A student at the Department of Hospitality Management Technology, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ezekiel Mayowa, has killed himself after he was reportedly dumped by his girlfriend.
The corpse of the 34-year-old part-time student was discovered in his residence at Eyita, Ikorodu, around 5am on Friday. He was said to have taken a poisonous substance suspected to be Sniper.
Moments before he committed suicide, Mayowa posted a video on Facebook, explaining why he took the decision.
In the three-minute-18-second video, Mayowa bemoaned how his lover, one Bolaji Temmy, whom he had dated for nine years, ended the relationship after she commenced her National Youth Service Corps programme.
Amid sobs, Mayowa, who identified himself as the president of his department’s students’ association, lamented that he had made several efforts to reconcile with his estranged lover, but to no avail.
He said in the video, “I will advise the Federal Government to scrap NYSC because that is where I lost my joy; my love. I am not a bad boy; I am not wicked. Since my woman got into that (NYSC) camp, everything changed. Since last year, we’ve not been able to resolve anything. My woman is now taking an advantage of the mistake I made three years ago to leave me.
“I am going, I need to go, Bolaji Temmy is the woman I’m talking about. I need to go. To all the boys out there, please try to make money before you date any woman. I’ve tried my best. I’ve tried all I could. We’ve been dating for nine years and now she is leaving. I hurt her in the past, but I’ve appealed to her. But she insisted on leaving me.”
He appealed to his mother and colleagues to take heart, noting that he had chosen his own path.
“I will miss my mum. Mummy, please don’t cry. I have chosen my own path…I will miss you all. Your president is going…I am going. I am going now. I am empty. Bye,” he concluded.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, said the Shagamu Road Police Station, Ikorodu, received a distress call on the suicide around 5.30am.
He said when interrogated by the police, the girlfriend said Mayowa was fond of beating her and that they were together shortly before he took the poison.
Elkana said, “The police received information that a 34-year-old part-time student at Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, drank a poisonous chemical identified as Sniper, following a misunderstanding between him and his girlfriend, Olokodana Bolaji, 24, who was also a graduate of the same institution.
“He was rushed to hospital by his neighbours following an alarm raised by his girlfriend, but eventually died. In the statement of his girlfriend, she told police investigators that she and the deceased dated for nine years and that the deceased was fond of beating her.
“She said while she was with the deceased in his room, they had a quarrel and he, as usual, resorted to physical violence. She said she ran to the rest room and upon her return, she found him gasping for breath with an empty bottle of Sniper beside him.”
The PPRO stated that detectives from the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, visited the scene of the incident, adding that the corpse had been deposited at the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
“Investigation is ongoing to determine whether it was actually a suicide case or murder,” Elkana added.
On November 24th, 2024, the Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards organized a captivating book reading of Do As You’re Told, Baji, authored by the renowned writer Lola Shoneyin. The event, held at 11 a.m. in Kwara State, celebrated the power of storytelling and the importance of fostering a culture of reading among families.
Among the distinguished attendees were the First Lady of Kwara State, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq, alongside notable figures such as Wole Ojo, Cynthia Clarke, Chioma Okafor, Segun Arinze, and Kemi Adekomi, who added prestige and insight to the event.
In her remarks, Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq highlighted the vital role of parents in fostering a love for reading among children. “Parents should cultivate the habit of reading with their children,” she said. “It’s not just about education—it’s about creating lasting memories and strengthening family bonds.”
The reading of Do As You’re Told, Baji showcased Lola Shoneyin’s vibrant and relatable storytelling, leaving participants inspired to embrace literature as a means of cultural and personal enrichment. The event also featured engaging discussions about the book’s themes, celebrating the depth and diversity of Nigerian literature.
This initiative reinforces the BON Awards’ dedication to promoting the arts, literacy, and the celebration of Nigerian creative talents.
Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation Magazine, says he regrets spending about N50 million to buy the presidential nomination form of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2022.
Momodu spoke in a recent interview on Eden Oasis, published on Sunday.
The journalist and politician said the primary was heavily monetised, with a particular aspirant doling out $30,000 to each of the 774 delegates who voted during the election.
The politician stated that he would not vie for any party’s presidential ticket unless he is adopted as a consensus candidate.
“Experience is the best teacher. I have come to realise that there are powers that you can describe as principalities that control Nigeria,” he said.
“Unless a major political party decides to adopt me — where you have a consensus of people who say Dele Momodu is best suited to change and to lead Nigeria. Then I will consider it.
“But if I have to pick my money to buy a presidential nomination form of about N100 million… I spent about N50 million to buy the form for the last one.
“N50 million would have bought me a property. It was a waste. I didn’t get even one vote because everything was monetised.
“One of the candidates paid as much as $30,000 per delegate, and we had 774 delegates.
“So, how do you want to compete with them? They have stolen the country blind and are doing all kinds of deals to make money, especially those in the oil-rich areas.
“It is not easy. You can’t compete with them. That’s why they insult Nigerians anyhow because of the amount of money available to them in raw cash. There’s no country where people buy raw cash like Nigeria.
“The bulk of their money is not in any bank. So, they are not traceable to any bank. So, they have the money. If today you say to some politicians that you need $500 million to become a president, they will find it.
“So, people like us, where will I start from?”
Momodu was one of the presidential hopefuls of the PDP at the time. He did not secure any votes during the exercise.
Atiku Abubakar clinched the presidential ticket with 371 votes to beat his closest challenger, Nyesom Wike, now minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), who polled 237 votes.
Abubakar was defeated by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election.
Bukola Saraki, former senate president, scored 70 votes; Bala Mohammed, Bauchi governor, got 20 votes; Udom Emmanuel, former governor of Akwa Ibom, secured 38 votes; while Pius Anyim, former secretary to the government of the federation, polled 14 votes.
Sam Ohuabunwa, a businessman, alongside Momodu and Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti, received zero votes.
Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says Nigeria has saved $20 billion from “petrol” subsidy removal and market-based pricing of the foreign exchange rate.
Edun spoke at a ceremony recently held to mark the first 100 days in office of Esther Walso-Jack, head of civil service of the federation, in Abuja.
“An amount of five per cent of GDP is what those two subsidies were costing when there was a subsidy on “PMS”; when there was petroleum product generally for a long time and when there was a subsidy of foreign exchange. Between them, they were costing five percent of GDP,” he said.
“If you say GDP was on average, let’s say $400 billion. We all know what five percent of that is – $20 billion of funds that could be going into infrastructure, health, social services, education.”
Edun said these flows now return into the government’s coffers for further deployment to the aforementioned sectors.
“The real change that has happened with the measures of Mr. President is that nobody can wake up and their target for the day or for the week or the month or the year is to get access to cheap funding, cheap funding exchange from central bank, which they can now flip,” Edun said.
“And overnight, they become wealthy from no value added for doing virtually nothing, except you know the right people. Similarly, they can no longer try and be part of a new peak market and very inefficient “petrol” subsidy regime as a way of making money overnight.”
On May 29, President Bola Tinubu said the “petrol” subsidy regime was over.
Three months later, TheCable reported that Tinubu was considering a “temporary subsidy” on “petrol” as crude oil prices and foreign exchange rates soared.
After several denials of the return of “petrol” subsidy by the authorities, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, on August 19, said the federal government owes it N7.8 trillion for under-recovery.