₦airaland Forum

iwaeda:
APC yaff stolen people's destinies. Expecting Segun, Temitope, Bayo, Woye, Ajuri and other noise makers to deny it.

Tinubu Government Procures ‘Used’ Mass Transit Buses For Nigerians Despite N100billion Budget, Hires Painters, Panel Beaters To Work On Them

A cross section of “used” high capacity buses for mass transit have been purchased by the President Bola Tinubu-led government to ease transportation challenges of Nigerians occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal, SaharaReporters has learnt.

The buses were sighted by SaharaReporters at the Federal Secretariat car park in Abuja, with a group of panel beaters, technicians and painters battling to fix and rebrand the dilapidated buses.

The panel beaters were seen carrying out body work on the buses while the painters painted the dented parts of the buses to give them a face-lift. Also oil was seen dripping from the engines of some of the buses.

Findings by SaharaReporters revealed that the high capacity buses belonged to the Federal Ministry of Transport as part of a palliative programme designed to reduce the cost of transportation.

A peep into the 14 vehicles also showed that the interior had worn-out seats, smashed windscreens and old tyres.

Meanwhile the Press officer, Ministry of Transport, Mr. Olujimi denied that the vehicles belonged to the Ministry of Transport when SaharaReporters reached out to him for reaction.

Olujimi who had initially refused to answer repeated calls put across to his mobile phone to confirm the ownership responded through a text message sent to him.

He said “They are not, to my knowledge. Thanks for asking”

The 33-passenger capacity vehicles were among the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered buses which is part of fulfillment of an agreement resulting from the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the government with the organised labour on October 15, 2023.

The government had said that the CNG-powered mass transit buses would help Nigerians save two-thirds of transportation costs and also promote the use of CNG as an alternative to petrol. This, in turn, will cut down on the cost of transportation across the country.

But many Nigerians have expressed concerns over the safety of the refurbished vehicles instead of new buses considering the deplorable condition of the roads in the country.

They faulted the Tinubu led government for putting their lives in danger by purchasing “used” mass transit buses, thereby reneging on the agreement with the labour.

It would be recalled that due to the hardship brought by the removal of the fuel subsidy, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) announced in September that they would begin an indefinite strike on October 3.

The nationwide strike that was set to begin on October 3 was, however, halted on October 2 by the two labour unions and a coalition of other union leaders.

In the agreement the government accepted to vote N100 billion for the provision of high capacity CNG buses for mass transit in Nigeria. The government said provisions are also being made for initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits to kick start an auto gas conversion programme, whilst work is ongoing on state-of-the-art CNG stations nationwide. The rollout aims to commence by November with pilots across 10 campuses nationwide.

Three traditional rulers from Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State have been confirmed dead in an auto crash in the state on Friday.

Nine other persons were also said to have been injured in a separate accident on the same day.

Eyewitnesses told PUNCH Online that the affected monarchs lost their lives in a road accident involving Benz E230 with number plate OLODOGBO and a commercial Scania Truck with registration number 301 XF at Aje Iye in the local government area.

Investigation further revealed that two of the affected monarchs died on the spot, while the third person died a few hours later at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, where he was rushed.

One of the eyewitnesses, Olawoyin Adekunle, said, “Six passengers were involved in the crash, but the three survivors are undergoing treatment at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital. The affected passengers were going for a social function at the nearby community when the accident occurred.

“The affected monarchs are Olodogbo of Odogbo, Onibowula of Bowula and Alayetoro of Ayetoro in Oriire Local Government.”

When contacted, the state Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Joshua Adekanye, confirmed the incident and said, “It was a head on collision involving a private and commercial vehicles on Ogbomoso-Oyo Wxpressway. The survivors are undergoing treatment at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital while the corpses of the victims have been deposited at the morgue of the same hospital.”

