Nigerian Youth Suicides - A Call for Holistic Reforms

In May, Sahara Reporters in an article told the tragic story of a promising 400 level University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) student Chukwuemeka Akachi, who had taken his own life after leaving a suicide note on a social media channel. A budding poet, his social media posts appeared to indicate that he had been facing mental health challenges and while grateful for the support of friends, it seemed he was still struggling.

This tragic loss of a student with such great potential reignited public debate about what appears to be a number of recent similar sad incidents involving young Nigerian students.

The fervent conversation around the incidents brought to attention what seemed to be a recurrent feature – the apparent links to the relatively new insecticide in the Nigerian market, Sniper.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a substantial proportion of global suicides are estimated to be due to intentional self-poisoning with pesticides. Worldwide, an estimated three million cases of pesticide poisoning occur every year, resulting in an excess of 250,000 deaths. Although a powerful insecticide and pesticide, Sniper is readily accessible in corner shops and supermarkets across Nigeria and is available in many households.

Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), a few days ago, announced that they would direct a change in the packaging of Sniper. Christiana Adeyeye, the Director General of NAFDAC, said that Sniper containers “could now be made very difficult to open, or may be turned into a spray rather than the liquid contents it is known for.” The announcement came after considerable commentary about the fact that these students and others seemed to have such easy access to such a powerful poisonous chemical. The question about whether Sniper and other poisonous chemicals should be banned is a growing conversation, and several health professionals and advocates weighed in on the question of whether NAFDAC’s announcement was an effective and sufficient policy response to the issue.