For hours on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 residents of Lekki, Lagos where he resided, and the business community were taken aback by the sudden demise of Mr Nick Imudia who reportedly jumped to death in the Lagos apartment where he was residing.
The question on the lips of everyone that heard about the tragic incident was what could have led the 45-year-old Delta State-born business mogul and technology expert to take his own life.
More so that the incident occurred a few days after a final year student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State, Ayandare Modupe reportedly committed suicide after attending a church vigil.
It was gathered that the deceased walked into an uncompleted building close to the church where she attended a vigil at a white garment church and committed suicide.
Like Imudia who called relatives before allegedly committing the act, Modupe reportedly left a suicide note in her bag after hanging herself.
Unlike in the past where factors responsible for the loss of life in many parts of the world were linked to communicable diseases, suicide seems to be making up to the top-list of the cause of death as stated by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The news of the death of Nick Imudia is not only shocking but raises the questions why the young, successful and thriving man could resort to ending it all by committing suicide.
Thus, the sudden act of suicide by the ex-Konga boss has remained a mystery as family members, friends, acquaintances and associates are yet to come out from shock over the incident.
Observers and neighbours who looked to the deceased as their role model given to the fact that he was well known as a business executive and technology leader have continued to wonder why a young man with an enviable track record in technology would decide to end it all.
If the issue at stake had to do with success in life, his intimidating curriculum vitae showed that the deceased bagged a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Industrial Management from the Mikkeli Institute of Technology in Finland between 1994 and 1997.
He then proceeded to Aalborg University for his Master of Engineering degree in Oil and Gas Technology in 2000.
Imudia later earned a Master’s in Business Administration in International Business Management from the Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in 2012.
Before his foray into the e-commerce world, he had stints with TCL/Alcatel as a regional director, and Microsoft Device and Services as the GM/MD for West and Central Africa.
On a visit around the D’light Solar Energy Company located at Remi Fani Kayode Avenue, Ikeja GRA, the guards seen on duty stated that though they are not permitted to speak to anyone as regards the death of their boss, they could not run away from acknowledging the fact that he was a good man.
The chief security officer said, they are still in shock about the death because he did not look like someone likely to take his own life.
Meanwhile, experts have listed the signs of depression, sustained unhappiness, losing interest in things that earlier interest you, a feeling of constant downiness and loss of appetite as posers to act of suicide.
Just as mental health and depression cut across ages, groups and strata, it is noted that these factors can have emotional effects on an individual when they become so overwhelming and they seem to have no option than to take their lives.
According to available statistics, at least one person commits suicide every 40 seconds around the world as a result of mental challenges. This can be attributed as the reason there’s an upsurge in cases of suicide cases in Nigeria.
Emotional trauma known to have played a major role in the surge in cases of suicide is also said to be common in the country.
Experts in the mental health field have alluded that cases of suicide have become commonplace occurrences in the country though under reported in most of the cases which span across the nooks and crannies of the nation.
According to them, lack of accurate statistics on suicide in Africa is quite challenging due to stigma, underreporting and limited data collection.
Suicidal thoughts and acts cut across different social classes ranging from the poor and the rich to the educated, the semi-educated, the uneducated; the employed, and the unemployed, are all involved in the scourge.
They explained that suicidal crisis is not limited to under-developed countries, as it is said to affect all nations and is influenced by factors like mental disorders, depression rates and overall life dissatisfaction.
For instance, findings revealed that in 2019, Lesotho has the highest suicide rate at 72.4 per 100,000 followed closely by Guyana, Eswatini, South Korea and Kiribati.
According to WHO’s recent estimates, nations with the highest rates of suicide deaths in 2019 were low and middle-income countries.
The report highlighted that six of the 10 countries with the highest rates are located in Africa, including Lesotho, which had the highest reported suicide rate in 2019.
Notably, the WHO reports that the recent global median of government health expenditures devoted to mental health was 2.1 percent.
Suicide rate was highest in high-income countries and the second leading cause of death among young people aged between 15 and 29 years, after road injury.
Among teenage girls aged 15 to 19, suicide was the second biggest killer after maternal conditions.
While the report stated that, “In teenage boys, suicide ranked third behind road injury and interpersonal violence.”
A sociologist, Joseph Adeyemi told LEADERSHIP Sunday that some suicide deaths are due to psychological stress, mental challenges, financially related, disappointment, low self-esteem and a lot more.
He said, “This is a multifaceted issue that is influenced by a range of socioeconomic, cultural and psychological factors, including mental health problems, socioeconomic challenges, conflict and displacement, child abuse, gender disparity and substance abuse, among others.”
This, he said, could be the current trajectory that the country is presently in as it is opposite of how and what it used to be.
He opined that people commit suicide as a means of escaping pain or suffering.
“This intentional act is to put a total end to the misfortune of these victims as they believe everything will come to an end with their death.
“Apart from the death of the person involved, suicide comes with trauma to the family members and this causes economic loss and hardship on the victims dependent and society.
“Imagine if the person involved is an expert in a field, this loss of manpower would be felt by the nation,” he said.
While the nation still grapples with a robust plan to tackle this menace, he highlighted that only 38 countries are known to have fully developed national suicide prevention plan.
As a way forward, he suggested that, “Early identification, assessment management and follow-up of suicide behaviours and interacting with the media for responsible reporting of suicide will also help in the reduction of suicide rates.”
Adeyemi further canvassed that people suffering from depression and frustration should seek help by speaking out and not be quiet about their predicament.
As it concerns Nick Imudia, the Lagos State Police Command stated that it has commenced an investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding his death
The State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the development after it became public knowledge that Imudia, in an apparent attempt to take his life, allegedly jumped from the balcony of his residence.