The Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has disclosed that female undergraduate students in most Nigerian universities abuse the use of hard drugs more than their male counterparts.
Mr. Charles Odigie, Spokesman of Anambra State Command of the agency, who revealed this, said the situation was unfortunate, but was the reality going on in the society presently.
The spokesman who spoke during a one-day symposium tagged ‘Curbing School Dropout and Drug Abuse’ in Anambra, stated that the abuse of hard drugs was more prevalent in a university in Awka.
He said according to the Command’s recent arrests of drug offenders in the state, female students of a particular university constituted most of the offenders, harping on the need for re-orientation.
He regretted the general high rate of drug abuse in tertiary institutions, saying it was an indication that students allow themselves to be influenced in the school environment, where they have more freedom.
“There is high rate of drugs in tertiary institutions due to the absence of school hostels on campuses, making it difficult to control students who abuse these substances.
“For instance, majority of UNIZIK students live off-campus in lodges where neither the landlords nor caretakers are there to control them. If they are to be within the school premises, the story would have been different,” he stated.
He identified shisha, a popular local hard drug consumed by youths through pipes, as the the most widely abused by female students.
Funmilola Bolaji is a Researcher, Writer and a trained Educationist; she’s the editor of Campusbiz Journal. You may want to reach her via for Campusbiz Journal related inquiries only.
