Nigeria is caught in the grips of a drug epidemic and is reaching a full-scale crisis that threatens not just public health but national security. The scale of illicit drug trafficking and consumption in the country is reflected in the frequent reports of arrests and interceptions of large quantities of narcotics by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other sister security services.

Thousands of drug traffickers have been apprehended and prosecuted in various courts across the country. Recently, the Federal High Courts in Lagos and Adamawa sentenced four drug lords to a combined 95 years? imprisonment for trafficking cocaine and ?skunk? valued at over N4.6 billion. Some of these convicts had, before now, been arrested and prosecuted multiple times but received lighter sentences with an option of bail. With the latest conviction, it is hoped that this time around, freedom will elude them.

In 2024, the NDLEA reported that it arrested 52,901 suspected drug traffickers, including 48 barons, and secured over 9,000 convictions within three years. The Chairman of the NDLEA, Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.) had said the agency seized more than 7.6 million kilogrammes of illicit substances, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and cannabis.

But despite these efforts, manufacturers and traffickers, driven by profits and the high demands for psychoactive substances among addicts, continually devise new ways to evade detection. The illicit and psychoactive drugs market is a multi-billion-dollar industry that grows each year with the creation of new potent synthetic opioids. The market is fuelled by corruption, poor regulation and porous borders exploited by manufacturers and traffickers.

Nigeria?s large idle and frustrated youth population appears to serve this big market for drug traffickers. The prevalence of drug abuse in the country has reached alarming levels, affecting virtually every city, particularly in the northern region. A 2018 National Drug Use Survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that 14.3 million Nigerians aged 15-64 used psychoactive substances. But this data was from seven years ago, and given the growing trends, the numbers are likely to have increased significantly.

The North West, according to the data, bears the brunt of this crisis, with the statistics indicating that three million people in the region suffer from drug addiction. Disturbingly, experts have correlated this rising number of drug users with rising incidents of domestic violence and criminal activities in the region.

The devastating consequences of these drugs are evident in homes, schools and many community alleys. While many Nigerians attribute the crisis to poor parental control and peer pressure, the situation appears to be complex. We cannot run away from the fact that there are deeper socioeconomic factors, such as frustration and unemployment that are fuelling this menace. Some youths find the use of drugs as a coping mechanism to relax or escape the country?s harsh socioeconomic realities, while others, even decent hardworking Nigerian men and women, turn to drugs to support an energy drive that will push their system to withstand longer work hours.

Whichever way is the case, the gravity of the drug crisis in Nigeria cannot be overstated. The continued proliferation of illicit substances poses a direct threat to the social fabric of our society, weakening the mental and physical capabilities of our most agile and energetic population segment.

Without a strategic and coordinated policy response, the future of Nigeria?s youth and, by extension, the nation is at risk. Drug abuse is not merely a public health issue; it is a national security emergency. Therefore, this is not just a fight against crime, but a fight for national preservation.

At Daily Trust, we firmly assert that tackling drug addiction requires a holistic approach. While we commend the NDLEA?s efforts, we urge the agency to intensify its crackdown on the entire drug supply chain. This means beaming a searchlight on the masterminds behind these operations and ensuring they are brought to justice.

The Nigerian government must send a strong message to international drug manufacturers and suppliers, particularly pharmaceutical companies operating from countries like India, that our youths will not be sacrificed for their profit margins.

We call for harsher punishments for drug suppliers, traffickers and manufacturers. They should be made to spend the rest of their lives in jail without bail conditions that many of them readily meet, just to return to this heinous crime.

We recognise and commend the collaboration of the NDLEA with other security and regulatory agencies such as the Nigerian Customs, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), the National Orientation Agency and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). This collaboration is essential as it will ensure adequate policing of all points of entry into Nigeria.

We urge that while the government is doing everything possible to clean and dismantle these drug chains, it must also not abandon the victims of these drug manufacturers. The federal government must work with state governments to intensify a comprehensive rehabilitation programme for drug addicts across the country. The time to act is now. If Nigeria fails to confront this epidemic with the urgency it demands, we risk losing an entire generation to the grip of addiction. (Daily Trust Editorial)

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