(A NewsLeader Sunday Editorial, October 18, 2026)
It is said that a Nation cannot build Its future on an addicted generation. Therefore, Nigeria cannot afford to watch its young people surrender their minds, health and future to the dangerous grip of drug abuse.
At a time when the country desperately needs an energetic, innovative and productive generation to drive national development, the growing problem of substance abuse presents a serious threat to public health, security, education and economic prosperity.
Curbing this menace must therefore become a national priority rather than an occasional campaign slogan.
The statistics about narcotic abuses among the Nigeria's youth population are disturbing. Nigeria's first comprehensive National Drug Use Survey, published in 2019 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), estimated that 14.3 million Nigerians aged 15–64, representing 14.4 per cent of the population in that age group, had used psycho-active substances for non-medical purposes in the preceding year. This was more than twice the then-estimated global prevalence of 5.6 per cent.
The survey, based on data collected in 2017, remains an important national baseline, although it should not be mistaken for a current estimate of prevalence in 2026.
The implication presently is frightening. Millions of Nigerians are potentially exposed to the consequences of harmful drug use, with young people particularly vulnerable to peer pressure, unemployment, psychological distress, social instability and the easy availability of illicit substances.
Available statistical information reveals that the drugs are destroying our youths. Infact, according to the national survey, cannabis, commonly called Indian hemp, was Nigeria's most widely used illicit drug. An estimated 10.6 million people, representing 10.8 per cent of the population aged 15–64, had used it during the preceding year. The misuse of pharmaceutical opioids was another major concern. Approximately 4.6 million Nigerians had used opioids, including tramadol, codeine and morphine, for non-medical purposes.
Nearly 2.4 million youths and the middle aged had misused cough syrups containing codeine or dextromethorphan. The survey also recorded the use of tranquilizers, ecstasy, inhalants, amphetamines and cocaine.
Today, public concern also extends to the misuse of prescription medicines, synthetic drugs and substances marketed under misleading street names. The danger is compounded when users combine multiple substances, consume drugs of uncertain composition or take excessive quantities without medical supervision.
Young people encounter these substances in neighbourhoods, motor parks, markets, entertainment venues, some educational environments and informal gathering places. Drug use may also occur in private homes, abandoned buildings and other locations where supervision is weak. These are broad settings of concern, not evidence that every such location is a drug-use hotspot.
Some youths smoke cannabis, swallow tablets, misuse cough mixtures or inhale intoxicating substances. Others experiment with drugs at parties or under pressure from friends who portray intoxication as fashionable, courageous or necessary for "belonging". Social media, where irresponsible content can glamorise intoxication, may further normalise dangerous behaviour.
However, drug use is not confined to young people or disadvantaged communities. Adults in different professions, including some commercial drivers, artisans, business people and other workers, may misuse stimulants or sedatives to cope with fatigue, stress or demanding schedules.
Drug abuse exclusively is a male problem. The national survey found that men had a substantially higher overall prevalence of drug use. About 21.8 per cent, use it compared with 7 per cent among women. Nevertheless, one in every four people who used drugs was a woman. The gender difference was much narrower for the non-medical use of cough syrups, reported by 2.3 per cent of men and 2.5 per cent of women. These findings demand interventions that address the distinct circumstances and treatment needs of both sexes.
Drug intoxication has its price. There is no credible basis for presenting recreational drug abuse as a sustainable route to success, courage, creativity or productivity.
Some substances have legitimate medical applications when prescribed and appropriately monitored. Certain medicines can relieve pain, treat specific illnesses or manage particular medical conditions. But their medical benefits do not justify recreational misuse.
Cannabis can impair attention, memory, learning and judgement. Frequent use, particularly when begun during adolescence, is associated with an increased risk of dependence and mental-health problems. Opioids such as tramadol can cause dependence, dangerous sedation, respiratory depression and potentially fatal overdose. Combining them with alcohol or other sedatives can increase these risks.
Stimulants and other psycho-active substances may contribute to anxiety, sleep disturbances, cardiovascular complications and psychiatric symptoms.
Drug impairment can also increase the risk of road crashes, workplace accidents, violence and unsafe decisions. For students, the consequences may include declining academic performance, absenteeism, indiscipline and school dropout. For families, addiction can produce emotional distress, financial hardship and broken relationships. At community level, harmful drug use can compound insecurity, criminal exploitation and unemployment.
Nevertheless, drug dependence should not automatically be equated with criminality. People experiencing substance-use disorders need appropriate medical care, counselling and opportunities for recovery, even as trafficking and the illegal distribution of controlled substances are confronted firmly.
So far, the nation's anti-narcotic agency, the National Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has maintained an impressive record, but there's still work ahead. The NDLEA, under its chairman, Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), deserves recognition for intensifying the campaign against drug trafficking and abuse.
