BY
COMRADE JOSEPH OZOVEHE BARNABAS ( Pen Lord, Ozovehe De Maverick)
PRO NYCN KOGI STATE CHAPTER.
Beloved,
Ordinarily, the stereotype of a drug user was predominantly male. The same was also true of the typical heart-attack sufferer and social vices. In our society today, these stereotypes have been overturned to reveal that women are just as likely as men to suffer heart attacks, commit heinous crimes and they are also likely to abuse substances.
I could still remember vividly even as a man you hide your puffs and sneak to a quiet place of solitude or like minds and smoke or drink. Now it is no longer a new thing that people do all sorts of hard drugs, alcohol and smokes in public and the female especially our teenagers are taking the lead.
It will interest you to know that this unusual act presently exhibited by the female folk can be triggered/caused by the following factors.
TRIGGERS / CAUSES OF DRUG ABUSE AMONG FEMALES.
1. Loneliness
2. Stress
3. Fatigue: Most women whenever they are stressed or they feel tired, instead of resting, they often do not give themselves permission to take a break, rather they resort to taking hard drugs to ‘relieve’ themselves from the situations at hand so as to become strong.
4. Peer pressure: Women who move with friends that do take hard drugs and take alcohol may likely be lured into tking it and might even overtake her friends in the long run.
5. Partying: Social freaks and girls who love clubbing are vulnerable to drug abuse.
6. Dating an abuser: Some ladies don’t normally do drugs, in fact, they despise drug users but due to emotional attachment in the name of “love” with an abuser, they tend to be an addict.
7. Hunger: Women tend to be more affected by public opinion than men, and they also diet more often. Instead of giving in to hunger by eating, many women use this condition as an occasion to chastise themselves for wanting to eat too much or choose the wrong foods. Some will turn to drugs to make the hunger go away without consuming more calories.
8. Low self-esteem: Drug use can be a form of subconscious self-abuse. Many women suffer from self-esteem issues.
9. Body image issues: Women often use drugs in attempt to change the way they look. If they feel they are too fat, stimulants offer the false promise of easy weight loss. There are also other drugs that can be used to build extra muscle mass. When these approaches to changing one’s body image do not work, which is likely, alcohol and other drugs are likely considered as a way to soothe the emotional pain.
10. Stage Frights : As the popular pidgin English assertion goes, “Make I dirty my face” which literary means ‘killing stage fright’, this has pushed many of our ladies to be addicted to drugs as they cannot face crowd without taking drugs.
*CONSEQUENCES OF DRUG ABUSE.*
1. Internal organs damage.
2. Poor parenting by the abusers
3. Self mutilation.
4. Mental illness
5. Soliloquizing
6. Prostitution.
7. Abortion.
8. Womb damage.
9. Social vices and crimes.
10. Waste of resources.
11. Rape
12. Low self esteem
13. Diseases
14. Death
*POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS ON HOW TO CURB THE MENACE.*
1. Parents should monitor their children especially the female; know their friends, their family members and at times even pay an adhoc visit to confirm if they were really going to see their friends. Also parents/guidance should visit their children/wards in school, observe their behavioural changes and ask their class teachers frequently about the progress of their children/wards.
2. Laws regulating drug abuse should be strengthened and reviewed with related offences
3. Mobile court should be created to try offenders timely based on the reformed laws.
4. Mass media such as radio stations, televisions and news letters should be involved in serious orientations and reorientations in order to combat the ‘beast’
5. Government should create rehabilitation centres with skill acquisitions units for offenders where they could learn some skills as”an idle mind is the devils play ground”
6. Some videos, songs that promote the uses of drugs should be banned and the producers of such drugs should be punished.
7. Government and cooperate bodies should frequently organize seminars where relevant stake holders will sensitize and elucidate the dangers of drug abuse. This is a wake up call for the *NATIONAL ORIENTATION AGENGENCY*
8. Drug traffickers and hawkers should be punished with good sentence in prison while the drugs destroyed to the core.
9. Some drugs easily abused should be banned and doctors should sale some only on a pharmaceutical prescription and monitoring for the targeted use.
10. Patent medical stores should be checked thoroughly and unannounced to check for hard drugs.
11. Hotels, motels and parks where suspected hard drugs are sold and distributed should be locked and owners face the wrath of the law.
12. A ministry should be created under local government and state government to help curb this menace.
In conclusion the role of female folks in societal development, home building, child bearing and raising, building a wholesome nation and all facets of lives can never be overstressed. Hence, such beautiful creations should be checked and paid all necessary attention to for positivity. It is sad and disheartening to see some of these beauties; the mothers of our future generation wasting away their lives and killing our future in the name of drug abuse.
All hand must be on deck to address this issue with love without ulterior motives and prejudice. If we want to get to the zenith of success, if we want to achieve the great society of our collective dreams, if we want to reach the heights of excellence politically, socially, culturally, and otherwise these blessed gender’s welfarism should be of topmost priority to all and Barnabas.
Thank you.
Contributors.
Hon. Siyaka Hussein Obanimoh
Barrister Balogun Hassan
Comrade Abdulraham Jimoh
Comrade Obansa AbdulHayyu
Comrade Gomina Godfrey Hussein.
Comrade AbdulKareem Daina.