Abuja becoming Nigeria’s biggest cocaine hot-spot
The hard drug business appears to be doing very well in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Deserted areas, mostly uncompleted buildings, are mostly where the activity goes on. Dagba, close to Area I, is the most popular, according to findings. “It is easily the major hot-spot for the sale of cocaine [in Abuja],” said […]
The hard drug business appears to be doing very well in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Deserted areas, mostly uncompleted buildings, are mostly where the activity goes on. Dagba, close to Area I, is the most popular, according to findings. “It is easily the major hot-spot for the sale of cocaine [in Abuja],” said a female patron called Kelly (not real name). “Anything you want, you can find it here, even if cocaine isn’t your thing. It is a veritable Disneyland for us,” she added, referring to fellow drug users, called ‘Coke Heads’ in drug culture parlance. An electrician whose workshop is nearby complained that Dagba is very notorious and found it surprising that even though people keep screaming about the place, trying to draw the attention of the relevant authorities, all seems to be falling on deaf ears. “The dealers are so brazen that they’ll even approach you without being sure if you are interested in their wares,” he said.
Drug usage was hitherto seen as the forte of the Lagos jet-set, whose bank accounts and fast lifestyles are more in sync with the resulting culture. But according to another Abuja-based user, a male who works in the banking industry, while pleading for anonymity, “Cocaine and heroin are in the FCT to stay. There is a lot of money here, so what do you expect?” He also alluded that the biggest customers of the sellers are highly-placed individuals. “There’s a popular politician who I keep bumping into when I go for my twice-weekly fix.”
Mega-popular recreation spots like Millennium Park are a haven-of-choice for users, hence the presence of dealers, according to a family man who told Weekly Trust that he has decided to put a stop to his once-regular family afternoons at the park. “Imagine having to explain to your 12-year-old child why it isn’t good to do drugs, when a few seconds later, well-dressed youth will be sniffing lines of cocaine in plain sight,” he said. Further investigation revealed that many night clubs and even restaurants serve as unofficial joints where cocaine can be purchased and used, often times openly.
At a popular Abuja eatery, an encounter with an addict showed that restaurant proprietors do not want to scare their customers off, so they pretend not to notice. “I buy from elsewhere, but come here to do my lines,” she said, referring to the method of sniffing she prefers. She owns a big cosmetic store which is doing well, and when she was asked why she went into drugs, she shrugged, offering a single word: “Boredom.” Most other users interviewed agreed that boredom is the number one reason, but some of them blamed the clichéd reason of peer pressure. “You have to be perceived as ‘cool’ if you want to belong. And there’s no better way to be cool than to [do drugs].”
An auto parts dealer called Igbenedion (not real name) told Weekly Trust: “You cannot compare Lagos to Abuja as the federal capital seems to be the big deal now. The main drug barons are here in Abuja as they only have their men in other states networking for them. I have on several occasions been approached by some of these dealers to come and join them as a trafficker in return for big money.” Igbenedion confessed to having met one of his would-be employers at an Indian hemp-smoking joint he frequents himself. “I won’t deny the fact that I sometimes smoke Indian hemp but cocaine will definitely not work for me, seeing the way they are being caught nowadays. It’s really not worth the trouble,” he said.
While there is no concrete, obvious reason for the allure which Abuja seems to have for dealers, some development experts are of the opinion that the apparent prosperity evident in the city is a natural magnet for drug sellers and users. According to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), about 98 percent of all suspects arrested at Abuja Airport with drugs, mostly cocaine, are individuals from various parts of the country other than the FCT.
Then there is the viewpoint of one Alice Atama, once a drug addict, who said she was doing very well until she met some friends who introduced her to cocaine. “The reason nothing’s being done as the problem grows and grows is there are influential people and their kids involved,” she said, also bashing the police. “Let me also use this opportunity to say that the police are not helping matters as they do go there sometimes to raid the place and in the next 3-4 days they culprits are off the hook again and it is back to business as usual.” In the same breath, she commended the cops. “They are always raiding, which is good, but there are no results and the problem remains, growing.” Various police spokesmen declined comment over the phone, citing the holiday period as an excuse. The police in Area I proved difficult to speak to, as the officers there insisted that it was the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) that could speak on that issue. An officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said their hands are tied in the situation. “We arrest, including important personalities in the society, and others come to bail them, leaving us in a fix.
The FCT command of the NDLEA was more forthcoming. The Head, Public Affairs Department, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said there is indeed a rise in the activities of drug dealers and users. “This year, 2009, saw us recording the highest number of arrests, both at our Airport Command and at our FCT Command, due to new, more stringent methods we’ve employed,” he told Weekly Trust. He also said drug barons have always targeted Nigeria to be a major transit route for them in West African sub-region. At the airport, total seizures from January 2009 to date stand at 56.52kg of various types of drugs, half of which is mainly cocaine. The FCT Command, in the same time-frame, recorded an alarming 300 grams, a larger chunk of which is cannabis, followed by cocaine.
What is its selling point? Cocaine – a high-priced way of getting high – seems to have a mystique. Nick-named ‘the caviar of street drugs,’ it is seen as the status-heavy drug of celebrities and wealthy people. Users describe it as a “heavenly high”. But as an ex-user said, the reality of the white powder hits after the high, as it has powerful negative effects on the heart, brain, and emotions. Cocaine is a purified extract from the leaves of the Erythroxylum coca bush. This plant grows in the Andes region of South America. Powdered cocaine, commonly known as “coke,” dissolves in water. Users can snort or inject powdered cocaine.
According to a Kaduna-based doctor, Auwal Ibraheem, cocaine users often describe the euphoric feeling as an increasing sense of energy and alertness and, a feeling of supremacy, among others. “On the other hand, some people describe other feelings tagging along with the high: irritability, paranoia, restlessness and anxiety. While it harms the brain, heart, blood vessels and lungs, it can even cause sudden death,” Ibraheem added.
A document from United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said there are myriad of reasons for the prevalence of drug abuse in the population, including socio-cultural displacement of young people through rapid urbanization and modernization, general poverty levels that increase the vulnerability of children and the belief among prostitutes, labourers, commercial drivers and law enforcement agents that narcotics increase energy for tedious and long hours of work.
Stats for users vary from city to city, but Abuja’s are as follow: From January 2009 to date, 36 males and one female have been arrested at the airport forpossession of hard drugs, most of which is, again, cocaine. The FCT Command recorded arrest of 196 males and 5 females, according to Ofoyeju. “It is indeed a growing problem, but adequate measures are currently being employed to take care of the situation,” he assured. But Atama, the ex-addict, does not agree. She concluded: “This cocaine thing is the business of the super-rich. Cocaine business, as I see it from the point of view of a one-time insider, is here to stay in Abuja. It will take the grace of God and well-meaning Nigerians to stall the dangerous trend.”