Nigeria is losing its young population to drug abuse. What can we do?
For a nation with about 40 percent of its youths ‘high’ on opioid, colorado, crack, codeine, tramadol, ‘gutter water’ and other weird substances (according to a former Director General, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Lanre Ipinmisho), it will be very hard to argue against the need for a national discourse and emergency on the abuse of drugs in Nigeria.
A 2019 survey by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Center for Research and Information on Substance Abuse with technical support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed that nearly 15% of Nigeria’s adult population (around 14.3 million people) reported a “considerable level” of use of psychoactive drug substances
The highest levels of drug use was recorded among people aged between 25 to 39, with cannabis being the most widely used drug. Sedatives, heroin, cocaine and the non-medical use of prescription opioids were also noted. The survey excluded the use of tobacco and alcohol.
The use of drugs among Nigerian youths in the past years has taken different dimensions. It is no longer limited to cannabis and crack, several drugs are now evolving for fatal overdoses, prominent among them is – ‘gutter water,’ mentioned in music artiste Olamide’s song ‘Science Student’. ‘Gutter Water’ is a mixture of codeine, tramadol, rohypnol, cannabis and water or juice. Some have also turned to some bizarre substance like smoking lizard parts and dung as well as sniffing glue, petrol, sewage and urine as inhalants, just to get ‘high’.
These disturbing trends have evoked questions like – how can a sick nation grow? Who are those Nigeria is preparing for leadership in politics, business and other endeavours? The substance abusers and ‘royal highness’ youths?
The government’s ban on the sale of some of these substances has failed to yield the desired result. Drugs abuse is tearing families apart, cutting lives short and a wealth of potential is being lost on a generation of Nigerian youths. In the past, drug abuse was prevalent among street urchins, and the enforcement agencies tried hard to rid the streets of the trend, but in the past two decades the tides are changing, from men in white collar jobs to the primary school pupils, drugs have become so cheap and easily accessible that law enforcement officers are not left out in the abuse.
The series of reports of drug sales in Nigerian prisons have also proved that the approach of jailing drug offenders has not helped tame the monster of drug abuse. Many inmates still get access to the drugs in jail despite the supposed security. In May 2019, the media widely reported the case of a female visitor at the Kano prison arrested while trying to smuggle drugs into the prison, she may have been caught but many are smuggling it with the support of prison security.
Fisayo Soyombo in his exposé report in October 2019 revealed how drugs are sold openly inside Ikoyi Prison. His report revealed that inmates pay between N20,000 and N50,000 for a night’s sleep in special rooms, plus access to cigarettes, drinks, Indian hemp, drugs and girls.
“There is free flow of drugs in prison, which is impossible without the facilitation or compromise of warders. You’ll find Colorado [a hard drug] in huge sale; I took it myself. I paid just N5,000 each time I wanted it. Tramadol and refnol (rohypnol) are sold, too, but Colorado is the highest in demand,” he wrote.
We may also need to bury the thought that drugs are only available at nightclubs or bars, even in communities and homes with strict moral and religious regulations, drugs are being abused freely.
Despite the strict sharia law and Islamic belief in Kano State, Ipinmisho said “If you take an estimate of 10 boys particularly in Kano, seven will be on drugs…the average teenager there is on drug.”
This trend and the availability of hard drugs on the streets and in prisons, are pointers to the fact that the approach of dealing with the scourge of drug abuse needs to be reviewed. What then needs to be done? A national discourse on the way forward.
To address this, MTN Nigeria is partnering with The Netng; Business Day; music channel, MTV Base; and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to host a no-holds-barred virtual conversation about substance abuse among Nigerian youths.
The virtual event tagged the Drug Convos holds on Friday, June 26, 2020, to commemorate the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. It is focused on building a vibrant platform that will enable young Nigerians to actively participate and contribute to in-depth conversations about substance abuse and addiction.
Panelists on the discussion include producer and musician Senior Lecturer and Consultant Psychiatrist, Yewande Oshodi; Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya; Country Manager, ViacomCBS Networks Africa, Bada Akintunde-Johnson and a former addict. It will be moderated by writer and journalist, Japheth Omojuwa.
We all should be worried and that’s it why the telecom giant is calling for a roundtable discussion to save the young population from the claws of drug addiction.
