Faith Timilehin Wasn’t Weak, She Was Overwhelmed by a System That Equates Scores With Self-Worth - Abioye Tosin Lawrence

 _Her story should not be buried along with her body_ .

On a quiet Monday in Odogunyan, Ikorodu, a tragedy unfolded that has left many hearts heavy and searching for answers. Opesusi Faith Timilehin, a 19-year-old girl with dreams of becoming a microbiologist, took her own life after scoring 190 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

To many, 190 might not seem like a catastrophic score. But for Faith, who had reportedly performed better in the previous year, it was a disappointment too crushing to bear. In a society where a person's value is often measured by academic performance, Faith's story is not just one of personal despair, it is a mirror reflecting the pressure cooker that is Nigeria’s educational system.

Faith wasn’t alone. She lived with her elder sister in Ikorodu, while her parents remained in Abeokuta. Described as calm, respectful, and full of academic promise, Faith internalized the kind of silent pain that is hard to detect, yet fatal when ignored. When she reportedly consumed a rodent poison known as “Push Out” and later begged her sister for palm oil to ease the pain, it was already too late.

In the cruelest twist of irony, her provisional admission letter from JAMB arrived in her inbox just 30 minutes after her death was confirmed. That message, had it come a few hours earlier, might have changed everything. But it didn’t.

And that is the unbearable weight of this loss: Faith Timilehin wasn’t weak. She was overwhelmed by a system that equates scores with self-worth, and which often fails to offer emotional support when it matters most.

Our children are drowning in expectations. They are graded by numbers, not nurtured by empathy. In many schools, mental health is never discussed, while success is defined strictly by examination sheets and cut-off marks. Parents, too, often unintentionally contribute to this pressure, expecting perfection in a system that is flawed.

But the lesson here must not fade with the news cycle. This is a call for reform. Schools must embed mental health education into their curriculum. Counseling should be a necessity, not a luxury. Institutions like JAMB must prioritize real-time, proactive communication, not just with scores and admissions, but with emotional guidance and outreach.

We failed Faith 

, not just her family or friends, but the entire system. Her story should not be buried along with her body. It must become a symbol. A demand. A collective vow that no other child will feel so unseen, so unheard, so hopeless.

Let her name live on, not as a tragedy, but as a turning point.