- Safiu Kehinde
Ajibola Ibitayo, a Part Two Medical student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, has committed suicide after failing his examinations for the second time.
As confirmed in a statement issued on Thursday by the university’s Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Olarewaju, the student with matriculation number DEN/2021/023, took his own life after learning he would have to repeat Part Two for another academic year.
Olarewaju explained that the results of the last semester examinations were released on Wednesday, revealing that Ibitayo, who had already repeated the level once, failed again.
The school management expressed shock over the demise of the student who was said to have injected himself at his parents’ home in Ejigbo area of the state.
“The entire OAU community is in deep shock over this sad development. The student, identified as Ajibola Ibitayo, reportedly injected himself at his parents’ home in Ejigbo, Osun State, after confirming the results. He had been repeating Part Two during the last session,” Olarewaju said.
According to the statement, the deceased’s father is a medical doctor, and the tragic incident occurred shortly after the family became aware of the exam outcome.
Reacting to the tragic incident, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Simeon Bamire, described the death as painful and avoidable.
He urged parents and guardians to help their children understand that “temporary setbacks in the pursuit of success are part of life and not the end of it.”
Bamire also appealed to students to see failure as “an opportunity to redirect their paths towards greater achievements” while praying for God to grant the family, faculty, and university community the strength to bear the loss.