If the wide sky is enough for millions of birds to fly without any conflict, why can’t this spacious earth serve the same purpose for man. There are no limit to opportunities, the sun is still out for anybody to wash clothes and dry them. However, we don’t judge when we are not in the same shoe with any other person.

I was filling the vacuum in my heart with these words when I got the news of a 21 year old dreamer, Segun, who tried relentlessly to gain admission into the varsity three consecutive times and keeps drowning in the pool of JAMB. His heart turned too feeble to withhold the pain when he slipped the 4th time, then he taught the world how to make a “Tea Sniper” and led by example.

Sometimes when the heart is being attacked by disappointments, it will continue to lose its strengths and weaknesses will set in. This exactly was what I saw about Him coupled with some other factors i will be reviewing in this post.

From my observation, Segun is one of the few reserved people on earth, it takes pain for him to talk to the world. In fact, in his twitter profile he stated that he is introverted. I can imagine what it means, because I used to be one. In his silence flows thousands of messages and in his speech lies hundreds of things left unsaid. That is the type of person he is.

However, he broke his silence and shared a thread on his twitter page sometimes October last year where he told the world about his story, pleading for support and assistance from people. He stated in his story that he lost his father at age 6 as the only child and his mother remarried. His mother thereafter gave birth to 3 more kids and since he’s the eldest, she took care of him less.

In his struggling to be at par with mates, after finishing secondary education, he applied for a job where he’s getting peanut payment and insisted not to apply for any UTME because he feels no one will help him further. After much persistence, he later agreed to purchase the form and attempt the exam. His first jamb attempt fetched him 189 and not any admission. He pushed harder the next time and scored a bit higher, 202 but still same fate. What a sad story of that ambitious young chap.

The storm was getting tougher for that boy but he resisted and took the 3rd exam where he scored higher, 233 and gained admission to study Medicine. That should be a great news but it turned sour when his mother could not get loan to fund the admission, so the admission was withdrawn.

He then sought for support on twitter where he got 2 gold hearted people to help him throughout his tertiary education. That was enough motivation for him and he started his UTME preparation, after the exam, we are all acquainted with the delay of the result. He got the shocker of his life when his result was released it read 167. In his “last tweet”, he showed displeasure at the score because he felt he can never get a score as bad as that meaning, he prepared harder for the exam and couldn’t stand to be dissapointed.

He then prompted the whole twitter community that he would be teaching them how to make a Tea with sniper live later that night. After all motivational comment on his tweet, he insisted to carry out his plan. His mentor, who is also part of the 2 that promised to sponsor him also commented to ask him to call him or at least receive his call, but he replied saying he barred all calls and still insisted on his decision. This implies that he couldn’t hold anything in his mind again. What a sad moment!

I didn’t join the community to view his supposed final moment but i tried to get it on someone else page who either saved it or retweeted. It is not only horrible, it is heartbreaking to watch someone take his own soul himself. He was playing a song of Adekunle Gold on repeat throughout the 16 minutes tragic clip. The lyrics of the music is painting a sad message and also reading notes that shows full sadness. I paid attention less though. There was also a book on his table titled “Why you act the way you do”. It is a book that is meant to reinvigorate someone and help in decision making. The book is meant to nurse his sadness because it’s contents are good for that purpose.

Towards the end of his clip, after mixing satchet peak milk with sniper and drinking it, the reaction started. But before taking the Tea Sniper, it seems he heard a call from outside and he went to answer the call and also lock the door. During the reaction, he was waving at the whole viewers, reading their comments but blindly. Then he went unconscious.

I am glad that a bit humanity still exists in man as they all tried possible efforts to rescue him. His house was located, he was rushed to a nearby hospital and thereafter to the state hospital where he started responding to treatment.

It should be known that “Suicide doesn’t end the chances of life getting worse, it eliminates the possibility of it ever getting any better.” Nonetheless, people’s reactions to life differs and that is why we need to stand up for one another. It is not of good attitude to have friends and you don’t check on them at least once a week, either through call or visitation. Phone chat is not enough because it doesn’t really express people’s feelings.

Comments and trendings on his action on twitter was only castigating him forgetting about his striving too and his situation. Someone commented that He needed to be flogged when rescued. Does that change anything? No. And some people are of the opinion that all he needed was popularity. This is something bad to say, what popularity will be useful to him if he later did not get rescued?

I pray God grant him quick and complete recovery. However, I have a message to pass here.

Depression is a real thing and it leads to suicide for those who did not get enough support on time, adequate caring and desirable results.

There’s no real essence in friendship that is devoid of support and care. Friendship should not only stop at chats, wining and dining together, gisting, whining and what it has been taking for. Friendship should extend to consultation and sensitization, encouragement and enlightenment, motivation and support. Friends should help one another to attain righteousness and success and more importantly with adequate caring for themselves.

To everyone else who also tried ceaselessly to gain admission into the University, there is something you all need to know, admission into the University does not really determine one’s success in life. To some extent it might push you up but that is not the main determinant of being successful. Try to get something else doing, look inward for a potential you can develop in yourself and start working on it, however, don’t relent in your academic pursuit. Still continue striking. Don’t give up and don’t give in.

To conquer your depression, firstly, you need to stop looking out for those who have achieved above you, rather look for those you have achieved above and have the conviction that whatever makes you achieve above them can help you go up higher.

Afterwards, think about other opportunities you will miss if you ended up killing yourself. Think about those things you will miss doing and many more.

Finally, pray to God to help you overcome your tough times. Verily, tough times don’t last forever. Take a deep breath, surmount the hurdles, pick up courage and dust your body off, then you make a new plan and get going.

May God grant every depressed soul their heart desires and create way for them where road is blocked. I pray Segun lives again to see a new light. Aameen.

Abdulbasit Abdusalam, Lagos.

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