Findings reveal that many women in Maiduguri, Borno State, get more engaged in drug abuse, smuggling, and drug dealing, among others.
According to research, there is a higher rate of women getting engaged and addicted to smoking, inhaling, and alcohol usage.
Among the things which lead women into consuming illicit substances and other forms of drug abuse are maltreatment and poor parent-child communication.
Peer group is one of the biggest factors that lead a girl child to drug abuse.
Poverty, prostitution and depression are also common factors that cause drug abuse among women. Poor women who suffer from unemployment try any means like prostitution to get money for their self-maintenance. In that case, girls who get pregnant try using drugs to abort pregnancy.
We need to address this issue urgently to stop our females from being a problem to society.
Parents, government and other civil society groups need to come together to address the menace.
Parents should pay close attention to their children’s upbringing, especially where they go and who they interact with.
Children should be educated on what drugs are, their usage, and the effects of drug abuse on one’s life and society. They should also be enlightened on how to be independent by engaging in profitable activities.
I wish to urge Governor Babagana Umara Zulum’s administration to take action to curb the menace of drug abuse through youth engagement in productive activities.
The various government agencies that deal with drug issues, such as NDLEA, must double their efforts to rid the society of trade and consumption of illicit drugs.
Faiza Jibrin, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri.
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