As you read this a 28yrs old man has committed suicide in Mushin Lagos on the eve of his wedding.
Relatives said the father of 2 was being expected in Osogbo, Osun State,
on Saturday for the event but he sent a suicide message to his sister,
Mariam, which reads: “I’m sorry. Forgive me.”
Mariam had reportedly insisted on his arriving early for the event on
noticing his attitude of late. But when the message came in around
6:30pm, she did not read it immediately. When she did, she tried to
reach some of his friends, but all to no avail. She then got their elder
sister who lives near him to go and find out what was happening.
But when he did not respond to her knocks, she called Mariam, who asked
her to look through the window from where she found his lifeless body
dangling from the ceiling.
Mariam said: “I called him several times to urge him to get to Osogbo
on time but he told me he would arrive probably on Sunday or even
Monday. I asked him what he meant by that when he knew the wedding was
slated for Sunday. He quickly changed it and said he was on the way,
that he would be there.
“I was expecting him till I got his message late at night. I called
people close to his area but it didn’t go. Later I called my aunt to
help me check him up. That was when she found out what happened. I had
stopped calling him at a time because of his unresponsive attitude.”
The late Shakiru also left some notes in his jotter, bordering on love
and his life trajectory. They included “I’m Done”, “If you are reading
this, it’s too late.” He also wrote phrases such as “I love you” on the pictures of his two children.
Some relatives described his death as embarrassing and unfortunate. They
said he was an introvert who hardly picked their calls. It was learnt
that his wife is about eight months pregnant. He was said to have
proposed an abortion which his doctor warned against because “it was too
late”.
One of his niece believes he committed suicide over financial issues.
She said he became frustrated after the death of his mother three years
ago.
“I don’t know what he has encountered in life that should warrant suicide. Since
his mother died, he has been finding it difficult to cope with life
because she pampered him a lot and he didn’t lack anything. She always
supported him out of love for her children. He didn’t acquire any skill
that could sustain him. After her death, he was dejected. Sometimes he would complain of not eating regularly, his job was not paying much and that he was getting tired of life.
“But I don’t understand his problem because even his children are not
under his care. It is the family that has been catering for them. This
wedding we ought to be doing now is not on him. All we required was of
him to make himself available. We even sent money to him when he
complained he didn’t have money. The wife’s family has been complaining
that he was not doing anything on her.”
Another relative said he didn’t believe Shakiru committed suicide
because of financial constraints. The deceased, he said, just received
N36,000 from a thrift society the previous week.
Police are detaining 4 persons living with the late Shakiru, pending the conclusion of investigation.