Doctor Jumped into the Lagoon

By Osula Daniel

If I was in Lagos, you'd know. If I was in China, you'd still know. Now that I'm in Delta, you know. This is because I write in relation to my immediate environment. Most of my articles are an inspiration of a day-to-day experience. I do this because I wouldn't want to write on something I am not thoroughly clear on. Should I write on anything outside my vicinity, I'd be the last, so I can garner as much as possible on the actual occurrence.

As the story goes, a 35 year old medical Doctor, resident in Lagos, ordered his driver to park by the road side, alighted from the vehicle, and jumped into the Lagoon. The last time I read a story relating to a Lagoon, I was in primary four
or so. My Macmillan reader told a story of one Agbo.

I have always thought about death and the million ways people exit life. To me, two of the most dreadful ways to die is either by drowning or burning to ashes.

I'm hydrophobic. This is why I cannot swim or even bother to learn how to. The times I tried and had water stuck in my nose, I had an idea of how dreadful drowning would be. I'd rather learn to walk on needles. This makes it really difficult for me to imagine the slow, gradual and painful process of death, a medical Doctor chose to subject himself to, when he could have access to drugs or other stuffs that are less painful and a most gratifying way to death.

This means, whatever he was going through; to him, was more, compared to the process of drowning, which is why he opted for the lesser pain. Nothing has been said to point in the direction of an idea as to what it could have possibly been that drove the man to take his life
in such a gruesome way.

It brings me back to my abode. I've seen a lot of people handle depression with kids gloves. I've read a lot of depressed people share their opinions on the matter. Some of these people do not even know how depressed they are.

From my conversation with many, I discovered a lot people are depressed for the most mundane reasons you can think of. People are depressed because their whatsapp isn't updating. They are
depressed because their favourite club isn't topping the league. They are depressed because NEPA took the light, because they can't afford a bag or a human hair. And you begin to think
depression is not to be taken seriously because it has been abused. But don't play yourself.

While you think these aren't substantial reasons enough to be depressed, these people think about suicide more often. At some point in this school, all I wanted was to dropout. At other points, I didn't just want to quit school, I wanted to quit life too. These things kinda toughens a person. With each phase you survive, you confront the next phase with ease until you become stoic and impenetrable.

Now, I've had guys and girls come out from their closet and confront their issues. I'm tempted to mention names of guys who I know have grown strong over the years. These very people inspire me everyday, and I'm so glad to be part of the processes. Very few people still do 'secret'.

Most people are talking about what
affects them and gathers opinions on how to handle. A lot of these silent sufferers are females. They've created an image for
themselves that telling their story could dent. Or they are trying so hard to shy away from stigmatisation and discrimination. So they think

'if I tell my story, naso dem go see me finish ni?',

and then choose to handle it alone, thus,
shying away from the obvious reality. Ego would first kill you before you actually reach your threshold where you can't take it anymore and explode. You don't know how many of these slay queens cry to sleep every night. From their daily activities, if you pay close attention, you'd
figure out. Please! Help yourselves. Help people around you help you! Talking helps.

When I say talking helps, I forget to add 'it
depends on who you're talking to'. Is the person really listening to help or to know just to talk about it later? If you're in the position to listen, please keep your judgmental self in the closet before you double somebody's problem(s).

And you going through a phase, don't dumb it down on people claiming they didn't love you enough or didn't show it, when you made know efforts to reach out. People don't read minds.

Even those who accurately predicted you
needed help, you vehemently refused and argued with them because you felt insulted; your ego deflated. So, when it sometimes becomes unbearable, know your choices brought you there. Be responsible for your actions or inactions.