In a related development, Adekanye also confirmed that nine out of the 13 persons suffered varying degrees of burnt when a truck caught fire on Ogbomoso-Oyo Expressway on the same day

He added that no life was lost but the injured ones are receiving treatment in the hospital.

iwaeda:
Goal post will still change by April, APC is loaded with conmen. No increment WILL happen. You are under policed state.

The Federal Government on Thursday said a new minimum wage regime would come into effect on April 1, 2024.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, who disclosed this in an interview with The PUNCH in Abuja, said the current N30,000 minimum wage would expire at the end of March 2024.

Mohammed said this on Thursday as an analysis of the 2024 –2026 Fiscal Framework budgets by our correspondents indicated that the Federal Government would spend N24.66tn on salaries in 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Following the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, the Federal Government agreed to pay N35,000 to each of its workers to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.


But the organised Labour insisted that the N35,000 wage award was a temporary measure, adding that the minimum wage should be reviewed in 2024.

The Federal Government’s team and the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council on October 18, 2019, agreed on the implementation of the N30,00 minimum wage after months of negotiations.

However, Labour unions on Thursday confirmed that they had started a negotiation process with the Federal Government, adding that based on the country’s labour law, the minimum wage should be reviewed every five years.

The Nigeria Labour Congress National President, Joe Ajaero, recently said, “It is open knowledge that the review of the national minimum wage is a matter of the law which is expected to happen in 2024.”

On his part, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed, told The PUNCH that the improved take-home pay was meant to replace the temporary palliative measure put in place by the government to ameliorate the hardship caused by the fuel subsidy removal.

New wage regime

He said, “Certainly, there is a new wage regime that will come in on April 1, 2024. That is why these palliatives were targeted so they would cushion economic hardship before then. In our negotiation with Labour, we said that the wage issue was not something one could just fix. A committee that will also involve Labour itself will work on it.

“The committee is being constituted and we are talking to Labour about it. And by the time this current wage regime expires by the end of March, we will expect that a new wage will begin by April. It is in this wage regime that we will now have a proper salary structure for workers across the length and breadth of Nigeria. We expect that the private sector and state governors will also do the same.”

A top official of the NLC, in an interview with The PUNCH, said the organised Labour had initiated talks with the government

He said, “By April 1, 2024, the current minimum wage will expire. We have all agreed to set up a national wage negotiation committee, and that the committee should comprise all parties.’’

Also, the Head of Information of the NLC, Benson Upah, in an interview with The PUNCH said, “The new minimum wage is to come into effect next year.”

N24.66tn for salaries

As the organised Labour demands a new minimum wage, an analysis of the 2024 –2026 Fiscal Framework shows that the Federal Government intends to spend 29.18 per cent of its total budgets for 2024, 2025, and 2026 on salaries, overheads, and pensions.

The total amount budgeted for these three items amounts to N24.66tn; 29.18 per cent of the N84.50tn budgeted for the three years.

With anticipated salary increases from 2024 amid worsening economic conditions, personnel costs, and the two others are expected to jump by 8.51 per cent from the amount (N7.36tn) budget in 2023 to N7.99tn in 2024.

It is then expected to rise by 2.41 per cent to N8.18tn in 2025, and then by 3.77 per cent to N8.49tn in 2026. The amount pales when compared to the N23.37tn (27.65 per cent of its total budget) the government intends to spend on capital expenditure in the period under review.

This signifies the continuation of a culture of high overheads at the expense of high fiscal deficits. As of the end of September 2023, the Federal Government had devoted 29.76 per cent (N3.78tn) of its total spending (N12.7tn) on salaries.

The amount spent on salaries is 157.14 per cent more than the N1.47tn that has been spent on capital allocations for the year.

The government said, “The actual spending was N12.7tn. Of this amount, N5.79tn was for debt service, and N3.78tn for personnel costs, including pensions.

“Only about N1.47tn (25 per cent of the pro-rata budget) has been released for MDAs’ capital expenditure as of September 2023.”

