NANNM counsel youths against drug abuse

By: Olakunle Maruf, Sokoto 

Youths have been advised to abstain from abusing substances as it only gives false relief to problems but, with the aftermath, mental health implications.

These are part of the outcome of a one-day seminar organized by the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, NANNM, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, FNPH, Kware, Sokoto, with the theme, “Substance Abuse, Political Thuggery And The Future Of The Nigerian Youth.”

Welcoming participants, the Medical Director, FNPH, Kware, Professor Shehu Saleh, represented by Dr Adebayo Adebisi, Head of Clinical, urged the organizers to continue sensitizing the populace on the dangers of drug abuse beyond the electioneering period.

In his presentation, ‘Socio-economic and mental health implications of substance abuse among Nigerian youths,’ Malam Salihu Mande, Principal, School of Psychiatric Nursing, FNPH, Kware, disclosed an alarming thirty-nine million Nigerian youths are into drugs.

He listed reasons for drug abuse as the availability of drugs, family lifestyle, glamour attached to an advertisement, peer influence, social pathologies, parental deprivation, economic depression, and emotional and psychological stress.

According to him, “drugs commonly abused are tobacco, nicotine, caffeine, marijuana, alcohol, tramadol, cocaine.

“The social effects of drug abuse includes accident, poor academic and job performances among others.”

Dr Shehu Ahmad Durbawa, of the Department of Political Science, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, UDUS, in his presentation, said, ‘The youth and politicking in Nigerian democracy,’ traced the major factors responsible for politicking in Nigeria to the absence of the rule of law and poverty.

The two papers presented were extensively discussed by representative of the World Health Organization, WHO, Dr Larai Aliyu, Dr Aliyu Omama of the NDLEA, Dr Samaila Danjuma of the department of political science, UDUS and Dr Aminu Zauro from WHO.