Stop shouting about gorillas & Nigerian music gods! Start talking about the drug craze

On an even more serious note, do you know what ‘Loud’ is? Your nearest assumption would be ‘noise’. Of course, you are correct, but in an era where drugs are the new ‘norm’, you are definitely living under some cool rock of oblivion. We hail you and urge you to come out.

Stop shouting about gorillas & Nigerian music gods! Start talking about the drug craze Pulse Nigeria

One of the latest ‘fads’ for young Nigerians in recent times is ‘drug abuse’ - whether it’s crushed, poured in a cup, popped out of a sachet or stabbed in one’s skin.

Stop shouting about gorillas & Nigerian music gods! Start talking about the drug craze Pulse Nigeria

Sugar coating the issue of substance abuse has never helped. Drug abuse is a fad. You’ll see bottles of cough syrup in cinemas and at parties. You run over to the shop to buy drinks and the person next to you has a blue-tinged tongue?! Apparently, that’s the ‘badge of honour’ for using rohypnol, a powerful sedative that is highly addictive.

Stop shouting about gorillas & Nigerian music gods! Start talking about the drug craze Pulse Nigeria

Obi MacDonald, manages a petrol station in Owerri

Obi MacDonald, a resident of Owerri, Imo State, who manages a petrol station in Douglas market, Owerri, explained his worst nightmare - watching the lights go out in a young boy’s mind.

He lived in a housing complex that had several young boys. Over time, he noticed that things weren’t ‘normal’. There was a little too much sniffing, people were passing out more often than not. Then he realized, ”these kids are on something, ehn!”

The worst thing he had seen so far. Watching a young boy’s brain switch off. The boy had just taken ‘something’ when he saw him, he explained. He was walking towards Obi and as if being controlled by a remote, stopped and slumped! Right there on the road!

Stop shouting about gorillas & Nigerian music gods! Start talking about the drug craze Pulse Nigeria

MacDonald has since vowed to never try out any substance, and he hopes that other Nigerians will follow suit. Doing this in a popular market where a drug den is housed two streets away will not be easy. However, MTN ASAP (Anti-Substance Abuse Programme) is giving young Nigerians the voice to speak out and have the strength to stay off substances, whether it’s an overdose of over-the-counter painkillers, the popular codeine drink, or the usual alarm-ringing cocaine, heroin, etc.

And to top it all off, ASAP National Conference held in Abuja on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. The conference provided Nigerians with a full experience of the inspiring ASAP train that has already visited other Nigerian states (Lagos, Rivers and Owerri).

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