From the punch newspaper

When a neighbour was telling me about a young man that had just died in the neighbourhood, it was with the assumption that I knew who he was.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know him.



But what also left my mind worried were the details about his demise.

According to her, he suffered a running stomach for two days and was dead by the time it dawned on his family that it wasn’t a mere situation.

Following the claim that ‘he was poisoned to death’, his wife promptly moved their young family to a house he was said to have just finished building and planned to move into later in the year.

It was also claimed that as the woman left, she refused to disclose her new address to neighbours and actually severed communication completely, ending years of friendship and neighbourliness because the claim of poison came into the picture!

The deceased young man was said to be in his 40s.


In the past three weeks, I must have come across similar stories (demise of young men) about five times!

All were men from ages 40 to 55.

The most recent was a young lady that I ran into at a market. We bought provisions from the same shop and when she left, the shopkeeper hinted that she’s just lost her husband.

Further details revealed the man was 50 years old and he died from kidney problems.

Another was a neighbour that died a few weeks back.

If his obituary didn’t read 46 years, I wouldn’t have believed he was that young. Because he had a big body frame.

Then came the demise of a friend’s husband.


According to her, he left home that morning to oversee a building project in his village but by mid-day, she received a call that he slumped and was rushed to a hospital.

Only that when she got there, she realised that he had even died by the time that call was placed to her.



The news that I received from the village some days back also had to do with a neighbour back then in the village.

A charming young man that we all looked up to because of his smartness.

His nickname was Aboy.

Aboy just seemed to know how to fix everything and our innocent minds marveled at his skills. He was an only son, aged 56.


I am not counting the numerous posters of “A painful exit/Gone too soon” that seem to litter the streets to buttress my view that young men are dropping dead at an alarming rate.

Not every cause of death is ‘poison from enemies’!

Most Nigerian men don’t check their blood pressure or go for regular medicals.

How is it that our men have time and money to build houses and buy cars but not to go for regular medical check-ups?

Another thing that seems to be plaguing young people in these times is failed marriages. And a huge percentage of that can be traced to the financial incapacitation of the man.

Sometimes, the category of men that are difficult to live with are those going through a financial meltdown or grappling with sexual problems.

However, what has also dawned on most of us is that ‘for better or worse’ is only on the lips (and not from the hearts) of a lot of women…when a man’s health fails or the money is not coming in.

So many marriages have packed up because ‘he does not have money again’.

I admonish every man to begin right now to make self-care a priority!

Please, eat well. Take care of both your mental and physical health.

Of course, working hard is non-negotiable, as your marital bliss will depend hugely on what you bring to the table as a man.

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Please men should take good care of themselves, don't allow pressure from family and girlfriends to kill you

We should just learn to live a day at time. Eat well, sleep well. Wealth and other earthly material things are temporal.

xavuv:
We should just learn to live a day at time. Eat well, sleep well. Wealth and other earthly material things are temporal.

you are right

True.. The processed foods/ processed spices we are exposed to shorten our lifespan. Let us learn to eat natural foods, too much sedentary lifestyle isn't good, drink lots of water and exercise.


Avoid too much AC for a long time.

Cutehector:
True.. The processed foods/ processed spices we are exposed to shorten our lifespan. Let us learn to eat natural foods, too much sedentary lifestyle isn't good, drink lots of water and exercise.


Avoid too much AC for a long time.

but you can't rule out too much pressure, stress and responsibilities often contribute to untimely death of young men

Fineman2:
but you can't rule out too much pressure, stress and responsibilities often contribute to untimely death of young men

true