The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has reported that an estimated 14.3 million individuals in Nigeria struggle with drug addiction.
The agency stated that the age group of those affected ranges from 15 to 64 years old and that there has been an increase in the number of women involved.
The Ogun state Commander of the NDLEA, Ibiba Odili, said this during the Launch of the War Against Drug Abuse in collaboration with Lions clubs international, held in Abeokuta.
Odili lamented the alarming trend of the involvement of women in drug abuse in the country, saying one in four is a woman.
She said, “2018 survey tells us that the most common drug abused in Nigeria is cannabis, which regrettably is cultivated mostly in the southwest region of Nigeria.
“That, one out of every four drug users is a woman. In 2018 data shows that more women are going into drug use.
“And if more women are going into drug use, it is a source of worry for us because it means that the traditional row of women in families and communities are caregivers, role models, and live moulders will be threatened because what quality of children are these women going to raise.”
She explained that Nigeria transformed from a mere transit country for drug trafficking to a significant consumer and even producer of illicit substances.
She said, “We started by being a transit country, consuming maybe cannabis, alcohol, and all of that, then, we graduated to heroin, cocaine, but today, regrettably, Nigeria is not just transit, we are huge consumers, and we are not just cultivator of cannabis, we are now producing drugs, such as methamphetamine, which is highly addictive, very potent.”
She further said that the survey revealed that young people were getting creative and innovative in finding new ways to get high.
She added that they now abuse household substances like methylated spirit, glue, nail polish, paint thinner, fermented urine, and even the heads of matches, as this contributes to the complexity of the drug abuse issue.
Odili warned about the dire consequences of drug production, especially substances like methamphetamine.
She explained that regions producing such drugs may suffer from cancer and other terminal diseases within a decade or two.
