“Have a Piss, Drink Ogogoro, Smoke lgbo, but don't take Gbana”-Hard and Soft Drugs in Nigeria: A Critical Comparison of Official Policies and the View on the Street

Abstract

One of the consequences of increased exposure to Western influences has been the spread of drug use among Nigerian young people over the last two decades. There is now a buoyant consumer market for home-grown cannabis, and a smaller market for heroin and cocaine within the country. Under successive military regimes, drug use was either downplayed, or regarded as a law enforcement issue. Little work was carried out to gauge the extent of use, or obtain an understanding of the user constituencies. Government policies are entirely informed by Western models and sadly inadequate in understanding Nigerian drug trends and in devising schemes to meet local needs. This article, by giving voice to Nigerian drug users, is an attempt to dispel some misconceptions about drug use and abuse, and to widen the debate surrounding African drug control. There is a grave danger of the war on drugs being exported to African countries where civil societies are weakest in withstanding the onslaught of government and international agencies. This article is therefore an ethnographic drugs study engaging with crucial development issues.