Chioma Onuegbu of the Vanguard Newspapers reports that it was sad wails in Mbiabong Itam in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State when a 50-year-old man, identified as Chief Ekanem Edet, was found dead in his room after strangling himself.
A former Secretary of the Mbiabong Village Council, popularly called ‘Jolly Boy’, he allegedly left a suicide note in which he blamed his action on harsh economic condition. Vanguard reports that a close associate of the deceased, Mr. Okon Effiong said that Edet ‘was a very sociable man and always shared his thoughts on issues and did not know why he should consider suicide as the last option to escape from these hard times.’
A pastor at the local church recalled: “He used to complain that his petty business was no longer fetching him and his family basic needs such as food, clothing and fees for the children’s education. He was always blaming government for the economic policies that do not allow him afford basic commodities such as gari, bread, yam, rice, beans, oil, kerosene and other essential goods.”
Parts of this article originally appeared in the Vanguard Newspapers
