Since the news of her demise broke online, friends and colleagues of Miss Oluwapelumi Orungbe have continued to express shock over the incident.
Read: Young Nigerian OAP Oluwapelumi Orungbe Reportedly Dies From Suicide
Pelumi, an intern OAP reportedly took her own life yesterday for yet to be ascertained reasons and has since been buried.
According to CoolFM OAP N6 whom she interned directly under, the young budding broadcaster and photography enthusiast never showed signs of depression and they even had a long talk last Saturday where he gave pointers on becoming better at work.
I even had a longgg chat with her on Saturday, gave her Tips & Pointers to being a Broadcaster & gave her an Assignment she is to submit this Saturday. She was so Excited & Full of Life. Not an Inkling of a Clue to her Mental State. Ive never felt this Helpless before.
— #BiznessB4Pleasure (@N6OFLIFE) July 26, 2018
But maybe she did! A look on her last activities on social media in the days leading to the unfortunate incident suggests that she may have given hints of her planned action.
Tweets on her timeline from April shows that she may have been dropping cryptic messages about her personal struggles.
“why am I here”
— A man. (@Lumiii_) April 19, 2018
I get that I’m tiring but stop breaking plx
I’ll do better 😞— A man. (@Lumiii_) April 27, 2018
Weeks back, precisely on July 11 and 12, she tweeted saying she really needed ‘to go’
Lol I really need to go
— A man. (@Lumiii_) July 11, 2018
I’m sorry.
— A man. (@Lumiii_) July 11, 2018
disaster
— A man. (@Lumiii_) July 12, 2018
the bad energy that needs to stay far away…
— A man. (@Lumiii_) July 12, 2018
Days after her first tweets, again precisely on July 18 and 20th, late Pelumi on twitter again left some messages that seemed like she was in distress.
Sigh
— A man. (@Lumiii_) July 19, 2018
oh my god
— A man. (@Lumiii_) July 20, 2018
Were these tweets signs and a call for help that was never noticed by her family, friends or colleagues? From her other posts, one needs no clearer evidence that the late young woman liked to help people. There were posts of her trying to create awareness for those in distress or facing one ailment or the other but just maybe when she needed that same kind of love, there was no one for her.
It’s not always easy for people to come out and share their pains in a society like ours where being open can make a victim an instrument of mockery for judgemental people. Maybe we all need to be more open-hearted towards those that are around us and study their behaviours so that when a slight change in ‘tweeting’ pattern is noticed, we can spot the red flags.
For those battling with depression and other things that may weigh them down and push them into considering ending their life, there is hope of a better life ahead if you seek help and counselling from trained mental health experts. With the level of mental awareness growing in the country, there is nothing to be ashamed of.
Messages have been pouring in from people who claim to have known Pelumi and everyone described her as one full of life and jovial but behind that mask of happiness was the demon that consumed her.
See some of the messages below:
She was a senior colleague in the same department in unilag. She brought liveliness and radiance into any room she walks into.. Never expected anything like that from her. Depression is truly real
— Olaniyi Opeyemi E. (@opsydgenius) July 26, 2018
She was known for her always cheerful self
— ThatSilentTweep (@nytafili) July 26, 2018
She worked with Cars45. She was full of life.. Damn just sad https://t.co/7dvJ3716L5
— SC :Joeluba (@datGuyJoel) July 26, 2018
I and Pelumi served together in Ogun state. Always fun, smiled a lot. Jovial, loved to take pictures. I’m shook. This thing is real.
— Njoku chizurum (@chizurum_njoku) July 26, 2018