Frustration at 22: Young man commits suicide, blames joblessness

Alhaji Muawiyya Ibrahim who visited Media Trust Limited office in Katsina, expressed shock at the incident which, according to him, should be of great concern to all parents, attributing the suicide to lack of proper upbringing. The 22-year-old Murtala was, on the morning of Tuesday September 14, 2010, found dangling at their residence with a […]

Alhaji Muawiyya Ibrahim who visited Media Trust Limited office in Katsina, expressed shock at the incident which, according to him, should be of great concern to all parents, attributing the suicide to lack of proper upbringing.

The 22-year-old Murtala was, on the morning of Tuesday September 14, 2010, found dangling at their residence with a suicide note tucked in his shirt pocket, indicating that the deceased chose to commit suicide in order to save himself from what he described as a disgraceful joblessness which earned him disrespect in the society.

“I believe you will be amazed at what I have done, but I had to take this step to save myself from the disgraceful situation of joblessness I have found myself. It has made me of no value before the society because I am not gainfully employed. Please, forgive me. I’ve given out my wears to the tailor.  Please, collect and give them to my father,” the suicide note, written in Hausa, said.

An investigation conducted by our correspondent in the area revealed that the deceased was not very popular in Tashar Gagare because he was barely 16 years old when he left Katsina to other parts of the country and even Africa, in search of greener pastures.

His father, Malam Ibrahim, confirmed to this reporter, saying his son had been out of touch with the family in the last six years, until Thursday, August 12, 2010, exactly two days after the commencement of the fasting in the Holy month of Ramadan when he appeared before the family to inform them that he had been away in search of Islamic knowledge.

Further checks revealed that, throughout the six-year period of his absence, Murtala was said to have made several futile efforts to get a job that will enable him earn a living. He traversed virtually all the major cities of Nigeria without success.

Sources close to the family informed this reporter that his last known address were in Maiduguri and Lagos. He was even said to have tried some fishing job in the Republic of Sudan, all in an effort to make money, before he finally gave up and decided to return to his family in frustration.

When he returned, said his father, the young man did not show any sign of frustration. Therefore, the family had no cause to believe he could go to such an extent to hang himself, though he had confessed that his son was known to be stubborn since he was a child. The young man had, prior to his suicide, complained that he was idle.

Sunday Trust gathered that though the late Murtala maintained a quiet and distant relationship with most of the people around him since his return, the father constantly admonished him of the need to be of good behaviour. But what seemed to have been uppermost on the mind of the young man was his unemployment.   

Checks at the family house indicated that Murtala had already chosen the path to his end and would have died a day earlier when he closed the door to the family house at the early hours of Monday night, but for the prompt intervention of his father who prevailed on and scolded him. The man had wondered why Murtala wanted to close the house’s gate so early, something he had never done since he returned to Katsina.

“I think he remained vigil until the early hours of the next (Tuesday) morning when a few people were at home. He dragged a ladder into the room, climbed and tied his neck with a rope to the roof top and hung himself. His brother was the first to have noticed that Murtala had committed suicide. Upon entering the room, he quickly drew the attention of the father and other family members to it,” a family member told Sunday Trust.

The entire family was thrown into mourning and utter bewilderment, said Malam Ibrahim, the deceased father and leader of the family, since none of them had, according to him, imagined such a young man committing suicide when he had no burden to carry.  But the suicide note spotted in his pocket, however, explained everything.

The Acting Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Shehu Mohammed, confirmed the matter to newsmen and said the police were still investigating the matter. He revealed that, the police found the deceased hanging in the room upon a report sent to them by the family. He was certified dead at the Katsina General Hospital and his remains were later on deposited at the hospital morgue.

A clergyman in Katsina, Sheikh Abdullahi Mohammed, urged people to review the way they pampered their children in the name of love and try to give them proper upbringing as enshrined in the holy books.

He described as unfortunate, the recent cases of unruly children’s behaviour, remarking that only recently, a 14-year-old boy poisoned his father in Katsina. He recalled also that in Kano, a boy slaughtered his parents and brothers, saying, “there must be something wrong with us as a people which we must correct in our own collective interest.”