The Federal Government has about N1.5 million workers and it will review minimum wage by 2024. There are concerns that the government is operating a bloated civil service with many agencies with overlapping functions. This has led to calls for agency mergers and scrapping, where they might apply.

With salaries weighing heavily on its spending, the government, in its 2024 – 2026 fiscal framework, said, “The budget deficit is projected to be N9.18tn in 2024, i.e., N4.6tn down from N11.60tn budgeted in 2023.

“The proposed deficit represents about 50 per cent of total Federal Government’s revenues and 3.88 per cent of the estimated GDP (Gross Domestic Product ). The high projected level of fiscal deficit in 2024 is partly attributable to the proposed salary review of Federal workers across board, increased pension obligations, and higher debt service cost.

“At 3.88 per cent, the projected level of deficit is higher than the three per cent threshold stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007, but significantly lower than the 2023 level of 6.11 per cent; FRA 2007, however, allows the government to exceed the 3 per cent threshold if justified by threats to national security.”

The fiscal deficit for the three years under review is expected to total N30.89tn. In June 2023, the World Bank disclosed that the Federal Government’s spending on personnel costs and debt servicing exceeded total revenues in 2022.

According to the Washington-based bank, this was the first time the Federal Government’s personnel costs and debt servicing surpassed its total revenue. It noted that the government is spending a lot on these costs, leaving little room for capital expenditure.

It declared, “Overall, the rigidity of expenditure has increased, squeezing fiscal space for the discretionary spending needed to meet development objectives.

Personnel costs and interest payments comprise a growing share of total general government expenditures (59 per cent in 2022) and for the first time in 2022 exceeded total government revenues (102 percent).”

Rising personnel cost is leaving little room for investments in infrastructure and in his budget presentation speech, President Bola Tinubu disclosed that the government would leverage the private sector to plug its capital expenditure spending holes.

He said, “In view of the limited resources available through the federal budget, we are also exploring Public Private Partnership arrangements to finance critical infrastructure.

“We, therefore, invite the private sector to partner with us to ensure that our fiscal, trade, and monetary policies, as well as our developmental programmes and projects, succeed in unlocking the latent potential of our people and other natural endowments, in line with our national aspirations.”

Recently, the Minister of Budget and National Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, declared that the government was only managing to pay salaries considering its dwindling revenue sources.


Enoh unveils six-point sports development agenda
The minister represented by the Director (International Cooperation), Dr Sampson Ebimaro at an event said, “Government faces enormous challenge especially now, the government is facing revenue deficit. There’s no money anywhere in the country, the government is just managing to pay salaries.

“The growth rate is very slow, and the population growth is fast pacing and increasing. unemployment is surging amid high inflation. These are issues which non-governmental organisations must take on board in helping the government to cover the space government could not cover.”

Over-bloated salaries

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives, on Thursday, condemned what it described as an over-bloated personnel cost in the 2024 budget.

The House therefore urged the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to summon ministries, departments, and agencies over the alleged over-bloated cost.

A member of the House, Sada Soli, drew the attention of his colleagues to what he described as the ‘over-bloated personnel cost’ of ministries, departments, and agencies in the budget cycles.

At the debate on the general principles of the 2024 budget on the floor of the House on Thursday, Soli, a member of the House of Representatives from Katsina State, described the budget as ‘unique’ in a number of ways.

Most importantly, he called on the House to take a close look at the excessive personnel cost of MDAs, saying, “Let the committees’ chairmen look at the issue of personnel cost because they are over-bloated.

“I know that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission used to summon agencies to come for audits on their personnel cost because it is over-bloated. This is very important and we need to look at it.”

He also spoke about the states and the Federal Government collaboration saying, “For the first time, I am hearing in the budget speech that the President is mentioning collaboration with subnationals.”

He added that such collaboration would encourage states to make adjustments to their budget peculiarities.

