As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking marked June 26 of every year, the country’s version this year is a mixture of joy and sorrow; achievements and lamentations; global recognition and domestic hopelessness all in the mix of the tireless efforts of international governments and organizations in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), government and some local organizations to save Nigeria from becoming an illicit drug nation.

In the words of drug experts at this year’s ceremony at the weekend in Abuja: “Any nation being used by drug barons as a drug transit route has the potentials of becoming an illicit drug consumer country. Illicit drugs threaten the security of every nation. A drug user country is always a lawless country”. NDLEA and global organizations have already admitted that Nigeria is the major transit route for illicit drugs in the West and Central African sub-region. The major kingpin of drug barons in the sub-region (name withheld), is a Nigerian, arrested and now being tried in Nigeria.

The three major arrests and seizure of illicit drugs ever made in the sub-region were all made in Nigeria. Though Nigeria is still believed to be a transit route for illicit drugs like cocaine and heroin, it is also one of the largest producers of the best Indian hemp meant for smoking. Again, sales points for cocaine and heroin that were hitherto very rare to come by are now springing up in many towns like Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Abuja.

But most worrisome is the recent invention or growing use of lizard dung, petrol inhaling, solution sniffing and some local herbs by youths especially in the Northern states to serve as intoxicant. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade said his agency has noted that since such intoxicants are sourced free of charge or very cheaply, so many youths from the Northern part of the country have resorted to using them not minding the health implications.

He said investigation by his agency revealed that some youths have devised the means of sourcing for the whitish part of lizard dung, which they grind and ingest to get intoxicated. He said the worst of them all is the system where some youths goes to pit latrines early in the morning, put their nose in it to inhale the odour which also keeps them high. He said there are local herbs commonly found in the North which some people also take to get intoxicated.

“There are some of the youth’s especially commercial motorcycle (Okada or Achaba) riders who usually soak small handkerchiefs in petrol and tie it over their nose and mouth. You may think they are protecting themselves from the wind, no! They are riding and gradually inhaling the petrol through the handkerchief to get intoxicated. Now, the problem is how do you prevent such things? Will you go and ask the National Assembly to legislate that fuel should not be sold to motorcycle riders or how? It is not possible,” he said.

Giade said there is no law banning the existence of lizards in and around houses just as no law forbids one from collecting their dung. The enactment of any law like that may not make sense even as the continued use of such dung by youths as intoxicant constitute great risk to the society. The mass consumption of intoxicants like lizard dung, solution, Indian hemp, codeine and other local herbs by Northern youths’ might have informed the emergence of Kano State as the state with the highest cases of drug abuse in Nigeria in 2010.

The history of drug control in Nigeria covers eight decades and one of the earliest elaborate legislation against drugs is the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance of 1935. This ordinance prohibited the importation, exportation, transit, production, sales and distribution of opium, coca leaves, cannabis, morphine, heroin or other dangerous drugs and their derivatives except by authorized or licensed persons. Successive governments modified existing laws and enacted new ones in line with prevailing drug situation.

It is worthy of note that in 1984, the Special Tribunal (Miscellaneous Offences) Decree No. 20 was promulgated by General Mohammadu Buhari’s regime. The decree was made retroactive and applied on three Nigerians, Bartholomew Owoh, Lawal Ojulope and Bernard Ogedengbe who committed drug offence before its promulgation. They were subsequently found guilty and publicly executed on April 10, 1985.

Mixed reactions trailed the decree which was considered draconian. The widespread condemnation of the death penalty also brought to the fore two critical issues: The urgent need to protect the image of the country from the criminal activities of indigenous drug barons and the adoption of a commensurate punishment for drug trafficking.

While global markets for cocaine, heroin and cannabis declined or remained stable, the production and abuse of prescription opioid drugs and new synthetic drugs rose. According to the World Drug Report 2011, illicit cultivation of opium poppy and coca bush remained limited to a few countries. Although there was a sharp decline in opium production and a modest reduction in coca cultivation, overall, the manufacture of heroin and cocaine was still significant.

It added that globally, some 210 million people, or 4.8 per cent of the population aged 15-64, took illicit substances at least once in the previous year. Overall drug use, including problem drug use, (0.6 per cent of the population aged 15-64) remained stable. However, demand soared for substances not under international control, such as piperazine and cathinone. The effects of cannabis are also being mimicked by synthetic cannabinoids, or “spice.”

World Drug Report 2011 also states that cannabis remains by far the most widely produced and consumed illicit substance globally, although data on cannabis are limited. In 2009, between 2.8 per cent and 4.5 percent of the world population aged 15-64 – between 125 and 203 million people – had used cannabis at least once in the past year.

