Editorial

These drug-induced deaths

Published by

1 week ago

A grim picture of the involvement of Nigerian youths in drug abuse was presented recently. In one instance, an unnamed student of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, jumped to his death from a three-storey building after allegedly consuming hard drugs. The tragic incident, which occurred at around 8:00 pm at a lodge near Royal Kitchen junction in Awka, Anambra State, caused pandemonium in the community.

According to reports, following the dastardly incident, the student was rushed to a nearby hospital, but it was too late. Residents claimed that the student had consumed hard drugs (mkpurummiri) before the incident, and neighbours reported hearing a loud sound and later found the victim’s body lying in a pool of his own blood. Further investigation showed that the student’s roommate was also under the influence of the same substance. He was found in a terrible state in the room that they both shared.

As if that was not bad enough, a 43-year-old man simply identified as Kazeem also died after jumping into a domestic well under the influence of a hard substance known as ‘Colo’ (Colorado) in the Edun area of Ilorin, Kwara State. Bizarrely, the incident happened shortly after the deceased returned from Eid prayers. Men of the Kwara State Fire Service have recovered the lifeless body of Kazeem from the domestic well.

The spokesman of the State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, stated that the firemen had given a prompt responce after receiving a distress call at about 10:29 a.m last Friday indicating that a man had jumped into a well at Alapo compound, Edun, Ilorin. The distress call, he said, was received by the Fire Service control room at about 10:29 hours, and firefighters were immediately dispatched to the scene, where they successfully recovered the body from the well. Adekunle added: “The body was handed over to Inspector Babatunde Amos of the ‘C ‘ Division Police Station, Ilorin. The service awaits formal identification and claim of the body by the victim’s family. The director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Prince Falade Olumuyiwa, admonishes residents of the state to stay away from drug abuse, warning that such acts often lead to tragic outcomes.”

To say the least, drug abuse is a serious affliction. The lives of the youth are being wrecked by drug addiction. In July 2023, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) indicated that approximately 14.3 million Nigerians were involved in drug abuse. The agency said that the 14.3 million Nigerian drug abusers are within the age range of 15 and 64 years, adding that more women had become involved.

The Ogun State Commander of the NDLEA, Ibiba Odili, who stated this during the launch of the War against Drug Abuse in collaboration with the Lions Club International, held in Abeokuta, lamented: “We started by being a transit country, consuming maybe cannabis, alcohol, and all of that, then, we graduated to heroin, cocaine, but today, regrettably, Nigeria is not just a transit country, we are huge consumers, and we are not just cultivators of cannabis, we are now producing drugs, such as methamphetamine, which is highly addictive, and very potent.”

According to a recent United Nations report, 14.4 percent of Nigeria’s population aged 15 to 64 (nearly triple the global average) abuse drugs. This statistics is similar to what the NDLEA earlier released and it raises grave alarm. As the UN discovered, one in five drug users suffers from disorders requiring urgent treatment. And, worse still, psychiatric studies show that 82.5 percent of boys in correctional facilities have mental health challenges. A study conducted at a Borstal Institution in North-Central Nigeria reportedly found that 82.5 percent of adolescent male residents had psychiatric disorders. The most prevalent conditions were disruptive behaviour disorders (40.8 percent), followed by substance use disorders (15.8 percent), anxiety disorders (14.2 percent), psychosis (6.7 percent), and mood disorders (five percent).

Apparently, governments at all levels have a huge task ahead of them in taming the menace. Ordinarily, in cases like this, experts recommend that the government should address substance abuse through preventive methods, including implementing evidence-based substance abuse prevention programmes in schools and elsewhere, launching public awareness campaigns on the dangers of substance abuse, and increasing access to substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation centres.

The government is also urged to engage with local community leaders to raise awareness and promote prevention, organising community events and activities to promote mental health and well-being, and encouraging community involvement in supporting at-risk youths. In addition, much can be gained by collaborating with NGOs, community organisations, and healthcare providers to leverage resources and expertise.

If Nigerian youths are committing drug-induced suicide, it is time the government took a hard look at the drug situation. Drug abuse is rooted in social, psychological and economic problems, and efforts to address it must be similarly multifaceted. In the extant cases, two young men who probably had high hopes for the future took their own lives in extremely adverse circumstances. And were it not for sheer divine providence, they could have occasioned the deaths of innocent people in their inebriated, “wasted” state.

The drug situation is not helped by the fact that governmental performance remains abysmally low across the country, and popular culture, particularly music, glorifies drug addiction and other vices. Besides, in most homes, parents have put their cultural, moral and ethical responsibilities to their children in abeyance, busy engaging in pecuniary pursuits and putting the future in jeopardy. That has to change, and quickly too. Across history, there has been no society that attained growth and development through banned substances. It is time to raise greater awareness on the dangers of drug abuse and steer the nation’s youths towards productive activities. Delay is dangerous.