Lessons to learn from an ex-drug addict

As a growing boy, I happen to be very close to my mother, whom I eventually lost in August, 1996. By then I was 15years old and in secondary IV. Her death touched me severely as I found it difficult to cope with life. Upon my resumption to school, I started doing drugs with friends, […]

As a growing boy, I happen to be very close to my mother, whom I eventually lost in August, 1996. By then I was 15years old and in secondary IV. Her death touched me severely as I found it difficult to cope with life. Upon my resumption to school, I started doing drugs with friends, something I found comfort in and made me forget about my sorrows temporarily. Though I was aware my drug intake could trigger a repercussion in the near future, I was carried away by the feelings and sensation of the drift I find myself in. By now it has come to the notice of my entire family that I take drugs and they took all necessary possible supportive measures to stop me but to no avail.

Being in secondary VI by 1998, I was an average student. I managed to pass my UME exams with good points but the SSCE, I managed to pass averagely. In December of the same year, I got admission into University of Maiduguri where I was to study Public Law (called Civil Law in some other institutions). My first year in 1999, I was half way punctual in lectures as I did all my assignments and most continuous assessments. Half of the time, I was busy doing drugs with friends and hanging out with ladies. Little did I know that doing drugs doesn’t guarantee respect but destabilizes and makes one detested in the minds of those who know life’s true worth. I had only little time to glance through my notes and when result came out in the beginning of the new session, I managed to sail through to the next level but with a poor grade and few carryovers.

In my second year in 2000, having seen that I passed my first year, my drug addiction escalated and I now no longer attend lectures, I don’t write assignments and don’t sit for C.A tests, I photocopy notes and glance through on the eve of every exam and sit for it the following morning. It was a complete state of truancy. I was never available at lectures and always present in parties and shows.

The session expired and it was the beginning of another. The result proved I was incapable of sailing through the level and I was recommended to repeat. Being in my usual drift, I didn’t take the issue seriously as I stuck to the belief that I could always buckle up and get through the obstacle, as such I was remorseless.

In 2001, there was an academic strike by ASUU which affected our school calendar and made the school authority to pass the decision of repeating the whole session. By 2002 when school resumed, instead of adjusting to adapt with the circumstance I found myself in, I kept procrastinating and doing what I was doing (drugs) forgetting the fact that I was on probation. My good friends who scarcely see me will sit me down and talk to me about the danger ahead but I always assure them that things will take a turn. As the session preceded and result came out in the beginning of the subsequent session, I was rusticated from school.

Now I am not grieving for just my mother but also for the chaos that has happened to me regarding school. I found it difficult to narrate the issue to my family (though I later did). Earlier than now, drug deposits have had an effect on my brain as a psychiatrist evaluated and confirmed I was suffering from paranoia. It is a state of insanity but does not affect one’s reasoning or personality.

I was put under medication. Being at home I found it tedious to cope with the self-inflicted trauma and agony in relation to what I have done in the past. For the period spanning 2002 through 2004 I subdued my drug taking to a very minimum level and applied for admission in various schools to no avail.

In 2005, I decided to overpower my desire for drugs which turned out fruitful. Though I got the urge for it from time to time, I tend to ignore and involve myself in religious devotions. I kept writing UME exams which finally turned into a success in 2007 and I was invited to sit for post-UME exam in A.B.U Zaira. I later got admitted to study Political Science. Courage they say is not the absence of fear but the presence of it and the will to go on. Having made up my mind to study hard and graduate with flying colours, I engaged myself with a few responsible and hard working friends who seem to be supportive academically. But my paranoia has still not healed properly so I had the problem of assimilating what is being taught in the classroom. I tried all possible means of learning by doing intensive reading and attending tutorials but all proved futile. In 2008, I couldn’t get through the next level as I was probated and in the following year 2009, the end came near as I was asked to withdraw.

Knowing the circumstance surrounding my expulsion from A.B.U, my family decided in July 2010 to take me for proper rehabilitation which lasted till October same year. Upon my return home I was given a job in my grandfather’s company where till date I serve in the capacity of a marketer. I intend to venture into business so I could have something to fall back on and then further my studies on a part time basis and marry at the long run.

To my fellow youths out there who engage in drug taking, I would like to assure you that you can dump doing drugs and change for the better as I believe that character is not a destination but a journey which could be modified before reaching the end point.

I will say it to everyone that cares to listen that though the coast is clear, I learnt life the hardest way.

Ali resides in Kaduna