15 Million Nigerians Now On Drugs, NAFDAC Raises The Alarm

Not less 15 million Nigerians are high on drugs, and these include mostly youths under the age bracket of 19 and 22 who have graduated from cocaine and heroine to stronger concoctions.

Such concoctions are brewed from a variety of ingredients, according to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Parents of both sexes, are also seriously hooked on such drugs some of which are imported into the country from other African countries and which names could not easily be ascertained.

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NAFDAC) which raised the alarm at the weekend noted that Nigeria was leading in the five percent international coverage of drug abuse globally, yer currently has 15 percent drug abuse rate.

The Director of Public Affairs, NAFDAC, Dr. Abubakar Ateiza Jimoh, speaking with with journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State, said NFADAC had made the agency to conclude that the high level of violence, kidnapping,  terrorism, armed robbery and even dangerous driving by some drivers are as a result of the high rate of drug abuse by some Nigerians.

He said most youths under the age bracket of 19 and 22 and even parents-both males and females-have seriously engaged in taking hard concoctions different from the common cocaine and heroin which names could not be ascertained imported into the country from other African countries.

The NAFDAC director, who is also a member of the 28-man Presidential Advisory Committee on Elimination of Drug Abuse headed by General Buba Marwa, said the committee had held series of dialogue sessions with various stakeholders on how to reduce, eradicate, if not, totally eliminate drug abuse in the country.

He said the committee would submit its findings and recommendations to the federal government next month for implementation.

A report of the National Drug Survey Use released in Abuja recently showed that the number of drug users in Nigeria is higher than the entire population of some European countries.