While cannabis herb (marijuana) production is widespread, notably in the Americas and Africa, cannabis resin production (hashish) continues to be concentrated in just two countries: Morocco, supplying the West European and North African markets, and Afghanistan supplying the markets in South-West Asia. Cannabis resin was a far more profitable crop than opium poppy in 2010 in Afghanistan.

Illicit drug production in Africa, according to the report, is mainly focused on cannabis. While cannabis resin is mainly produced in Morocco, cannabis herb is produced all over Africa. Information on drug use in Africa is extremely limited, given the lack of scientific surveys in the region. Available information suggests that cannabis use is widespread, and that other drugs are used as well, notably in urban areas.

In addition, African countries are increasingly being used by traffickers to ship Afghan heroin to final destinations in Europe and other regions. An analysis of individual drug seizures suggests that 13% of the cocaine seized in Europe has been trafficked through West Africa. At the same time at least 1/3 of the cocaine trafficked through the region remains there, either to build up stockpiles or to fuel local consumption. Several African countries also appear to be affected by trafficking in, and consumption of, diverted or counterfeit prescription drugs containing controlled substances.

These include amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) as well as sedatives and tranquilizers. Africa poses one of the greatest emerging threats with regard to trafficking of ATS. Recent reports of shipments of methamphetamine from countries in West Africa, notably Nigeria, to various destinations in Asia suggest that there could be a production capacity emerging in the region. Although cannabis herb continues to be trafficked throughout Africa, seizures tend to be concentrated in a small number of countries.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) was established in 1989 through decree No. 48. The decree which is today referred to as NDLEA Act Cap N30 came into being in response to the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. At that convention, member countries were urged to set up a drug control agency to effectively tackle the rising problem of narcotics. It is pertinent to note that before the creation of the NDLEA by then military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, the responsibility of drug control was jointly performed by the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Customs Service.

The NDLEA was fashioned to control illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.  The agency is also empowered to control illicit drug trafficking, abuse, cultivation, possession, manufacturing, production, exportation, importation, and trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and chemical/precursors.

In a desperate move to expand the scope of operations in the sub-region and ensure trans-border cooperation, the agency joined in the establishment of the West African Joint Operations (WAJO) with support from the United States’ DEA. This initiative is in line with series of international conventions to encourage collaboration amongst the international community towards effective drug control.

The major drug being abused in Nigeria is cannabis sativa. It has several street names such as Igbo, weed, ganja, marijuana, wee-wee etc. The fact that it is locally grown makes it readily available, cheap and affordable. Other drugs like cocaine and heroin, though sold in the country are imported. The international trade pattern is such that type ‘A’ drugs like cocaine and heroin are imported from the far East, West Asia as well as the South American countries. It is from there the drugs are taken to consumer nations in Europe and United States of America through some African countries. This situation gave Nigeria its drug transit status.

A total of eight chairmen and chief executive officers have so far headed the NDLEA since it commenced operations in 1990. The Agency has witnessed a steady growth from the time of the first Chairman, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Fidelis Oyakhilome retired to the current Chief Executive, Ahmadu Giade. In 1990, when the agency commenced operations, total arrests was 464, convictions was 13 while total drugs seized stood at 1,142.45kg. These figures rose to 6,708 arrests, 1,509 convictions and 178,120.73kg of seized drugs in 2010.

The first major breakthrough by the agency in the present dispensation was the seizure of 14.2 tons of cocaine at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos. That cocaine haul was the single largest drug seizure recorded in Africa and fifth largest in the world. The huge success of that operation which was a product of intelligence sharing with foreign collaborators, opened a floodgate for arrests and seizures. The agency in 2009 carried out surveillance on a suspected Nigerian drug kingpin Goodluck Omah who was on INTERPOL wanted list. He was arrested with 5.5 kilograms of cocaine, 74,800 dollars cash and several assets.

In 2010, another cocaine haul was made at the Tin Can Port, Lagos. Follow up operation on the 450.400 kilograms of cocaine that originated from Chile led to the arrest of a Taiwanese, a Chinese and three Nigerian clearing and forwarding agents. The arrest was the first time these foreign nationals will be linked with drug trafficking in the sub-region. Some other spectacular cases include the couple that concealed cocaine in the nappies of their six-year-old twins. They were caught at the Lagos airport on their way to London. Similarly, the arrests of a doctorate degree holder and a top politician for drug ingestion also contributed to the rising profile of the country in drug control.

The agency has also traced and destroyed several cannabis plantations in the country. Such plantations are always destroyed before they are harvested. Cannabis farm destruction though highly laborious has been aggressive particularly in major producing states of Ondo, Edo, Delta, Oyo, Ekiti, Ogun and Osun. Between 2006 and 2010, 1,708 hectares of cannabis farmland have been destroyed. Seized and forfeited drug exhibits publicly destroyed since 2006 amount to a whopping 680,897.1 kilograms.