It is not in the African culture to take one’s life but it seems that things are taking a different pattern in our society now a days. Out of fear of being disowned, young Maryam decided that she was better off dead. BLESSING UKEMENA writes.
Maryam! Maryam!!” Screamed Mrs. Aisahtu Ibrahim as she stared helplessly at her unconscious daughter, willing her to stand up. Maryam remained still on the floor and her mother kept screaming until the neighbours rushed out to see what the shouting was all about.
This was happening at about 1am on the 26th of February in a compound not too far from the popular Orange market located at? Mararaba, a suburbs in Nasarawa state. Soon the neighbour came out, assisted the father of the girl to take her to the hospital.
The 14-year old unconscious girl had marched to where a methylated bottle was kept in the house and emptied its contents into her stomach with the intention to die. Now why would such a young girl want to take her own life. Here is the story for you to judge for yourself.
Mr. and Mrs. Ibrahim are a Muslim family? have from the Ebira tribe of kogi state and like many others were settled to peaceful life in the outskirts of the federal capital territory. Mrs. Ibrahim had just given birth to her sixth child about two weeks before the said night of the incident.
She relied on her first child, Maryam to run errands including at night when the baby is prone to keep everyone awake. On this particular night, just before 12 midnight, Mrs Ibrahim had to wash some baby clothes and asked Maryam to spread them outside to dry. Maryam went to do as asked but did not return for another 40 minutes. Mr Ibrahim noticed her prolonged absence and asked his wife where his daughter was.
She replied that she was yet to return from the errand that she had sent her. Mr Ibrahim went out and before long returned with Maryam and started scolding her. What he saw her? doing cannot be ascertained as he refused to tell Leadership Sunday? that particular detail.
Neighbors present at the time told Leadership Sunday that the father kept asking his daughter to tell him exactly where she had been and to also explain where she had been on Monday (it seemed she had not gone to school on that particular day).
Young Maryam who attends the Government Secondary School, Nyanya, was crying her eyes out and had told her dad that she had not gone anywhere or done anything wrong. Mr Ibrahim, wanting to get to the truth out of the girl threatened to disown her and to stop her school if she did not say what kept her outside for so long.
The threat was too much for Maryam and she most likely believed him. Her next action was to march into the room, grab the bottle of methylated spirit and drank all, not wishing to live the life of an illiterate. Her mother then started screaming while her father tried to revive the girl by forcing some olive oil and milk down her throat so she could vomit the poisonous substance.
As the neighbours came to see wht was happening, they decided to take her to the Mararaba Medical Center. When they got there, they were asked to write a statement before the girl would be attended to. The procedure seemed to take too long and the father worried and eager to get his daughter some medication decided to go to another Hospital.
So they went to a private hospital close to the Mararaba bus stop called the Livia Shammah hospital where Maryam was immediately attended to. She was admitted, given medication to douse the effect of the spirit in her system and a drip was fixed her arm.
Mrs Ibrahim who could not follow her husband and the girl to the hospital that night because she had to tend to the baby, was calling every five minutes to know the situation of things. Mr. Ibrahim refused to make any comment to Leadership Sunday but by the next morning when Mrs. Ibrahim was able to come to the hospital, she commented that she was just relieved that her daughter would be alright. It was about 8am the next day before Maryam was able to speak.
When asked why she wanted to take her life, she said: “I was afraid to stop school. My father also said that he would disown me but I did not do anything. I do not want to stop going to school,” she said tearfully. The nurse on duty at that time, called nurse Becky said that if Maryam had not been brought in on time, the substance would have caused extensive damage to her system, which would probably have killed her.
To anybody listening it is quite unreasonable for a young girl of 14 to want to take her own life. It is not in the Nigerian culture for young people to commit suicide. Those present had the notion that a young man was involved in the story but no one could be sure as Mariam did not say anything pertaining to that in spite of all the questions put to her.
“I just went to spread the clothes that mama asked me to spread but the pain was too much for mw. I will not do it again”. She also mentioned that she would not want any of her younger ones to follow her action.
Is there more to the story than what Maryam was telling? There is no way to know if Maryam or her dad is not telling. What kind of idea would make a teenager bold enough to want to take her life? Maryam could be just one of many teenagers out there that are considering suicide.
Some would say that it is a result of western influence because suicide among the youths is not an African culture. There is a lot to be done in teaching the youths about having the right mindset in any situation no matter how depressing things may be.
Parents, teachers and the society have to get involved in this venture. The future generation of this country should know that they must not forget who they truly are in spite of the life’s ups and downs, hard to die Africans.