Expert Expresses Worry Over Drug Abuse By Youths

 

• As Mentally Deranged People Flock Osun

Kazeem Badmus

A Psychiatrist, Dr Benjamin Eegunranti, has expressed worry over usage of drugs and illicit substances by the youths in Osun State. 

According to Eegunranti, drug abuse by the younger generation in the state is troubling and alarming, saying that something drastically needs to be done to curtail the ugly trend. 

Eegunranti who confirmed the report of the Osun State Command of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) that drug abuse was on the increase in the state, said the situation had been like that for years. 

The expert who spoke with OSUN DEFENDER in an exclusive interview on Tuesday, in Osogbo, said drug abuse and taking illicit substances are part of the major causes of mental illness. 

He said the future bleaks for the youths who engaged in drugs and substances, affirming that the ugly trend is prevalent among the youth.

Eegunranti maintained that the number of people with mental health challenge in the state is increasing, noting that they were almost on every street in the state capital. 

OSUN DEFENDER noted that almost every major city or town in the state has several homeless, mentally challenged persons roaming the streets in their numbers, sometimes naked.  

Eegunranti said the spate of mentally challenged people in Osun is getting worse, noting that the state now has more than enough of them to export to other states. 

He called for the establishment of a better form of Osun Rehabilitation programme (O’REHAB) which was created by Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s administration. 

The specialist maintained that the O’REHAB helped in the management of people with mental health challenge, advising that any programme of such by the current administration must include a psychiatrist.

He said: “Drug abuse is when one uses a drug that is not medically prescribed. It is better not to start because it is always difficult to stop because of dependency syndrome. 

“Once people start taking drugs, over time, they start craving them and even prefer the drugs to other leisure things. Also, bodies are bound to be tolerant to the drugs and once this happens, the person becomes dependent on the drug. That is why it is always difficult for those taking drugs to stop it. 

“When you talk of mental illness, there are people having mental illness alone. Some people are into drug abuse alone. Some people are having mental and behavioural disorders due to drug abuse. There are people that is difficult to know the cause from the effect. 

“The future is very bleak for the younger generation. If you look around the state capital, you will see a lot of people with mental illness, sleeping and smoking on the streets. 

“It is getting worse daily; the state now has more than enough mentally challenged people that it can even export to other states. 

“Internet fraudsters (Yahoo boys) are also part of the problem. Most of them want to stay awake at midnight and they do take stimulants to do so. In the morning, they take sedatives in order to sleep and this will have adverse effects on them. 

“The O’ Rehabilitation programme of former governor Rauf Aregbesola was helping seriously then and I want to advise the present administration to be sincere and set up better committee which will include psychiatrists that will take care of these issues.”