By Olamide Adenuga

Please let us spread this message. You don’t know what the person next to you is thinking of doing, YOU CAN SAVE A LIFE! I CAN SAVE A LIFE! WE CAN SAVE A LIFE!

There is but one step between life and death.

It is sad, but the truth is that as human beings, we have come to the point where we choose; should I live or should I die? Should I take my life or should I let it be? The pressures of life at times brings us to our knees, that we no longer see the way forward, we no longer see light at the end of the tunnel, but please my dear friend, no matter what has happened to you or is happening to you, no matter what the pressure is, no matter what you are going through or what is going through you, I ADVICE YOU ALWAYS CHOOSE LIFE.

We meet people everywhere, everyday, but we don’t know what’s going on in the minds of these folk, we don’t know who is on the brink of taking his/her life, that the right words of encouragement will make such a person have a change of mind, my favorite book says; “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver”. Don’t let that pretty dress fool you, don’t let the smile on that lady’s face fool you that she has it all together, don’t let the confidence on that young man’s face fool you, dude may have a lot of pressure all bottled up inside, all the appearances may be nothing but a façade.

Suicide has always been from time immemorial, but in recent times, it has become a disturbing, a really disturbing trend. Almost every now and then we have repeated instances, it could be outright, it could be attempted, but the statistics are really scary, not because life itself is scary, but because someone somewhere chose to give up on life. My dear friend, don’t give up on yourself, don’t throw in the towel, please I advice that you choose life.

A young and promising doctor jumped into the lagoon, a final year student decided to hang himself in his room, a young bank executive approved some loan and things went south, he couldn’t take the pressure and he took his own life, a young lady was jilted, she couldn’t handle it, so decided to poison herself, so many of such cases. Fine, the pressures are there, pressures are always on us in life, but always have in mind that; “when there is life, there is hope”.

Someone reading this piece is probably telling me to shut up; “What does he even know? It’s not easy for me at all; he doesn’t know what I am going through. Don’t tell me, be strong, be a man, take it. See Olamide, you don’t know what I am taking”. Sir, I still advice you choose life, there are people who are going through worse and they are still fighting, they are hoping, they are believing. See it as just a dark moment in your life, it will come to pass. If I can make it through the night, there is a brighter day.

And to folk having it really good at the moment, please accept my congratulations; things are going well in your favour, business is moving on really smooth, your kitchen sink doesn’t stink, hooray comes out of your water fountain, and flowers grow right on the tiles of your living room. But when pressure comes, no one is immune; you only have to stay strong and positive at all times. I once heard of a rich man who took a heavy loan to expand his business, but things went against the run of play, the tides rose against the business, he suffered a shipwreck, he couldn’t take it anymore and he decided to put a bullet in his own brain. So no one is immune, stay strong, be optimistic, and be positive.

So please no matter what you face in life, I implore you, I beseech you, I plead with you, I beg of you to choose life always no matter what; be it you lost a job, business gone bad, jilted in a relationship, you were duped, your hopes were dashed, overwhelming family pressures, expectations truncated suddenly, whatever it may be, PLEASE DO NOT QUIT LIVING.

You have the power to say THIS IS NOT HOW MY STORY WILL END. I’m no therapist but I promise you this: I will listen. I will care. You can always talk to me.

Don’t give up because of one bad chapter in your life. Keep going… Your story doesn’t end here

Always be positive, and believe that good things will come for you. YOU WILL WIN!

So please no matter what you face in life, I implore you, I beseech you, I plead with you, I beg of you to choose life always no matter what; be it you lost a job, business gone bad, jilted in a relationship, you were duped, your hopes were dashed, overwhelming family pressures, expectations truncated suddenly, whatever it may be, PLEASE DO NOT QUIT LIVING.