He further stressed that the National Assembly should pay attention to the procurement process, describing it as “too cumbersome” even as he urged the Federal Government to “clean up” the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System.

The House commenced the debate on the N27.5tn 2024 budget on Thursday, preparatory to passage for second reading.

Leading the debate on the general principles of the budget, House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, commended the President for putting together what he called a holistic budget that was meant to cater for Nigerians of all walks of life.

He said, “In considering the budget of any nation or organisation, you must first consider a few principles. The first is what you have or what are you going to earn. The second is what are you going to spend?

“The third is how your budget did in the previous years. The fourth is what is the difference in this particular budget that you are presenting? And finally, there is the global, domestic, and sub-national context in which your budget is supposed to function.

“The budget drew our attention to the Renewed Hope Agenda so that we have a holistic understanding of where the President was coming from and where he intended to take Nigeria. The budget focused on fiscal challenges in the economy, and the need to tackle insecurity and expand the economic space.

“Special attention was given to education, which particularly made me very happy. The budget tends to look at strategic areas into which the budget will deploy resources.”

Speaking on the security mileage of the 2024 proposed budget, the House Leader said, “I cannot go to my constituency because of the dreaded Auchi-Benin expressway. There is no other way to get there (his village) because of security issues.

“And I am sure, we have moved motion upon motion on insecurity. And I believe that when security is properly tackled in this country, among other things, there will be an increase in the production of goods and services.

“Many businesses today close by 6pm because they are afraid that they will be raided. Many farmers do not go to their farms because of bandits, kidnappers, and assassins.

“Transporters have reduced their fleets to safe areas, similarly, because of insecurity. Even parents have withdrawn their kids from certain schools and are paying double the fees in certain areas that they consider to be safe. The focus of this budget on security as a prime area is a very positive move, for which we must give support.”

The House of Representatives Committee on Health on Tuesday raised concerns over the decline in the country’s health manpower.

The committee disclosed that due to the relocation of doctors and nurses from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) to various parts of the world, five wards comprising 150 beds have been shut down. LUTH is Nigeria’s premier health training institution.

Chairman of the committee, Dr Amos Magaji, described the situation as worrisome saying the legislative arm is working toward nipping the increasing rate of Nigerians going abroad for medical tourism in the bud.

He said the Nigeria health workers migration overseas has taken a huge toll on the country’s heath system affirming that “the japa syndrome will be curtailed by building state-of-the-art infrastructure and making the sector attractive and rewarding to workers irrespective of their fields.”

Speaking during an oversight visit to LUTH, Idi-Araba, the health committee chairman reiterated that “Nigeria as a nation has found itself in a precarious moment, especially in the healthcare system where japa has taken centre stage. We used to have japa only for nurses, and doctors, but now it has even gone to many departments in the health sector.

“We saw significant problems here. Right now, there are about five wards in LUTH, totalling about 150 beds that have been shut down because there are no nurses and doctors to work in those wards. And these are a result of the ‘japa’ syndrome we are having.

“As a committee, we will work together with the Federal Government and also with the teaching hospital to find a way out of these national embarrassments that have befallen this country.

“It’s not something that can be fixed in one day, but nevertheless, we are going to be approaching it piecemeal. We are going to do what we can do immediately and what we can do long-term approach to it.

“So, by the grace of God, some of the issues of the ‘japa’, we are actually looking at how to solve this problem, starting even from the enrollment in universities, and then how house officers are employed, and then of course, the residency programme.”

“They have sacrificed so much for Nigerians to be healthy, for us to get proper health care. Our hands are on deck, and then that was the reason why if you were here earlier, you discovered that some of the key questions and some of the key things we attended here were things that have to do with delivering affordable and accessible health care to Nigerians.”

