STEMMING THE ONSLAUGHT OF HARD DRUGS

 Monday Philips Ekpe canvasses a determined war against drug abuse

The scene had all the trappings of an assembly of a groping generation on edge. Setting: A hotel in Asokoro, a highbrow area of Abuja, home to a sizable portion of Nigeria’s extravagant and immensely pampered, privileged political class. Some smart ladies who knew a lot about marketing and the easiest ways to sell fun to young people decided to package a night to remember. Their customers would have enough enjoyment and satisfaction while they would laugh to the banks. What’s wrong with business ideas that mine profits, anyway? Isn’t that a major dream that drives most people?

If the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had not obstructed, exposed and arrested that gathering, however, the event would certainly have found its way to the social media and celebrated as a hit, a social and economic success. That special congregation of lovers of cannabis most likely was not the first of its kind in Nigeria but if we needed another wake-up call concerning the increasing patronage of hard drugs in the country, that was it. Two hundred youths gathered in one place, all united by Indian hemp, other banned substances and an unnamed drink of equal strength that was due for launch at the occasion. Just imagine the outcome if the potentialities present at that venue were deployed to achieve cultural, intellectual, economic, political, or other noble goals.

What makes the growing preoccupation of our young population with these addictive items even more painful and dreadful is the fact that they possess manifest capacity for positive pursuits. The End SARS campaign that shook the nation last year is only one of the notable examples. Many of them have been clamouring for enhanced participation of younger Nigerians in politics to literally run the older brigade out of public offices. Now that another period of political transition is here, rather than mobilising strongly to actualise that objective, some of them give in to the kind of shame witnessed last week. Happily, the NDLEA appears to have rediscovered its teeth. The quality intelligence which nailed that scarlet party and the rapid response that followed should give right thinking members of society reasons to be hopeful. Recent investigations and other actions by the drug body are also yielding results that are noteworthy but, as a nation, we are not anywhere near freedom in this regard. After many decades of declared intentions on the part of government and the sometimes commendable efforts of relevant organisations, the anti-drug addiction fight may as well have only just begun.

My THISDAY article on May 11, 2018 titled, “Sad Romance with Mind Bending,” puts the dilemma thus: “The sad reality before us now is that people, young and old, embrace and utilise drugs beyond the dictates of rational medicine. Both hard substances and prescription drugs have put many lives in chains. In some other cases, young people smoke or inhale latrines, industrial gum, lizard droppings, paint; just about any smell that can get them on a ‘high’. End result: complicated, shattered lives. Why do they go through dark, treacherous paths to euphoria, sense of self-worth and enhanced sexual drive?”

Providing answers to that poser should make tracing the root causes a priority. Like in various societies around the world, the factors responsible for dependence on illicit drugs range from personal to external. The overwhelming social and economic challenges facing Nigeria today do not help matters. They compound them instead. People, especially young Nigerians, are compelled to make a meaning out of their long-suffering lives. While there is nothing new about embracing acceptable or awkward behaviours to escape unwanted realities, our circumstances have now made it more appealing and, perhaps, inevitable in numerous cases. Take situations of partial or complete parental failure, for instance. Teenagers and young adults are then left to their own devices, sometimes at the mercy of predatory peers, false friends, fake life coaches and other social misfits.

The life of an addict can be a very difficult and complicated one indeed. Recovery Crossroads Where You Can Never Walk Alone, a website dedicated to victims of drug abuse, captures a very pathetic psychological state. According to it, “As an addicted person needs an increasing amount of their substance of choice to get the same high, they become more and more preoccupied with procuring and using substances. This is what leads to the most damaging effects of addiction. To the sufferer, friends, family, work, and being an upstanding citizen become less important than inebriation.” In effect, life loses its very essence and flavour. The person first becomes useless to himself or herself and also a burden to the family, acquaintances and the rest of the community. And what can someone whose thinking faculty has been reconfigured offer to the human society?

Interestingly, addiction does not occur suddenly. It is a journey that has different starting modes. Not to set out on it at all is the best bet, but if the initial steps have been taken, the earlier the potential addict or someone else notices it, the better. The general progression is that when habits are fully formed and have taken hold on a person, they assume the status of strongholds, taking control of critical areas of the brain. Dislodging them at that point can be very tough. Whether by sniffing, smoking, chewing, swallowing, injecting or drinking, an adventurous youth or confused adult can actually sign away his or her life while existing. 

The very nature of the trade that sustains and promotes these ruinous habits points to something sinister, intricate and entrenched. And the sheer magnitude of the problem demands that we must look far beyond the drug agency for salvation even though we expect it to provide leadership. Where do we go from here? All over the globe, people patronise the internet in ways no medium of mass communication had ever been engaged. The larger portion of this clientele is the youth population. In Nigeria, the level of social media indulgence is very high. That is where to take the battle to, of course, while not ignoring the orthodox platforms like newspaper, radio and television. Content creation in the form of texts, videos, still pictures and graphics to drive home well-tailored messages should be the focus of government agencies, schools, NGOs, worship organisations, concerned individuals and others.

It is sad that over time, sports and other recreational activities have been pushed to the background. Whole residential zones are designed without making provision for them. Even many educational institutions that host a chunk of the vulnerable class fail to plan for these facilities. Nigerians love sports, not only football. Getting the younger ones involved, not just as viewers but also as active participants, could result in a more productive rechanneling of the exuberant energies that are sometimes diverted to harmful engagements like drug misuse. Unprecedented unemployment in the country is no longer news. Before jobs arrive either publicly or privately, human dignity can and should be preserved. Nothing tramples on it faster and more viciously than the use of destructive items. Everyone should self-enlist into the army to tackle this menace head on as no one will have immunity from the consequences in the long run. 

Dr Ekpe is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board