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The struggle for survival could get out of hand if it is overshadowed by hopelessness. It was what sparked off chains of popular street protests and consumed at least four autocratic leaders across North Africa and the Middle East in what was termed the “Arab Spring” of 2011. Thus, when Mohamed Bouazizi, the 26-year-old Tunisian street fruit-seller, set himself on fire to protest state corruption and security agents’ brutality, little did the oppressors know that such a daring act that triggered revolutions from December 17, 2010, was in the offing. There was no premonition! Conflict triggers were ignored. Those who were in charge moved on with a thick skin and overlooked the material conditions of the majority.
Fourteen years after, issues similar to Bouazizi’s self-immolation reared their ugly heads in Nigeria, if not for the quick interventions that saved some lives. Between June and September 2024, Vanguard newspaper reports that “there have been at least 10 reported cases of suicide and about eight of the victims being young people and reasons linked to hardship in the land.” One of the suicide attempts in July 2024 had a middle-aged man, Shuaibu Yushau from Sokoto State, who climbed a 120-metre long broadcast mast in Abuja with the intention of falling off from the top before he was cajolingly dissuaded.
Going through his suicide note titled, “Long enough for me”, one could glean out policy-relevant messages that demand a blueprint for short-term and long-term executions. It reads thus: “On behalf of fellow Nigerians, I demand the following (1) Government should return fuel subsidy (2) Government should declare state of emergency in Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger and Borno on insecurity matter and take immediate action to clear those terrorism in the above listed states and the country at large. (3) Government should open borders for food importation in order to eradicate food shortage in the country (4) Government should immediately respond to the problem of out-of-school children which is increasing rapidly –These are the major Nigerian problems and I am ready to sacrifice my life for the solution to them- I’m calling for fellow Nigerians to join me in this riot.”
There are five key takeaways from Shaibu’s suicide note. One, he understood that the removal of fuel subsidy is at the root of skyrocketing cost of living in the country. Second, he knew that general insecurity in northern states made many people inaccessible to their farms, thereby heightening the scourge of food insecurity. Third, his immediate solution to impending famine is to open the borders for influx of food into the country. Four, his note shows that he is probably educated up to the tertiary school level, and that’s perhaps why he made a case for controlling the rise of out-of-school children. In essence, one can safely assume that he was not misguided on account of illiteracy and ignorance. Five, he reasoned that the easiest way for his voice to be heard in Nigeria is to feign madness. And he was heard!
Though the police commendably restrained him from taking his life, the mere thought of prosecuting him in court without taking urgent steps to rehabilitate such people who are traumatized by the crippling economic challenges inadvertently breeds other variants of negative and unthinkable outbursts.
As cases of suicide attempts began to die down, the arraignment of minors at the law court became a huge international embarrassment to the country with the government’s lawyer noting that “displaying the Russian flag symbolises allegiance to non-democratic ideologies that could threaten Nigeria’s stability.” The optics of malnourished children who were handed down N10 million each as bail conditions at the law court aroused humanity and wide condemnations.
The immediate impression was that the federal government was stifling the civic space through criminalization of protest. But beyond legality or otherwise of the discontinued prosecution of minors for the alleged treasonable felony during the 10-day protests in early August 2024, the fundamental focus of those in authority should be a hands-on amelioration of economic deprivations that predisposed the school-age children into clamouring for regime change, whether real or conscripted. However, President Tinubu’s matching order for a discontinuation of the matter was a smart, face-saving measure that stopped the tongues that were beginning to wag. But more importantly, looking at Shuaib’s suicide note, one could readily infer that what led to the protests that implicated the minors were yet to be addressed. The federal government had in the past months awarded contracts for the importation of grains into Nigeria to curb debilitating hunger but the people are yet to feel the impact.
The emergence of a new terrorist group known as Lukarawas in the Northwest Nigeria with roots in Niger and Mali sends a more dangerous signal to a country that is highly traumatized and terrorized. The group that recruits young men with financial inducement “reportedly gained a foothold in Sokoto and Kebbi States by cashing in on the total breakdown of the joint border cooperation between Nigeria and Niger Republic following the military coup against President Mouhammed Bazoum.” Before now, media reports had indicated that the people in Sokoto State especially in Sabon Birni Local Government Area paid as high as sixty billion naira as ransoms, and over a hundred billion naira as levies to bandits. Thus, “About two-thirds of the arable farmlands are inaccessible due to the fear of being killed or kidnapped by bandits, causing severe economic losses, hardship in terms of food and nutrition security, and psychological and social imbalances.” This brings to the fore the mutually-reinforcing problems of insecurity and food crisis, as contained in Shuaibu’s suicide note.
And as 2027 draws closer, the desperation to hold on to power and or grab power will lead to crossing of red lines. The political class is urged to restrain from actions that make people to contemplate suicide, or susceptible to committing heinous crimes and subversion. We can learn from the ‘madness’ of a suicide survivor.
