Aided by peer pressure, drug addiction thrives among northern women, youths
The rate of illicit drug usage by many youths in the North has become a matter of concern, TUNDE OYEKOLA writes on the menace and the way forward
Hassan (other name withheld), an undergraduate at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, is today at the facility of the state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency where he is being rehabilitated to wean him off his addiction to illicit drug use.
Hassan, who hails from Magongo in Ogori/Magongo council in Kogi State, was brought to the centre by his father after observing his unsettling behaviour.
While he may not be able to complete his programme on schedule alongside his classmates because of his scheduled stay at the rehab centre, he is now among 13 other persons at the centre, having spent three months at the centre already. In addition, completing his education and becoming a Crop and Animal Production graduate has taken the second place as his mental wellness has become the priority of his family members.
Hassan, who is the only son of a notable politician, told Saturday PUNCH that he was recruited into the gang of drug addicted youths by some friends he met during his first year.
He began, “I was influenced to join a social club by a group of friends. I wasn’t on drugs until I got admission into the university; I didn’t even know Metavitamin existed until I moved to campus and my friends introduced me to the drug, which is also known as ICE.
“It’s a drug we used to take to make us feel high. When we take it in excess, it intoxicates us and makes us go deeply asleep, but when we are unable to sleep, it makes us weak. As a result, sometimes, I would become wild and misbehave, doing things I ordinarily wouldn’t have done.”His regrets are understandable but equally heartbreaking. “I know I have lost some grades, and academically, I’m at the lowest grade in school. I’m so confused and worried. I don’t know what to do with myself. I messed up, bro… I messed up, bro… I messed up, big time,” he muttered under his breath, as he fought back tears that welled up in his eyes.
Abdulazeez disclosed that he was a poultry farmer who worked with one of the big poultry farms in Ifakemi village in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State where he hails from. But he said that was where he got lured into smoking weed, popularly known as cannabis sativa or Indian hemp.
He said he soon got into the habit of purchasing the substance from local vendors in one of the towns near his village, noting that his addiction to the illicit drug made him a menace to his family.
He stated, “I have lost thousands of naira from my poultry business as a result of my involvement in drugs. I will no longer smoke it or go near it again because I no longer enjoy respect from my family members and my people in society.”
Illicit drug abuse, especially by both male and female youths and married women in the northern part of the country, has become a major source of worry to many stakeholders, including individuals and the government. They fear that the ugly trend, if unchecked by the government, community leaders and the elders in their various households, could signal the beginning of the end of a once prosperous and decent people and culture.
Sadly, drug abuse does not only pose a serious public health crisis in the North-Central and North-West, it is also threatening the very thin cord fastening marital ties in the region.
