Opeyemi Waheed, the first son of a 52-year-old man, Bolaji Waheed, who reportedly drank poison in the Ajegunle, Ikorodu area of Lagos State, says nobody in the family knows why his father committed suicide.
The 18-year-old son told our correspondent that the family members were still looking for explanation why his father, who was an electrician, took the drastic decision.
We had reported on Tuesday that residents of Salvation Avenue found Bolaji’s corpse at the bank of the Itowolo River at about 1.30pm on Monday.
It was reported that Bolaji, who was declared missing on Saturday, was found with a bottle containing poison.
The police had said Bolaji was believed to have drunk the poison, before plunging into the river.
When we got to the Waheeds’ rented apartment on Church Street on Tuesday, Opeyemi, an admission seeker, said the family was still confused.
He said, “Daddy did not talk about killing himself. He did not disclose anything to the family. He was a quiet man. He usually kept to himself. Daddy is from Lagos Island. He did not usually tell us about his personal life. We are three kids. Mummy is fine. She is gradually getting over the incident.”
A family friend, identified only as Pastor Ajiboye, said Bolaji played with his last child in front of the house before going out on the day he committed suicide.
He said, “The man was an electrician. He was not getting jobs as he used to, but he was not suffering. He had money to take care of his family. His friend at Sango Ota area was the one that reported to the police on Saturday that he had gone missing.
“On Sunday in church, I and some members of the congregation still prayed that he would be found .
“People, who saw him on Friday said he left around 12pm on Friday. When he got outside and saw his last child playing, he hugged him and then left. This is to tell you that nothing was wrong with him mentally.
“A neighbour saw him standing at the bus stop for about 20 minutes. Nobody knew he planned to kill himself. I believe his decision had some spiritual undertones.
“He was found dead behind a heap of sand at the river bank. It was one of the boys in the area who wanted to defecate who first saw the corpse and raised the alarm.”
A police source at the Owode division told our correspondent that Bolaji had been buried.
