The unprecedented rise, in cases relating to drugs, and substance abuse, in the country, especially northern Nigeria, is ridiculously given less attention. Drug or narcotics abuse is central and at the core of everyday life of every Nigerian. Whether a victim or not, we, in a way share an altruistic interconnectedness, within the larger framework of the malaise.
In a 2018 survey, which was reviewed in 2021 and 2022 respectively, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNODC, reports that, prevalence of Drug abuse, in the country was alarming, which was put at an incredible 14.3%, meaning that, one out of seven Nigerians are involved in drugs or substance abuse.
The country’s foremost anti narcotics agency, National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, contends that, the age bracket of those involved in illicit drug consumption ranges from between 18-40 years, that is, the most productive demographics of any society known in human existence. A survey by the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, says, about 20 million Nigerians are suffering mental health challenges, which unsurprisingly is linked to the abuse of hard drugs. In a country, where access to mental health facilities and rehabilitation centers is below par and impracticable, due to neglect of this all important sector.
When a population this size, (about 200milliom), is overwhelmed with drug abuse, trafficking and illicit trade, it portends a grave danger for its existence, because, its security and sanity are not easily guaranteed.
It is an incontestable fact, population is one of the major indices of development. A country’s population is measured on the ability of its human development and productivity. According to Radhanath Swami, American author and guru, “real problem is not the population explosion,but what the population is doing”.
In Nigeria, is our over 200 million population capable of stimulating rapid development, when about 20 million are said to be suffering mental ailments, related to substance abuse? Or is it suffice to have a medieval-era population — an unproductive mass of layabouts?
Definitely, only an educated, productive, enlightened and informed population is capable of stimulating rapid and sustainable development for its country.
Development according to experts, is the availability of critical infrastructure, human capital and provision of resources, as well as security of lives, properties and livelihoods of citizens.
For us in northern Nigeria, we have unmitigated challenges — homegrown terrorism, banditry, and general insecurity which was exacerbated by the prevalence of Drug abuse and trafficking. These ugly, and visible threats had significantly stagnated our overall growth and development as a region, for sometime. As if we haven’t had enough.
We sadly, have to contend with institutional economic deprivation and high poverty rate. The number of out-of-school children, is much higher than anywhere in the country.
More worrisome is, nothern Nigeria, astonishingly have a cumulative 35.6% prevalence, of drug abuse, with users mostly students, aged between 18-40. This catastrophic level, which targeted our most productive, reproductive and resourceful demographic population would, and is definitely the reason the north is stagnated economically and socially.
At the moment, top of the major concerns in northern Nigeria is inarguably insecurity. Since the advent of pockets of intra tribal conflicts, in the early 1990s-2000s, to Boko Haram insurgency and banditry, peace had eluded nothern Nigeria.
The region has become a theatre of massacre. Either from terrorist masking as bandits, or from the country’s security forces who are meant to crush the terrorists. Within a space of 6 years, the Nigerian security forces had curiously killed over 400 non combatant and innocent civilians, across the region.
In a veiled attempt to shroud the causal reoccurrence of such massacres, the Nigerian security claimed it was a regrettable mistake. The question remains, pattern of such attacks on harmless civilians is same. Bandits or terrorists had their enclaves in dense and thick forest known to everyone, including the security agencies. Why the incessant bombing of harmless civilians? It happened in the village of Rann, in Borno, then Niger, Nasarawa, and lately, Tudun Biri, in Kaduna.
One would agree, there certainly are some linkages between terrorism, illicit drug trafficking and consumption. The former inevitably fuelled the later. Drug is an undisguised enabler of terrorism in nothern Nigeria, as in everywhere.
No human, in a clear, sane and non hypnotized mind would engage in such heartless act against fellow man. These maniacal and dastardly act, are mostly carried out under the influence of hard drugs.
According to a report by the United States Department of State, “there often is a nexus between terrorism and organized crime, including drug trafficking. Links between terrorist organizations and drug traffickers take many forms, ranging from facilitation — protection, transportation, and taxation — to direct trafficking by the terrorist organization itself in order to finance its activities. Traffickers and terrorists have similar logistical needs in terms of material and the covert movement of goods, people and money”.
