Lagos State has intensified efforts to curb rising drug experimentation among teenagers, launching a comprehensive sensitisation campaign for secondary school students and youths in Agege, following a recent study showing that 13.6% of students have tried drugs while 6.9% are active users.
The two-day programme, organised by the Lagos State Interministerial Drug Abuse Control Committee (LSIDACC) in collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), was held recently at the Oba Sanni Komolafe Youth Centre, Agege, according to the post shared on Thursday.
With the theme, “Drugs/Substance Abuse and You: What Every Young Person Should Know,” the campaign sought to increase awareness and equip adolescents with skills for resisting peer pressure and harmful influences.
Speaking at the event, the Coordinating Director of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Folashade Oludara, represented by Pharm. Olawale Poluyi, commended the active participation of students and urged them to return to their schools as ambassadors against substance misuse.
She stressed that drug misuse often begins with using medications without medical guidance, warning that self-medication and incorrect dosages are early steps towards addiction.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, Chairman of LSIDACC, Pharm. Poluyi, linked the programme to worrying trends in Lagos and nationwide.
She noted that 14.4 per cent of Nigerians aged 15–64, equivalent to 14.3 million people, use psychoactive substances, more than twice the global average, describing the statistics as “warnings about a growing public health crisis”.
She said many young people turn to drugs to cope with emotional distress, trauma, boredom, or curiosity, while peer influence reinforces risky behaviour.
She described the sensitisation drive as an investment in the future of Lagos youths, aimed at shaping positive values and promoting early intervention.
Addiction, she noted, is a health condition requiring compassion and support.
Also addressing participants, the Deputy Commander of Narcotics at NDLEA, Mrs Titilope Ogunluyi, urged youths to choose discipline over drugs, emphasising that “drugs don’t make a star — you make your own star”.
She encouraged them to associate with positive peers and remain committed to their ambitions.
The Director of Lagos State Kick Against Drug Abuse (LASKADA), Mr Lukmon Kotun, warned that drug dependency often begins with “just one wrong decision” and urged students to pass on the lessons learnt to their peers and communities.
In her presentation, the Head of Research at Shelter Youth and Community Network, Dr Oluseyi Odewale, highlighted the link between substance use, poor decision-making, academic decline, and emotional instability. She taught students practical refusal skills, emphasising that knowing how to say no is essential.
A prevention specialist with the same organisation, Dr (Mrs) Maria Ilugbiyi, explained that addiction develops when the brain becomes conditioned to repeat substance use despite harmful consequences.
She described drug abuse as a complex health issue and underscored the influence of peer pressure, advising students to walk away, change the subject, issue warnings, or firmly say no when confronted with drugs.