In January 2026, the agency reported that, over the preceding five years, it had made 77,792 arrests, secured 14,225 convictions and seized more than 14.8 million kilogrammes of illicit drugs. The figures demonstrate the scale of enforcement activity and the pressure being brought to bear on criminal drug networks. The agency has also pursued drug-demand reduction through its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, which takes awareness programmes into schools, workplaces, religious institutions, motor parks and communities.
In an update covering the preceding 18 months, NDLEA reported conducting 6,645 drug-prevention sensitisation programmes, reaching nearly five million Nigerians, while counselling, treating and rehabilitating 13,508 drug users through its rehabilitation network. These are significant interventions, although their ultimate impact must be measured by sustained recovery, reduced harmful use and prevention of relapse, not simply the number of people reached.
Yet the persistence of drug abuse despite these efforts raises important questions. Are enforcement operations reaching the major distributors and financial backers of trafficking networks? Also, are illicit substances being replaced as quickly as they are seized? And is treatment sufficiently affordable and accessible? Are recovered users receiving the support necessary to rebuild their lives? The answers require more than arrest figures and impressive seizure statistics.
But enforcement must go hand in hand with rehabilitation. The government must sustain the NDLEA's operations while strengthening the health and social services that prevent addiction and support recovery. The federal and state governments should first increase funding for drug-treatment facilities, psychiatric services, trained counsellors and community-based rehabilitation. These services must be affordable and accessible beyond major cities. Rural communities and underserved populations should not be abandoned to untreated dependence.
Second, rehabilitation should not end when a patient leaves a treatment centre. Recovered users need family counselling, vocational training, educational opportunities, employment assistance and follow-up care. Without these measures, some may return to the environments and pressures that contributed to their drug use.
Also, the law enforcement operatives need to concentrate on trafficking organisations, drug barons, illicit manufacturers, corrupt intermediaries and those who knowingly supply controlled substances unlawfully. Drug users who need treatment should not be driven underground by indiscriminate punishment or public humiliation.
Pharmaceutical regulators and law-enforcement agencies must strengthen controls against the illegal distribution of prescription medicines. Pharmacies and medicine vendors should be monitored, while legitimate patients must retain access to medicines prescribed for genuine medical needs.
Schools should introduce age-appropriate drug education that explains the medical and social consequences of substance misuse. Parents must pay attention to sudden behavioural changes, declining school performance, unexplained financial demands and other warning signs without assuming that any single sign proves drug abuse.
Governments must also address the social conditions that leave some young people vulnerable. Such conditions are unemployment, poverty, insecurity, homelessness, family breakdown and inadequate access to mental-health services. These conditions do not inevitably produce addiction, but ignoring them weakens prevention efforts.
Nigeria can learn from countries that have adopted comprehensive, evidence-informed approaches. Countries like Iceland provides an important example of sustained adolescent prevention. Its prevention model combines parental involvement, school participation, community surveys, organised recreational activities and efforts to reduce young people's exposure to risky environments.
Research covering Icelandic adolescents found that the proportion of the youths population who had never consumed alcohol rose from 20.8 per cent in 1995 to 65.5 per cent in 2015. The proportion of those who had never tried cannabis also increased, from 90.2 per cent to 92 per cent. However, frequent cannabis use rose during the same period, demonstrating that success in one indicator does not automatically eliminate every form of substance misuse.
Portugal offers another lesson in combining proportionate responses to personal drug use with treatment and public-health interventions. Its experience should not be simplified into a claim that decriminalisation alone eliminates drug abuse. The important lesson for Nigeria is that enforcement, treatment, prevention and social reintegration must operate together.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have similarly emphasised evidence-based prevention, accessible treatment, protection against stigma and the integration of mental-health services into responses to adolescent substance-use disorders.
Nigeria's obligations under international drug control agreements and its commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals require a balanced response that protects public health while confronting illicit trafficking. The African Union (AU) and regional bodies must also strengthen cooperation against cross-border trafficking, illicit pharmaceutical markets and the production and distribution of dangerous synthetic substances. Drug networks do not respect national boundaries; intelligence-sharing, border surveillance and coordinated investigations are therefore essential.
The federal government should establish a regularly updated national drug-use survey, with reliable data on age, sex, location, substances consumed, treatment access and recovery outcomes. Without dependable statistics, policies risk becoming exercises in guesswork. Also, state governments, traditional rulers, religious organisations, civil society, schools, the media and families must join the campaign. Young people should be involved not merely as targets of public enlightenment but as active participants in designing prevention programmes that speak to their experiences.
Nigeria must choose between abandoning its young people to the destructive consequences of drug abuse and building a society that protects their health, dignity and potential. The NDLEA cannot win this battle alone. Government must provide resources, communities must challenge harmful norms, families must offer guidance, and health institutions must provide compassionate, professional care.
Our young people need education, employment, recreation, hope and the assurance that their future is worth protecting. The objective must not simply be to seize more drugs or arrest more suspects, but to prevent addiction, save lives and restore those already affected.
A nation that fails to protect the minds of its youth risks mortgaging its future. Nigeria must act now, decisively and intelligently, before the cost of inaction becomes even more devastating. NNL.
