Abuja – Concerned citizens have expressed concern about the rising incidence of drug and substance abuse in the country, calling for holistic measures aimed at tackling the menace.
In a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) across the country, most of the respondents admitted that substances such as heroin, Indian hemp, cocaine, methamphetamine, sniffing drug-related solution and methylated spirits, among others, have inflicted serious damage on Nigerian citizens.
According to them, the influence of such substances has resulted in reduced productivity, lost opportunity, accidents, crime, domestic violence and illness.
Stakeholders in health sector and concerned Nigerians have also, on many occasions, asked for reasons why people engage in taking such substances, seeking a lasting solution to checking the habit.
“People use drugs in different forms and by so doing they abuse the substance because they need the secondary feeling ever more strongly.
“People suffering from anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression or other mental illnesses use drugs and alcohol to ease their suffering but it destroys the body system.
“Some see family members, friends, role models or entertainers using drugs and rationalise that they can do same,’’ Dr Peter Ekenna, a medical expert in Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, explained.
Corroborating this assertion, a rehabilitated drug victim, John (not real name), a student of Niger Delta University, said he got into it to cover painful memories of his past.
“Whenever I took Indian hemp, I feel good and I forgot the sorrows of my parents and siblings that died in an accident crash when I was younger,’’ he said.
Also, Mr Elvis Timipa, an artisan in Yenagoa, said he was involved in taking substances for many years before he left the habit, warning that the habit destroyed the human body physically and mentally and people must not be involved in the habit.
But Mr Bala Fagge, the Commander of Narcotics of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Ogun, observed that the only way to curb substance abuse among Nigerians, especially the youth, was through vigorous and continuous enlightenment programmes.
He said the agency had decided to concentrate more on enlightenment programmes as most victims lacked information about the dangers associated with hard drugs.
He also noted that the command had taken the campaign against the use of hard drugs to various secondary schools and tertiary institutions across the state.
“We have been able to establish 16 drug-free clubs in various secondary and tertiary institutions in the state.
“The aim of the drug free clubs is to arm the students with useful information so that they can be able to make early choice.
“We believe that when they are aware of the dangers inherent in drug abuse, it will be of great benefit to the entire nation.
“We have discover that they are usually influenced through peer pressure, ignorance, curiosity and wanting to know how the drugs taste; how does it feel for me to get high; these are some of the things we worked on,’’ he said.
Fagge also explained that hot drinks and other methylated spirits that were common in motor parks were drugs that not ought to be abused, adding that research had indicated the ample negative effects of the drugs.
“Apart from that, there is the cough syrup with codeine, which is rampantly being abused; the agency has been collaborating with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in enlightening their members on the dangers of these drugs,’’ he said.
In spite of this, a member of the NURTW task force in Ibadan, who simply identified himself as Ajala, said that he was in the habit of taking hot drinks and solutions before the start of the day’s job because of its stimulating effect.
“The kind of job I do is physically demanding and this has really helped me in carrying out my task on a day-to-day basis.
“I will also like to add that smoking cigarette is not as effective as using Indian hemp; I really find it helpful as sedative when I need to sleep at night because I suffer from insomnia,’’ he said.
Also, tricycle operator in Ibadan, known as Tijani, said that he took to smoking Indian hemp and drinking hot drinks to deal with his low economic status in life.
The spokesperson of the NDLEA in Oyo State, Mrs Toyin Okuwobi, nonetheless, said there must be a synergy among stakeholders, including parents, to effectively address the challenge of drug abuse, especially among the youth.
A psychiatrist, Prof. Gladys Oloke, also supported a synergy among stakeholders, insisting that “drug abusers are at risk of suffering from social and health-related problems such as psychosis, anxiety, panic, self-consciousness and paranoid thoughts.’’
In the same vein, stakeholders in the fight against abuse of illicit drugs in some states of the north-eastern part of the country have urged parents to ensure close monitoring of their children.
They identified some societal vices as being the remote factors responsible for drug addiction which they insisted should be addressed.
Mr Aliyu Adole, the commander of the agency in Gombe State cited unemployment as one of the factors responsible for drug addiction by some youths.
According to him, instability in homes results in divorce and denies children the necessary parental care.
Adole called on community and religious leaders to assist the agency in talking to those drugs to desist from the act.
In a bid to discourage drug abuse, Mr Yakubu Kibo, the Commander of NDLEA in Adamawa, said due to increasing activities of drug peddlers and consumers in motor parks and abattoirs in Yola, he had deployed his staff to those places to check the menace.
He said that the agency was also embarking on sensitisation and enlightenment campaign on dangers of drug abuse.
He said cited the case of a suspected drug addict, Adamu Bature, who admitted that he smoked Indian hemp to enable him work well but he could not do without it even when he knew its effects.
A suspected drug dealer Jauro Bello, 51 in Gombe, who is now under the custody of NDLEA, said that he joined the “business’’ four years ago to generate money to take care of his health.
However, Jibiril Abdullahi, 21, a resident of Gombe, said he regretted being an addict, blaming peer group for influencing him.
But another resident of Yola, Sanusi Yahaya, 27, said he once engaged in drug addiction but had been reformed after he discovered that it was not good for his health.
Similarly, a resident of Calabar, Mr Joe Ekpenyong, a reformed drug addict, blamed his past ordeal on lack of proper upbringing, observing that he did not understand the importance of education during his early years.
Ekpenyong, who is now a tricycle operator in Calabar, said: “I hardly completed my primary school education due to drug addiction.
“I became a notorious drinker and smoker before age of 20 and went ahead to become a drug dealer.
“The situation got worst when I lost my parents with my father dying first and later my mother.
“ I realised my mistakes few years ago when I attended a religious activity that preached against it and explained the effects.’’
In the light of this, the NDLEA in Cross River said it would intensify the fight against drugs abuse in primary and secondary schools.
Mrs Anthonia Edeh, the state commander of the agency, said that the idea was to catch them at young age before they grow into adulthood.
Apart from this initiative, a medical practitioner, Dr Nwaeke Nwaeke in Asaba, said that treatment of addiction should entail a systematic application of a withdrawal therapy.
He observed that the therapy would not complicate the health conditions of the addict as abrupt withdrawal could have adverse effect on the addict.
According to him, the therapy involves counseling and treatment by introducing a process of abstinence.
However, Mr Samuel Azige, the Kaduna State Commander of NDLEA, noted that there had been a slight decrease in illegal drugs related offences in the state recently.
In the same vein, the Commander of NDLEA in Sokoto State, Alhaji Mohammed Sokoto, said the agency would not relent in its effort to reduce the circulation of illicit drugs in the society.
He also noted that the agency had carried out sensitisation and enlightenment programmes in 18 primary and secondary schools as well as two tertiary institutions.
All in all, observers note that the United Nations underscores the need to curb substance abuse globally.
In observing the day on every June 26, the UN recommends measures to address demand-supply reduction and improved access to controlled medicines.
The recommendations also cover renewed emphasis on proportionate national sentencing policies and practices for drug-related offences and strong focus on prevention and treatment.
Observing the last edition of the day, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon said: “I call on countries and communities to continue to improve the lives of everyone blighted by drug abuse by integrating security and public safety with a heightened focus on health, human rights and sustainable development’’.
