Nigerian musician, Afeez Fashola popularly known as Naira Marley, on Thursday, visited the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Mohamed Buba Marwa in Abuja.
He declared support for the war against drug abuse during the meeting with Marwa.
The details of the visit was not yet known as at the time of filing this report.
In November 2022, Marwa had expressed his regret over how popular drug-related song lyrics have grown among young people, adding that such songs have led them to view drug usage as a grand idea of leisure.
The NDLEA chairman spoke through Dr Segun Oke, who represented him at the second Vanguard Mental Health Summit, which took place in Lagos on Thursday. The theme was “Mental Health in a Distressed Economy.”
10.6 million Nigerians smoke cannabis, according to Marwa, who claims that drug addiction is a “serious” issue in the nation.
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He said that the organization had kept up its efforts to put policies in place to reduce drug and substance misuse in the nation.
“The ‘high syndrome’ is so entrenched among young people it has become a sort of self-prescription therapy for dealing with some of life’s issues. For some, it is the grand idea of leisure. It is a buzzword in their everyday life and a motif in popular music. Offhand, I can give you three quick examples of hit songs that glorify the abuse of psychoactive substances in the name of ‘getting high’.
” ‘I just want to be high’, ‘I need Igbo and Shayo’, ‘Sometimes food no dey give man joy, but Canadian loud, the feeling is different.’ These street anthems motivate young people to abuse alcohol, cannabis and other illicit substances. It is now commonplace for young people to organise cannabis parties,” he said.