The menace of drug abuse is increasing by day. Just in the third quarter of last year, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted 3,900 kilogrammes of illicit drugs worth N80 million. Similarly, N14.4 million opioid pills, and 393 kilogrammes of drugs of abuse were intercepted in November, while 92 kilogrammes of illicit drugs were intercepted in December last year by the Lagos command of the NDLEA. In summary, the NDLEA seized N135.6 billion worth of drugs in 2023.
This brain-damaging disease has been a global pandemic for long as figures revealed that there are estimated 275 million persons aged 15 to 64 who abuse drugs world over, and a predicted growth of drug-abuse by 75% in African continent alone by the year 2030 according the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Drug abuse kills directly. It triggers both personal and interpersonal violence. It renders the abusers mad and hence useless to self and society. It turns the abusers unproductive and hence kills the economy.
Factors responsible for the scourge are: disowning of the problem by our immediate communities, multidimensional poverty, high level of unemployment, high level of school drop-outs due to unaffordability of education, availability of the drugs for abuse, genetic reason, living environment, among others.
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In an effort to control the problem for instance in Bauchi State, security forces were used but huge success was recorded only when the immediate community members intervened through the use of Community Security Guards. Due to the lack of sustainability of the methods adopted in the past, the situation in the state has resurfaced. In fact, according to a geo-political zones survey in Nigeria, there is 13.6% prevalence of the problem in the North East with Bauchi State having 16% prevalence compared to other states in its zone.
In order to find a lasting solution to the problem, the following measures need to be taken:
- Immediate community members need to see the problem as theirs to solve rather than seeing it as government’s responsibility;
- Traditional rulers, community leaders and ward heads need to be empowered in a way that they can be monitoring those who reside or settle and live in their communities for immediate tackling of any suspicious act;
- Provision of skills acquisition centres and enabling environment for business opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths;
- Government at all levels, other stakeholders, philanthropists and non-governmental organisations should make education affordable and provide needed educational support to Nigerians so as to reduce the alarming rate of school drop-outs;
- Our educational bodies, especially higher institutions, as places for acquiring learning and character, need to be putting admitted students to drug screening test before allowing them for registration to promote graduating employable rather than unemployable man-power;
- Applicants for employment need to be put through drug screening test as the NDLEA boss suggested recently;
- In order to control the supply of drugs, government needs to put more efforts to ensuring that our borders are non-porous;
- Our lawmakers need to make a law that provides capital punishment for illicit drug producers, sellers and consumers;
- More formation of the Community Security Guards from the locals in our communities should be encouraged, for easier identification of drug producers, sellers and abusers;
- We all need to partner in taking care of our parental responsibilities;
Drug abuse is maiming our socio-economic development in Nigeria. There is a need to work together for sustainable measures to curtail the problem and stop it from killing our social institutional systems through consideration of the suggestions offered. I believe that the problem can be brought under control to secure ourselves today, and protect our future generations rather than allowing the problem and its related consequences to drive us into extinction.
Kalabu Salisu Ahmad is a Lecturer, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi.
