Suicide Prevention Strategies in Nigeria: Exploring Religious Roles, Insights, and Challenges

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Line 28-Recommendation to use current research to support this statement. Any research from the last 7 years?

Line 85- Need to provide another sentence to explain the use of "MS Word scheme". 

Line 110-Rewrite this sentence for clarity and better flow in this paragraph.

Line 138-Any other peer-reviewed journal articles to support this important information?

Line 138- Double check the citation format for this reference. 

Author Response

Thank you so much for your time in reviewing my paper. Your points of attention have helped to improve my work. Please, I have tried to respond to your concerns as follows:

Line 28-Recommendation to use current research to support this statement. Any research from the last 7 years?

• I have supplied current research, which can be found now on lines 25 – 28.

Line 85- Need to provide another sentence to explain the use of "MS Word scheme".

• I added a sentence to explain the scheme in line 87.

Line 110-Rewrite this sentence for clarity and better flow in this paragraph.

• The rewritten sentence is in line 111 (Perceptions of suicide in various religions).

Line 138-Any other peer-reviewed journal articles to support this important information?

• I have added two more references.

Line 138- Double check the citation format for this reference. 

• That is the suggested format for this reference.

God bless you!

Reviewer 2 Report

This is a very good paper. Though many articles have been written on suicide in some African countries and some, as in South Africa, have focused on the overwhelming impact of COVID-19 as part of the causes and have suggested pastoral care as a therapeutic way towards prevention and healing, this paper is original in its focus on Nigeria where "religious institutions and leaders carry considerable weight." Though Karl Marx's statement that is often partially read as "religion is the opiate of the people" to seemingly mean that religion is addictive to people the way opium is, the full meaning comes in the sense that religion could perform the calming and soothing effect and some form of relief and balm to people in pain that is similar to the way in which opium works in people. It is in this latter sense of the full meaning of the quote that pastoral care becomes meaningful in this paper. But here comes the problem. Because Nigeria, as rightly pointed out by the authors, is "a highly religious country" where religious leaders are very influential, what formal training in suicide prevention and healing do such leaders have to intervene successfully? Is it enough to care for people with suicidal inclination by biblical and qur'anic interpretations and fervent worship of God or Allah alone? The author(s) do not address, at least not adequately, if pastoral care for suicidal people is taught at seminaries, theological schools, and qur'anic schools. Though pastoral care for suicidal people might work well in the hands of religious leaders beyond mere spiritual counselling, such leaders should be trained and certified by secular institutions to perform such an immense responsibility well. Sexual and physical abuses by religious leaders on their adoring followers have been reported. The authors are cognizant of this problem. So, in their methodology, they see their paper as "the basis for a broader research initiative focused on the development of a training model tailored for chaplains and pastoral workers involved in the prevention of suicide among young people." This is commendable.

The authors also recognize the importance and nature of holistic treatment  in the Nigerian and African setting. This means that no matter how well people may be treated with orthodox secular care, they mostly "feel better" when spirituality and religion become part of the treatment regimen. This is where there is a sense of incompletion in what the authors set out to do. There are so many "Christian" denominations other than Catholicism and Protestantism in Nigeria that one wonders if all these various pentecostalist, apostolic, evangelical, and charismatic groups, some with no formal training at all in religious ministry, would also be healers of suicidal people. The same goes for the denominations of Islam. It also seems to me that religious leaders of African Traditional Religions are left out in the paper. When the authors think of pastoral care, are they excluding leaders of African Traditional Religions? The authors should state at the introduction what pastoral care is and the limit placed on the definition. They should also state what they consider in the paper as "major religions." The authors state the expectation that "using Socratic dialogue by the counsellor, the suicidal person would find relief and an alternative perception of their existential challenges." Does divination in African Traditional Religion not aspire to fulfil this role, since the person so afflicted brings his/her concerns to the traditional medicine-person (the native doctor or traditional doctor) who then uses the physical and spiritual (divination) aspects of his/her practice and vocation to initiate healing the person over a period of time? 

The authors also correctly state that those prone to suicide "can manifest themselves through social media communication, where individuals express negative views when asked to contribute to discussions, or through withdrawal from social activities and everyday engagement.  Farewell statements and reluctance to engage in future planning can also be notable signs. It is crucial for pastoral workers to be attuned to these signals, as they are on the front line of suicide prevention" This part seems to betray the limitation of this paper. The authors should state at the outset that the paper is meant to address the learned, educated youth savvy with technology and western ways, and that people without these means as well as  practitioners of African Traditional Religions are excluded from consideration here. The authors could also state then that the inclination towards suicide is more prominent among educated youth than uneducated ones--education here meaning those who can write, read, and speak English in Nigeria. This then raises another question: why are educated youths more prone to suicidal behavior? Has it to do with unemployment among educated youth, their economic hopelessness and lack of personal fulfilment? When they feel they can't make it in this world, and preachers of major religions are painting the rosy picture of beautiful paradise where they would live a glorious and fulfilling life they couldn't on earth, does that drive them towards suicide where better life exists than their earthly failures? Do the organized religions indirectly drive them towards a suicidal yearning to be in heaven? African Traditional Religion does not promise that. All these questions I am raising are possible because the authors do not put the limit of their research. They should place the limited scope of their research either at the introduction or at the conclusion. It would make the paper stronger and even create another dimension for them in a future research that focuses on suicide prevention from a different angle.

