O. Subair, an academic who very recently resigned abruptly as a lectuer of the Department of Mathematics of the University of Ibadan (UI) but still lives within the university, has died under circumstances believed to be suicide at his staff quarters located on Phillipson Road, UI.
A lecturer in the Faculty of Science, which houses the late lecturer’s department, told SaharaReporters that Subair had been battling depression for years due to challenges in his home and career.
“He already resigned but was still living on campus,” said the lecturer, who asked not to be named.
“His family had issues relating to childcare. He was a Lecturer 1and had been on his Ph. D. for 22 years, but he had supervised a lot of people who had overtaken him on the rung while he remained rooted to the same spot.
“He also had issues in his marriage. He and his wife disagreed over the care for one of their children. The wife sued him, and the court ruled in her favour, giving a directive that N60,000 should be withdrawn from his salary every month. So, he thought, well, if he resigned, there would be no salary to draw money from.
“His death wasn’t straightforward, like he slept during the day, died during the sleep, his house was engulfed by smoke and he was asphyxiated.”
A student of the Department of Mathematics, who also asked not to be named, told that SaharaReporters that after Subair was discovered in the house on Tuesday, he was rushed to ‘Jaja’, as the university’s clinic is widely known, and subsequently transferred to the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, where he died Wednesday morning.
SaharaReporters contacted the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the university for comments, but he was in church at the time the call was made, and he politely asked to talk later.
