Toluwalope Ayeye
Asido Campus Network, University of Ibadan, in conjunction with Lord Tedder Hall, held a jog on Saturday, 12 September 2021, to commemorate the World Suicide Prevention Week. The jog, which was tagged ‘Creating Hope Through Action’ started with students converging at 5:30 a.m. in front of Lord Tedder Hall and in front of Alexander Brown Hall at the University College Hospital.
15 minutes before the jog began from Lord Tedder Hall, the Hall’s Sports Minister gave a speech on suicide, noting that a huge number of deaths recorded among the youth were as a result of suicide. He explained that the 30-minute jog was coordinated to raise awareness on suicide and its prevention.
The jog began at 6:15 a.m., with the students jogging from Lord Tedder Hall, past Bello Hall, towards the Zoological Garden, and then down the Tech Road. From there on, they jogged up the hill, towards CMF Hostel and back down to Queen Idia Hall, where a little break was taken to allow for the taking of pictures.
After about 20 minutes, the jog began again, and the students ran from Queen Idia Hall towards the school gate. After getting to the gate, the jog was paused, before it continued again, to Lord Tedder Hall.
Speaking to Williams Owoeye, the Director of Programs at Asido Campus Network, University of Ibadan, he said, “the reason for the jogging is to create awareness around the topic of suicide prevention. This, however, has a two-fold impact. Apart from the message that gets passed across, the participants also get a boost in their physical as well as mental health too. This is relying on evidence that physical exercises boost our mood and makes us stronger’
When asked if he felt the goals of Asido were achieved, he said, “to a large extent, I believe the goal was achieved. Admittedly, it was not as big as we had expected, but the fact that people came around means that they left the exercise in a better mental and physical state. The suicide prevention message also gets shared as people see the text printed on the placards carried during the jog. When people also see the pictures and videos of the event on social media, the message also gets disseminated.”
