Barely two weeks to the commencement of his one year National Youth
Service Scheme, a graduate of the Yaba College of Technology,
Oluwamuyiwa Oluwagbemileke, aka Spartacus, has ended his life.
The 27-year-old graduate of electrical engineering reportedly took a
poison on Wednesday after he was blamed for damaging a car in a sachet
water factory in Ojodu Berger, Lagos, where he worked.
PUNCH Metro learnt that he had hit the vehicle on another one on the factory premises while trying to help the owner re-park it.
The Osogbo, Osun State indigene, was said to have become desperate to raise N50,000 to repair the damaged car.
In a suicide note he posted on Facebook, a few hours before the incident, he hinted that he was depressed.
He wrote,
“When a man’s life is unstable, worried, downcast and destabilised,
things he does right before will become wrong no matter the best he puts
in. He loses focus and strength; he becomes unhappy and angry at
everything even if he tries to wear a smiling face.
“Thoughts of
death will come in the scene. He keeps asking the question, ‘why me?’ He
becomes helpless and even if he’s among people, he still feels lonely.
Life can be truly unfair.
“Advice: Never let your ugly situations
weigh you down. When you notice things are not going well, check
yourself before it makes you feel worried.”
About an hour before he took the poison, he wrote another note on his
Facebook wall at 10.16pm, asking his family to look after his mother.
“Please, help me stand by my mother. She’s the reason why I have lived this far. Thank you. To my loved ones,” it read.
He was buried on Saturday at the Atan Cemetery in Yaba, Lagos.
His nickname, it was learnt, evolved from his determination to become a
graduate, which made him to engage in one menial job or another to
sponsor himself.
His elder sister, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday, confirmed that he was reserved.
The woman, who did not want her name in print, said Oluwagbemileke had
called her on the telephone on that day around 11am, saying he was in
Osogbo and wanted to discuss an issue with her.
She said, “I was monitoring him on the telephone and asking when he would come.
“I was surprised when he told me that he was on his way back to Lagos. I
asked him what he came to do in Osogbo and he said I should not worry.
He promised to call me back when he got to Ibadan, Oyo State. When I
didn’t see his call, I called him and he said he had boarded a bus en
route to Lagos. I asked him what happened. He said he would call me when
he got home. I called him several times, but he said he was not at
home, not knowing that he was lying. After he didn’t pick my calls
again, I went to bed.”
The sister said she called him about 15 times the following day, but he did not pick his calls.
She said she later learnt that he had visited Osogbo to tell their
mother about the damaged car, adding that the mother promised to follow
him to the factory on Thursday.
She explained that their mother was preparing food for him when he left
home, noting that the hard copy of the suicide note was found in his
apartment at the factory in Lagos.
The sister said,
“I passed out when I was told he poisoned himself. His neighbours said
they received a message from him, saying he wanted to poison himself,
but they did not take him seriously. His girlfriend said he was gasping
when she called him around 11pm. Our mother said he typed the suicide
note on his phone in her presence but she did not know the content
because she has no formal education.
“I was surprised Muyiwa (Oluwagbemileke) could not wait to be
celebrated. He struggled all through, but he never waited to reap the
fruits of his labour. He worked as a carrier to survive. Our father died
a long time ago. He was going for NYSC on November 21. He was the only
graduate in our family.
“When I went to the factory, I was told that a
laptop had fallen from his hands and damaged three days before he
damaged the car. They must have chided him, which is normal, although
his boss denied it. He was collecting over N50,000 monthly at the
factory and a gym there.
“While he was living with me, if he spoilt
something and I scolded him, he would abscond from home for three days
and sleep in schools. At times, I would know he was the one who damaged
an item, but I would still ask him. Instead of him to talk, he would
just walk away from home. I would beg people to talk to him before he
would return home.”
A friend of the deceased, Morountayo Akinyetun, condemned his decision, saying it betrayed his courage and hard work.