It used to be that drug abuse was a fringe problem amongst Nigeria’s young people. While it was always there, as it does exist in every other society, Nigerians were generally considered low consumers and more of couriers who ferried from production centres to areas of high drug consumption. However, in recent years, the narrative has changed drastically.
Owing in no small measure to peer influence, parental neglect, joblessness, and a growing sense of frustration, amongst other factors, young Nigerians now make up the bulk of the ever swelling ranks of Nigerian drug abusers.
Only last year, some pharmaceutical companies were closed down briefly, government having identified them as manufacturers of some of the drugs which, though legitimate, had become the major sources of drug abuse. High on this list are Codeine and Tramadol. There are stories told, from all over the country, of young people who live life in a funk owing to the consumption of copious amounts of codeine based cough mixtures as well as Tramadol.
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However, as with many Nigerian problems, it has recessed somewhat ( in the public consciousness) even though in reality the issue is exacerbating rather than abating. It has so become so bad that even children in secondary school are high on cheap and not so cheap drugs.
It’s very bad in the Niger Delta area but also in the Northern part of the country, Kano being a prime centre in view of its population and the social dislocation occasioned by unemployment and an army of young people, male and female who have nothing worthwhile to do with their lives.
While not a single celebrity death in Nigeria has been attributed to drug abuse, the reason that is so is in large part our tendency to not speak ill of the dead. If there’s the likelihood of causing any embarrassment to the memory of the dead or to his family that’s still alive, every effort is made to shield the truth from the public. However, in the West, with its celebrity culture and corresponding culture of openness and transparency, it’s on record that lots of celebrities have had their lives and promising careers cut short by succumbing to the lure of drug abuse. That trend has been on for quite a while. Below is a very short list that captures nowhere near 5% of deaths from drugs.
Dinah Washington, died in 1963, Secobarbital and Amobarbital (39years old),
Jimi Hendrix, 1970, Barbiturate (27)
Janis Joplin, 1970, Heroin (27) Sid Vicious, 1979, Heroin (21) John Belushi, 1982, Unknown (33)
Kurt Kobain, 1994, Suicide, while high on heroin (27) Ike Turner, 2007, Cocaine (76) Michael Jackson, 2009, Propofol and Benzodiazepine (50)
Whitney Houston, 2012, Cocaine (48)
Prince, 2016, Fentanyl (57) Truman Capote, 1984, multiple drugs (59)
Rodney King, 2012, drowned under the influence of alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, (47)
Gerald Levert, 2006, multiple drugs (40)
Even though thousands of ordinary citizens also die of drug abuse, the fact that celebrities routinely make the news as a result of death caused by drugs is explanatory of one major cause of the drug epidemic. The very folks that our young people look up to, that they want to be like live high and flashy. They get the best girls and the best guys. They wear the best clothes, own the best homes, and at least from the characters they depict onscreen and online own some lovely yachts and vacation in glamorous locations.
It’s the life our young folks want to live. And why not? What is interesting about the daily misery that they encounter at home and outside their homes?
Tackling the menace would definitely require the combined efforts of players at different strata of society, including government, civil society and the general citizenry. One group however that needs to up its game in this regard is the organised private sector. Even though Nigeria is bursting at the seams with young people, they need to stay healthy mentally and physically in order to be able to contribute to any sector.
Seeing therefore as the demand for young workers is bound to rise, the corporate sector share of voice in the war against drugs needs be much higher. That’s why at Corporate Social Impact CSI, we cannot but commend MTN for its wellcrafted video against drug abuse. It is very creatively executed and captures the demographic in a strong way. We expect more corporates to get involved in this fight, because with drugs come a raft of other vices that societies can’t cope with should they be allowed to expand.
We expect especially the pharmaceutical sector to be stronger in this campaign. In the same way that the alcoholic beverages have the Don’t Drive and Drink Campaigns, it is important that the pharmaceuticals acting either jointly or as separate entities reach out via media and other advocacy campaigns to the demographic with compelling reasons why they must not abuse drugs.
Advertising and other communication agencies are on standby to help play a big role by ensuring that creative and compelling messages are crafted which address the issue and which ultimately help Nigeria bring down the numbers through prevention rather than high cost cure.