Meanwhile, Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Professor Wasiu Adeyemo told the lawmakers that the cancer centre of the university teaching hospital has treated over 9,600 patients since it was commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

Benwallt:
https://dailytrust.com/anambra-catholic-priest-remanded-for-impregnating-teenager/

DKM123:
It's like you have serious mental pr0blem that defies solution. The Baba wey swear for you don d!e tey tey!

Support APC? Vote for Buhari? God forbid b@d thing! Why will anyone vote a relic who was obviously not a modern day intelligent technocrat and who could barely carry his unhealthy self talkless of a country like Nigeria on his fragile shoulder? You think I am phoolish like you?

Agbadorians?! Walahi, your head dey pain you. Is it not n!coompoops like you who are suvking the balls of the Agbado master that are called agbadorians? Na ment?

Your Agbado master Timnubu said inside his billion naira private jet that suffering is a virtue. So you agbadorians only know suffering and pain. But I believe still that one day, a good leader will come and try to ameliorate the suffering instead of making it 10folds like your evul w!cked Timnubu has done.


Las las, you must be typing from bed 9 in a psych!atric ward cos you sound like a delulu.

iwaeda:
Pointing Piilate promised 100 days to solve Apapa Oshodi gridlock, more than 1500 days, getting worse.

IN apparent defiance to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s vacation order, truck drivers have practically shut down Oshodi-Apapa expressway, causing untold pains to motorists and residents.

Following the Lagos State zero tolerance on indiscriminate parking by truck drivers in Apapa axis, sanity returned. However, the free-flow of traffic has disappeared along Oshodi-Apapa expressway, inward port access roads, in the last three days.

Between Second Rainbow and Mile 2, there was a tight gridlock on the Oshodi-Apapa expressway, yesterday, contrary to the governor’s directive.

Also, most heavy-duty vehicle drivers have relocated to some inner roads like Kirikiri Avenue, parking indiscriminately along the road.

The Special Joint Traffic Team, recently established to manage the traffic on the directive of Governor Sanwo-Olu, as well as men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, as of 5 pm, yesterday, were nowhere to be found.

Efforts to get the reaction of Mr. Sola Giwa, special adviser on Transportation to the Governor, and Bolaji Oreagba, general manager, LASTMA, were unsuccessful as of press time.

Those who work and live or have one form of business transaction or the other in the axis had harrowing experiences driving through the road.

Impunity, graft

Vanguard gathered that impunity and corruption in the administration of the Electronic Call-Up System (Eto) for trucks by the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, and its technical partner -Truck Transit Park Limited, TTP, have returned, leading to trucks parking indiscriminately on the road.

Recently, freight forwarders operating at Lagos Ports raised an alarm over the return of impunity and corruption in the administration of the Eto for trucks.


Freight forwarders alleged that the Call-Up system for trucks which was initially issued for N27,000 is now being hoarded and made available to very few cabals, who are now reselling it for N150,000.

NPA had recently, temporarily suspended the release of flatbed trucks from Satellite truck parks to Pre-gate from entering various terminals inside the Lagos Port Complex.

Speaking on the attendant challenges currently being experienced as a result of the NPA decision, Chairman of Lilypond Export Chapter of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Mr Femi Olabanji, lamented that the ongoing corruption has led to an increase in haulage prices.

According to him, trucking of cargoes from the port has increased from N400,000 to between N800,000 and N1.2million.

His words: “Right now, trucks can no longer enter the terminal because the TTP and NPA would tell you that the portal is full. People are now going through the expressway directly into the port. This is a practice that has since been stopped through the introduction of the Call up system.

“Today, people are buying the Call up for as much as N150,000 from TTP for the main truck park.

“We are begging the government to look into this problem, we believe that NPA officials and TTP are the ones behind this corruption, without the backing of port officials, the Call up system which we are doing for N27,000 cannot be sold for N150,000.

“Meanwhile, demurrage on a 40ft container at APM Terminal is N60,000 per day, while 20ft container demurrage is N45,000. Before now, we were paying N15,000 as terminal charges before it suddenly increased.

