor, made the call in a statement issued on Sunday in Enugu.
Okereafor also called for concerted efforts from government, tertiary institutions, groups, companies and families on the creation of mechanisms to reduce stress among students.
“The leadership of PSM has, in recent times, received, with dissatisfaction and sadness, news of the alarming cases of suicide among Nigerian students, which is very unfortunate.
“We are not unaware of the case of the late Chukwuemeka Akachi, a 400-level student of the Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (UNN) who committed suicide recently.
“Also, we remember the case of a final year student of the Department of Religion and Culture in the same UNN, Samuel Elias, 25, who committed suicide by taking sniper.
“We cannot also hurriedly forget the final year student of the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), identified as Opeyemi Grace Dkara, who died after taking sniper.
“These are few among several other cases of suicides among Nigerian students and youths,’’ he said.
According to him, all higher institutions of learning should henceforth embark on time-to-time sensitisation of students, in collaboration with their respective students unions, to curb the menace of suicide in the society.
Okereafor attributed suicide among students to attitudes of parents towards their children, especially when they were not making expected progress in their academic pursuits.
He also said that unemployment and acute hardship were other major reasons some youths decided to commit suicide in recent time.
“In this regard, we are passionately calling on the newly-appointed Minister for Youths and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare, to unite all youth organisations in the country and create massive empowerment for the youth.
“We are, however, satisfied with the minister’s promise to engage in consultations and dialogue to ensure that he delivered on his new assignment,’’ he said.
The PSM president urged the Federal Government, through the Ministries of Information and Health as well as the National Orientation Agency, to urgently create awareness on how to manage stress and depression.
He also called for the establishment of trauma centres across the country.
“We also appeal to the Federal Government, through the National University Commission (NUC), to review universities’ curricular and re-orientate lecturers on teacher-student relationship as it is a fact that some lecturers derive pleasure in threatening students unnecessarily.
“We are passionately appealing to all Nigerian students and youths to say No to suicide as life is very beautiful,’’ he added. (NAN)
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