It is a very good paper on the whole, and publishable. There are some minor errors to correct in a final revision by the authors:

1. In some places the author uses the singular to refer to himself/herself., and at others uses the plural form that indicates multiple authors. See, for example, lines 57 ("My approach"), line 68 ("our bibliography" and "we used"), lines 70, 72, 75, 80, and 85. Author(s) should go through the paper to correct such minor mistakes.

2. The author(s) should correct the following minor errors under the section on "References:"

p. 9, line 410: Place periods after name initials (e.g. O., A. E., and A.); also see p. 10, lines 441, 449, 457, 460, 465; p. 11, lines 491, 501, 506; lines 528, 542, and 549

p. 12, lines 558-559, insert a period after the initial A.; don't write the whole title in capital letters

p.13, lines 570-571, insert a period after O.; don't write the whole title in capital letters

p. 13, lines 573-574, insert a period after F.; don't write the whole title in capital letters

p. 13, line 582, insert a period after after K. and M.

p. 13, line 590, don't write the whole title in capital letters

p.13, line 593, insert a period after A. and R.                                   

Author Response

I am deeply grateful for your extensive review of my paper. Your commendations have energised me to work harder to improve my research. I have tried to respond to your reviews and adapted the corrections thus:

• It is based on the lack of any form of training specifically on suicide prevention, either in the curriculum in seminary formation or other pastoral training programs for religious leaders, that I have chosen to embark on this research project. This paper is a way of initiating awareness.
• By holistic treatment, I do not intend to discuss all religions in this paper but use those few religions to highlight that despite the various perceptions of suicide within religion, it is essential for suicide prevention.
• Also, I have not excluded our African Traditional Religious (ATR) leaders. I have another research design that will focus on their unique role since I do not want to conflate them with foreign religions. The question you raised on divination is an important contribution from our ATR.
• I have also added the delimitation as you suggested, and have reserved the other scopes for future research.
• The minor errors have been corrected according to your detailed identifications. The punctuation and capital letter problems are the effect of the automated reference style I use that is linked to my MS Word. But, I have manually added the periods and lower-cased the titles accordingly.

Reviewer 3 Report

Very well-written paper. Socially relevant. I suggest, to enhance the number of readers:

Abstract:  Briefly include what is on lines 188-187; 195-197; 290; 293-294;304-305; 307-308; 404-405 so the readers will immediately spot the relevance of this research. These passages contain relevant information.

Lines 33-36: Replace for a paragraph showing References to the scarcity of these resources and the correlation to pastoral care, linking to the next paragraph. 

After Line 108: Add a paragraph exposing the religious diversity in Nigeria, so the number and type of religious communities are clear to the reader

Line 110: This phrase is somehow paradoxical: if to Abrahamic religions suicide is considered murder, then how is it that there is no explicit prohibition? It seems that the latter classification includes prohibition. To avoid contradiction, I suggest erasing it.

Line 116: Explain why only these four religions have their dogmas about suicide examined

Line 162:  Add a link between the two expositions: the faith-based caregiver is not properly prepared to distinguish between a suicidal, a depressed, an anxious, a schizophrenic, and a supplicant in need of spiritual help, simply?

Author Response

Dear reviewer

I am deeply grateful for your kind words and encouragement shown by your reviews. I have keenly adapted all your suggestions thus:

Abstract:  Briefly include what is on lines 188-187; 195-197; 290; 293-294;304-305; 307-308; 404-405 so the readers will immediately spot the relevance of this research. These passages contain relevant information.

• I have reworked my abstract to include the content of these lines.

Lines 33-36: Replace for a paragraph showing References to the scarcity of these resources and the correlation to pastoral care, linking to the next paragraph. 

• I switched the sentence within these lines to better link with the next paragraph.

After Line 108: Add a paragraph exposing the religious diversity in Nigeria, so the number and type of religious communities are clear to the reader.

• I have added two sentences indicating the religious diversity in Nigeria and noted that each religion can be identified in each community.

Line 110: This phrase is somehow paradoxical: if to Abrahamic religions suicide is considered murder, then how is it that there is no explicit prohibition? It seems that the latter classification includes prohibition. To avoid contradiction, I suggest erasing it.

• I replaced the word “explicit” with “total” to retain the sense that while some suicide is allowed others are considered as murder.

Line 116: Explain why only these four religions have their dogmas about suicide examined

• I have added the following as an explanation: “The perception of and attitude towards suicide among most Nigerians is significantly shaped by the dogmas of these religions. Although their dogmas could be linked to indigenous cultural and religious systems, many Nigerians are followers of these religions.”

Line 162:  Add a link between the two expositions: the faith-based caregiver is not properly prepared to distinguish between a suicidal, a depressed, an anxious, a schizophrenic, and a supplicant in need of spiritual help, simply?

• Thank you for the suggested link, which I have added in between the expositions.