“These cabals would pass their trucks at night between 8pm till early in the morning.

“However, the normal trucks would not be allowed into the port in the afternoon because the ones that entered at night are still inside. The TTP has turned the port into a business point.

“Initially, when you come into Lilypond truck park, within two days you are out with your consignment from the port but today it is no longer like that.

“The Managing Director of NPA, the Port Police, the Lagos State Government, the Shippers Council and everyone concerned should look into this problem to avert crisis. In the past three weeks our trucks cannot go into the port.

“They are telling us the portal is full and that we cannot go into the terminal, but they are generating the call-up system and selling it for N150,000.

“The TTP system needs to be upgraded. They have returned us to the old system whereby cabals control the movement of trucks into the port, they would not allow the right thing to be done, they have paralysed the system and the TTP has accepted them.

“After buying the Call up for N150,000, you would use N30,000 to pass the truck into the port, sometimes, you can spend N200,000 before entering the port. This has taken away the whole gains of achievements recorded before.

“Now there is a hike in haulage price because there are only special trucks that can go into the port. To take cargo from the port is now N800,000 upwards.”

NPA’s notice

In a notice to truck drivers, owners and other stakeholders, the management of TTP, on behalf of NPA said that the release of trucks from the pre-gates will be made to match truck admittance of the various terminals.

According to the recent notice, some levels of delays in the release of trucks from the satellite parks to the pre-gates are anticipated.

The notice read in part: “Following the resolution of the Eto Call up Project Implementation Committee, PIC on Thursday, November 2, 2023 around the need for improvement in traffic management along the LPC road corridor, the NPA has directed that the process for the release of flatbed trucks from Satellite parks to the pre-gates and LPC be halted temporarily.”

Call up system has crashed—COMTUA

On its part, the management of the Truck Transit Park, TTP Nigeria Limited, and truckers under the aegis of Council of Maritime Transport Unions and Association, COMTUA, have blamed the failure of the e-call up system, lack of enforcement on the part of the enforcement team set up by the Lagos State Government and non-inclusion of tankers in the call-up system for the return of gridlock along the Second Rainbow inward Tin-can Island port.

Speaking with Vanguard, President of COMTUA, Yinka Aroyewun, said that the e-call up system has crashed. He also blamed disorganised operation of tanker drivers and operators who park indiscriminately along the road because they seem to be above the law and are uncontrollable.

The President of COMTUA also alleged that members of the enforcement team of the Lagos State government comprising LASTMA, Police, and others are conniving with hoodlums to extort truckers.

He accused members of the enforcement team of empowering hoodlums to extort truckers and truck drivers who refused to pay to the hoodlums are arrested.

He also alleged that officials of the security unit of the NPA, who check e-call up tickets, are also involved in the extortion.

According to him, “The activities of hoodlums, the crashed e-call up system, disorganized operation of tanker drivers and tank farm operators are the cause of the return of the gridlock.”

thesicilian:
Hard to govern for incompetent tribal bigots

Former President Muhammadu Buhari has maintained that he did his best in the eight years that he governed Nigeria.

Buhari made the disclosure in an interview with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

Daily Trust reports that this is his first interview since leaving office on May 29, 2023.

He said Nigerians are a difficult bunch to manage because “they think they should be” in charge “not you”.

“God gave me the opportunity to serve my country, but I did my best. But whether my best was good enough, I leave for people to judge.

“Nigerians are extremely difficult. People know their rights. They think they should be there, not you.

“So, they monitor virtually every step. And you have to struggle day and night to ensure that you are competent enough,” he said.

Questioned on the integrity of many of the people surrounding him during administration, the former president stated that “it is their problem “, querying what the persons who criticized him fiercely had done at their individual levels to fight corruption.

Buhari said he allowed people to do their jobs when he assigned tasks, stressing that if he was given the same chance he would not do anything differently under Nigeria’s current system.

