Why drugs? When you’re not sick? -By Ishaq Habeeb

As little children, growing up, for some of us, throughout our teenage days, virtually everybody hates drugs, drugs and syringes, they’re strictly used only when one is sick. They signal pain and trouble and have been used by some parents as “phantom” and “scarecrow” to caution their children to order, whenever they start throwing childish tantrums. Who would’ve ever thought some of those kids would grow up to willingly over-use drugs and prod needles into their body for fun?!

Sadly, early this month, i was sick to my stomach, by a sickening report, released by Nigerian Drug & Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), stating that “for every six persons in Kano, one is a drug addict, and they fall between the ages of 15 and 64 years, representing 16% prevalence rate, abusing more codein, tramadol, and other cough syrups rather than marijuana.”

The disturbing disclosure was first made at the Kano State Govt House, and repeated at the palace of the Emir of Kano, by the chairman of the agency, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), when he paid them a courtesy visit, seeking their assistance and partnership in tackling the scourge of drug abuse in the state.

Now Kano state, which is the most populous state in Nigeria and the commercial nerve center of the North and arguably West Africa, is home to a teeming youths populace, engaged in all sorts of trades, artisanship, skilled and unskilled labors, entrepreneurship, sports, arts, ICT and even politics, among others things.

However, in Nigeria as a whole, unemployment has been a nagging issue for as far back as those of us born in the last three decades could remember thus Kano state, being the most populous, has the biggest challenge of providing employment for its youths, since with a huge number, comes huge responsibility.

Now unemployment, as many opine, is one of the major factors that results in drug abuse by most unemployed youths in Nigeria and of course, as the old adage goes; “An idle mind, is the devil’s workshop”.

Therefore we as a people, living in a society that seeks to achieve meaningful developments and preserve moral standards worthy of emulation by our young, be you govt-employed, privately-employed, self-employed, unemployed or even unemployable, drug abuse is a social vice, that must be shunned in its entirety by all and sundry, if we must attain greater heights and bequeath a better legacy and society to the up-and-coming generations than the one we currently live in.

Drug abuse has contributed largely to the spike of general insecurity in Kano, and the nation at large, mostly carried out by groups of youths. Recently, a Federal High Court sitting in Kano, i read, says, ‘one in every three cases at its jurisdiction, is drug-related.’

Cases of domestic violence in Kano are at an all-time high and increasing at an alarming rate. The rising spate of thuggery, rape cases, murder, burglaries, daylight armed robberies, car thefts, phone-snatching, hooliganism etc, are mostly engineered by drug abuse.

In view of the above, Kano state govt should come up with skills acquisition programmes to empower the youth, create avenues where talents are handsomely rewarded, with local and foreign scholarships for literary talents and sponsorship for athletics-base talents to advance the cause of the youth. Empowering the youth will take them off the streets and help minimise, if not eradicate crimes in the state.

Kano state assembly, should, as a matter of urgency, make a legislation that bans any politician from ever participating in politics, if found giving out hard drugs to youths during political activities.

Kano state govt should make drug test a compulsory requirement for marriages to be fulfilled by all intending couples and those vying for political offices.

Traditional/religious leaders should set up a strong, well equipped local anti-drug taskforce, supported by influential individuals in the state, that’d patrol inner communities to fish out drug abusers, raid notorious joints where drugs are sold at residential houses, no matter who’s involved and hand over suspects to appropriate authorities for onward punishments.

Civil society groups, NGOs, community groups, vigilantes, all hands must be on deck to collectively say a stern “No” to drug abuse in our society.

Lastly, drug abuse is a malignant cancer, which, if not removed or at least, contained, and is allowed to metastasize, is capable of destroying not just the core of our society; the present-youth, but even the future generation yet unborn. As these abused drugs carries damaging health effects that can be passed down to next generations, hereditarily.

We must kill drug abuse before it kills us!

Ishaq Habeeb is a public affairs analyst and a senior advocate of anti drug abuse, he writes from Kano and can be reached through simplyishaqhabeeb@gmail.com