Youths And Illicit Drugs Consumption

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), recently raised the alarm over the increasing rate of consumption of illicit drugs and psychotropic substances in parts of the country. Benue State was particularly mentioned as having a widespread consumption of cocaine.

According to the agency’s commandant in the state, Mrs Florence Ezeonye, over 400 persons have been convicted for the consumption of cocaine in the state. Though the report was silent over the period during which these 400 convictions were made, the situation is not only alarming but also calls for urgent action on the part of the authorities to check the unwholesome trend. The report of what is going on in Benue State is by no means isolated as the ugly development is taking a national dimension.

The issue is such that experts are beginning to get worried at the sudden surge in the consumption of those unhealthy substances especially among young and impressionable minds. Reports from across the country lament the involvement of young citizens in consumption of all manner of illicit drugs. Some, the report asserted, go as far as taking unconventional substances such as adhesive solution, lizard excreta, sniffing pit latrines among others just to get ‘high’. The damage these substances which, in most cases, are unhygienic in nature cause to the mental and physical health of those who consume them can best be imagined.

The dimension of this anti-social behaviour that is genuinely causing anxiety among the populace is the incessant acts of criminality and violence it engenders. Security agencies testify that most acts of criminality are drug – induced and also confirmed that, most times, when criminal elements are arrested, these illicit substances are also found in their possession.

The most disturbing aspect of it is that cocaine is becoming easily available to these young people. Before now, that particular substance was considered the depravity of the rich and affluent. Not anymore. Notoriously called the ‘white angel’, it is now consumed freely and recklessly by young people, the poor inclusive. Thuggery and cult activities in the society have largely being blamed on the impact of illicit drugs on young minds. These young people are used by well to do personalities, including politicians, for their nefarious undertakings. In return, they finance their drug habits to keep them perpetually at their beck and call. Curiously, it is this same high profile individuals who are expected to use their power and influence to check this malaise. That, in our view, is going to be a long wait.

In our opinion, a lot can be done to help these young people and save them from their self-propelled path of destruction. We think that parents who are the first teachers of their children must educate them on the dangers of drugs and substance abuse. Schools must also provide counselling for students just as rehabilitation centres must be provided, as a matter of urgency, where addicts can be properly counselled and rehabilitated so that they can be useful again to the society.

We are compelled to point out that consumption of illicit drugs and other such substances is alien to our culture and values. Parents, schools, religious and faith- based organisations as well as governments at all levels and their agencies must gear up to the task of redirecting our youths to the right path. Nigeria cannot afford to lose her future, the youths, to this menace. It requires a concerted effort by all.