Analysis of the pull and push factors for substance abuse in Nigeria
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Date
2023
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Publisher
Nigerian Defence Academy Press
Abstract
Substance abuse remains a growing global concern, and it’s particularly becoming a public health and social concern in Nigeria (Balogun, 2021; Jatau et al., 2021; Adeyemo et al., 2016). The recent world drug report estimated that in 2020, 1 in every 18 people aged 15–64 worldwide – an estimated 284 million people (representing 5.6 per cent of the population) – had reportedly used a drug in the past 12 months; and the number of those who used drugs (284 million) in 2020 was 26 per cent higher than in 2010 (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [UNODC], 2022). There is also a high surge in the global production and use of cocaine, and the seizures of other illicit drugs such as amphetamine and methamphetamine have also increased rapidly, despite covid-19 pandemic (UNODC, 2022). Nigeria is witnessing an increase in illicit drug trafficking and abuse. In its 2019 Annual Report, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) reported that a total of 612,903.48 kilogrammes (kg) of illicit drugs were seized in 2019, compared to 317,764.85 Kilogrammes seized in 2018, representing an increase of 48.15 per cent. Also, cannabis remained the most trafficked drug in Nigeria, as the agency seized about 602,654.49kg in 2019, compared to the seizure of 273,249.08 kilogrammes of the same drug in 2018, representing an increase of about 54.66 per cent (NDLEA, 2019). It has also been reported that in Nigeria, one in seven persons aged 15–64 years had used a drug, apart from tobacco and alcohol, in the past year (UNODC, 2018).
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Keywords
Pull and push factors, substance abuse, Nigeria