Editorial
…of suicide and suicide attempts
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Dear Editor,
I would be glad, if you could give me a moment to talk about suicide. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the country. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in the world.
When a person dies by suicide, the effect is felt by family, friends and the community. Suicide is when people harm themselves with the aim of ending their lives and die in the process.
News of a middle-aged man jumping from the Tamale flyover in an apparent suicide attempt on Monday, August, 29, 2022, gives credence to the need to take mental health and matters of suicide seriously. A similar incident occurred on the Graphic Road in March 2018 when a young man believed to be in his 20s fell from 40 feet to his death from the overpass linking the area to Kaneshie.
Persons of all ages can be at risk of suicide. The main risk factors are; depression, chronic pain, having been released from prison, financial difficulties, relationship troubles among others.
To stop suicide and suicide attempts, there are various steps that can be taken on individual basis and these include promoting socio-emotional life skills in teenagers, restrict access to suicide-related tools like firearms and pesticides.
Jennifer Yayra Opare,
University for Development Studies,
Nyankpala Campus.
Editorial
No life should be lost over allegations
Dear Editor,
The recent death of Nana Yaw, also known as Dinero/Terry, has left various communities deeply shaken over the circumstances under which a life was lost.
Reports suggest that he went missing after a phone transaction in Teshie and was later found dead. Allegations have circulated that he visited a female friend despite having a pregnant wife at home.
Even if such allegations were true, does that mean he deserved to die? The answer is no. Infidelity is a moral failing, but it is not a crime punishable by death. To suggest otherwise is to normalize violence and diminish the value of human life.
This tragedy should remind us of the urgent need for justice and accountability. His family especially his expectant wife deserves compassion, not judgment. As a community, we must reject victim‑blaming and focus on preventing such senseless losses in the future.
Nana Yaw’s death is not just a personal tragedy, it is a call to action.
We must demand thorough investigation, ensure those responsible are held accountable, and commit ourselves to building a society where disagreements and mistakes do not end in violence.
Princess Wonovi,
Dansoman
Editorial
Take quick action to rebuild Percheyire R/C Basic School
The situation at Percheyire R/C Basic School in the Yilo Krobo district is a warning concerning Ghana’s rural education facilities as pupils in Primary four through six are forced to learn inside a building of mud walls, worn-out roofing sheets, and rotting wooden pillars.
It is more than just an infrastructural shortfall. It indicates a fundamental failing of public safety and educational justice.
Every day, when pupils and teachers arrive at school, their safety is in danger because a school building has such fundamental flaws that it could collapse during a storm.
The classroom is now a hazard rather than a haven for learning for the 30 upper primary pupils and their teachers. A single extreme weather event could cause a mud construction to fall dangerously because it depends on makeshift timber pillars.
These children are routinely deprived of the instructional hours that the national curriculum promises them when the arrival of rain inevitably necessitates the suspension of classes to save lives, books, and furniture.
A deeper systemic problem is revealed when Rev. Elizabeth Korasare, a former teacher, reveals that this identical arrangement has not changed in 38 years.
Some proponents contend that local government institutions like the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the District Assembly are solely to blame for the main failure. Actual rehabilitation has been postponed due to administrative inactivity, despite official site visits and reports submitted by the school administration.
According to this viewpoint, there is a problem with the way emergency educational funds are allocated and prioritised when a community school is left in a dangerous condition for decades while waiting for budgetary allocations.
This point of view highlights the necessity of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and public-private collaborations. When state machinery fails, supporters contend that combining corporate money with citizen mobilisation provides a more flexible way to replace deteriorating structures.
It is a pity that Percheyire R/C Basic School’s surrounding infrastructure worsens the school’s structural deterioration. Children travelling from nearby communities like Togodo are severely restricted in their access due to an inadequate road network.
When more than 60 school-aged children in a single nearby town are cut off from regular attendance due to distance and bad roads, the school’s capacity to raise the district is substantially limited. A contemporary classroom block will only be successful if students can get there safely.
The lives of Percheyire’s pupils and teachers are at risk, therefore the Spectator is pleading with the Yilo Krobo District Assembly and other interested parties to rebuild the primary block.