The former president stated that he endorsed the controversial naira redesign policy in the twilight of his administration to protect his own integrity and to show Nigerians there was no shortcut to success.

“Whether Nigerians believe it or not, we are an underdeveloped country. And in that sort of situation, there’s materialism and sometimes ruthlessly they didn’t care how they made the money.

“I still feel that the only way I could deprive these people was just to make sure that my integrity became unquestionable… I think as a developing country we still have a long way to go.

“The motivation (for the policy) was to try and make Nigerians believe that there is no shortcut to successful leadership,” he said.

REPORTS of suicide are featuring with dreadful frequency across the country, adding to the prevailing general misery. Many Nigerians were heartbroken when the Edo State Police Command confirmed the death by suicide of Toluige Olokoobi, who became a social media sensation via a video where her son whom she was reprimanding, asked her repeatedly to ‘calm down.’ But there are many more reported cases of self-murder and attempts nationwide. This trend presents another challenge for the government, social organisations, and families.

Olokoobi reportedly took her own life in the presence of her one-year-old child, leaving behind three kids. Neighbours said she had recently been battling depression.

A Nigerian Army captain, Alphonsus Bazza, also reportedly hanged himself in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, leaving behind a wife and a child. In Abuja, 29-year-old Terver Orfega committed suicide by swallowing a lethal chemical early this month, reportedly after a business failure and inability to repay a loan.

Last month, the Bauchi State Police Command reported that Betwom Bitrus, 17, of Bombar, Bogoro Local Government Area, hanged himself after telling his family he was heading for a stream to take a bath.




Two cases gained media traction in July: a 72-year-old resident of Ede, Osun State, Kareem Aderemi, shot himself with a twin-barrelled gun; and in Anambra State, a young pastor, Prosper Igboke, allegedly jumped to his death from a multi-storey building in Nnewi, ostensibly after a failed romance. Security personnel said Aderemi had been struggling with partial blindness, and depression.

A video post went viral in August showing passers-by physically restraining a Lagos socialite, Fareeda Abdulkabir, from jumping off the Third Mainland Bridge into the lagoon, while, amid tears, she poured out her marital frustration.

In 2022, 79 persons died by suicide in Nigeria, according to The PUNCH. Lagos ranked highest with 12 cases; followed by Oyo 10; Kano, four; while Anambra, Edo, Delta, Ogun, and Rivers recorded three each. Experts say some cases are never reported.


Frustration in the land, say experts, is affecting people’s mental health. With joblessness, poverty, hunger, insecurity, and uncaring governance prevalent, many Nigerians slip easily into depression, and some contemplate suicide.

It’s wrong labelling all Nigerians corrupt – ICPC chair
Suicide, says the World Health Organisation, is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds globally. Over 703,000 persons commit suicide worldwide each year, with the most common means being ingestion of pesticides, hanging, and firearms. The frequency of suicides by its ingestion once prompted the Nigerian government to briefly curtail the sale of the Sniper pesticide brand.

Social workers also say the breakdown of traditional family values, drug abuse, cultism, mental ill-health, and bullying, can lead to depression and eventually, suicide.

Undiagnosed mental health is also potent, says the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria, which disclosed that over 60 million Nigerians live with various degrees of mental ill-health. It further lamented that there were only about 200 mental health experts available in the country.

Experts say suicidal feelings can affect anyone of any age, gender, or background, and at any time. Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and frustration can graduate to depression. Parents, families, friends, and communities are therefore advised to pay attention to all persons around them.

But the WHO insists that suicides are preventable, and recommends limiting access to their means – pesticides, firearms, and poisons; identify and monitor persons exhibiting suicidal behaviour, and interact with the media for responsible reporting.

CSOs want the government to decriminalise attempted suicide; the suicidal need care, not punishment.

Government and all levels, communities, families, and faith-based organisations should collaborate to bring down suicide levels.