In many instances, especially in the blossoming Kidnap for Ransom criminal enterprise, in Northwest Nigeria, part of the demand made by the terrorists/bandits, as preconditions for the release of captives, even after monetary aspect of the deal was met, was a request for large supply of opiate and other psychoactive substance. These was not some isolated scenarios. It was widely reported, and corroborated by victims. Arms proliferation alone is not the main enabler of insecurity in northern Nigeria. Illicit drug had long upstaged that.
In a research, conducted by a foremost anti narcotics NGO, in nothern Nigeria, Nothern Alliance Against Drug Abuse, NAADA, on the prevalence of drug abuse in the region, it found out that, young married women, constitute about 12% of drug abusers. This exacerbates domestic violence, spouse-killing and other domestic vices. Young married women, it was discovered, resorted to Drug abuse to get reprieve and comfort, from an abusive union, and harsh economy. The research also uncovered cheap and accessable methods local Drug dealers engage in the production and distribution of the illicit substance, targeting school age children, adults and other victims caught on the web of addiction.
Cheap and accessable psychoactive substance, like lizard faeces or poop, Tramadol, Syrup, Meth, A Kuskura, Codeine, Refanol, the research found out, were mostly abused by teenagers, who skip school, especially on school days to get high, on cheap Drugs. In some instances, local dealers recruit non students, who disguised, wearing school uniform, to sell such illicit Drugs, freely within the school premises.
The catchphrase, due to myriad of existential challenges, confronting northern Nigeria, was that, it was living on a time bomb, ticking and waiting to explode. As its were, that time bomb as since gone off! It has exploded, with severe consequences, staring at us. Seemingly we are lost on how to combat it, to guarantee our own survival.
With a population of over 110million, nothern Nigeria is uniquely poised for greatness. But the region’s greatest assets— population, has been rendered unproductive, by a capricious leadership we had to forcibly live with.
Top on the list of our endless woes is the prevalence of Drug, or Substance Abuse.
Drug abuse, is a neglected, yet crucial enabler of terrorism, in the region. It is more potent than the radicalization and impecuniosity, which many believe were responsible for insecurity and other form of criminality. Drugs renders our most prolific ànd productive population worthless, impudent and scavenging maniacs, roaming from one dumpsite to another. With such population, we are nowhere near achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals SDG, that seek to eradicate hunger, deprivation and multidimensional poverty before 2030.
While other regions are making meaningful gains, both in areas of human capital development and strategic investment, our region is doing the direct opposite.
Both leadership and followership are complicit in the region’s fall from an enviable grace to grass. Political actors, deprived citizens an aura of equitable distribution of resources. Not meaning hands out, but real investment in human capital development. To make sure they remain in a state of perpetual want and servitude, nothern political actors explore deeply, weakness of the masses. One of which is, via the creation of Zombie-like junkies. Once that is achieved, they become willing tools and properties, in the hands of the leaders.
It is no longer feasible, and it is even counterproductive to depend on a leadership whose priorities in pragmatic leadership is perversely inconsistent with the common needs of those they govern.
The way out is, to take ones cross. Parents, religious leaders, and especially community elders must establish a community- based Drug Watch Brigade. It should be peopled by individuals with proven records of integrity. For instance, retired judges, civil servants, and others should form part of Brigade’s patron. And its mandate among other things, should include identifying addicts, blocking access to drugs sold in neighborhoods, and alerting authorities to arrest and punish local dealers. They also should expedite the rehabilitation of addicts.
Government alone, obviously seems inept. Like Senator Babangida Hussaini,(Walin Kazaure), said on the floor of the Senate, while calling on the leadership of the Red Chamber,to declare a state of emergency on drug abuse in the country. He specifically call for the inclusion of Special Drugs Education, in our school curriculum,to reflect the reality of what we are passing through, both as a region, and a country.
Abdullahi D Mohammad is with the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.
He writes from Kano.