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The Shadow Over Nigeria's Future


By Awojobi Khadijat


If you take a walk through many of our streets today, you will notice a shadow that wasn't quite this dark a few years ago. It is not just the economy or the traffic people are talking about anymore; it is the way our brothers, sisters, and even teens are disappearing into a world of "highs" that eventually leads to a very low place.

Nigeria is currently facing what experts call a national emergency, but for the average person, it is simply a tragedy of lost potential. 
 Life in Nigeria right now is tough. With unemployment rates hitting hard and the cost of living soaring, many young people feel like they are running a race on a treadmill. For some, drugs become a cheap reset button, while for others, it is peer pressure. 
 We also can’t ignore how easy it is to get these things. Sometimes, the person selling "medicine" in an unapproved pharmacy is the plug.
The scariest part of this trend is how it is changing the face of our communities. It is not just the "area boys" anymore but also university students, young professionals, and even ladies getting caught in the web. The effects is in the rising cases of mental health issues, where psychiatric wards are overflowing with young people who have "fried" their brains in search of a temporary buzz.
Fixing this is not just the job of the NDLEA or the government; it starts with how we look at the person struggling. In our society, we are very quick to judge and shame people, but addiction is a trap, not a choice once it takes hold. Many of these users are just people trying to escape pain, and when we meet them with only handcuffs and insults, we push them deeper into the hole. There is need for community support, accessible rehab centers,  and most importantly, we need to give our youth a reason to stay sober.

As we move through 2026, the goal should not just be to "stop drugs" but to start caring and realize that every person lost to addiction is a doctor, a farmer, or an engineer we might never get back.
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