A Nigerian civil society group has called for more addiction treatment and rehabilitation centres as it warned that young people struggling with substance use need access to care as well as prevention programmes.
The Frontline Advocacy Initiative (FAI) made the call on International Youth Day, urging the federal and state governments to increase investment in rehabilitation, mental health professionals and training for people entering addiction-treatment professions.
The group’s founder and executive director, Shakirudeen Bankole, said the demand was driven by what he described as the effects of drug use he encounters in communities where he works.
“As the President of the Alimosho Youth Development Association of Nigeria (AYDAN),for instance, in my routine commune across the large local government area of Lagos State, I encounter, on a daily basis, the brutal consequences of illicit substance use and drug abuse.
"I see many young lives waste away, irretrievably. I see how the drug culture contributes to aggression, crime and increased vulnerability to health problems. We cannot continue like this," he said.
Nigeria already has a treatment network, but access remains an issue
The call comes against the backdrop of an existing government response that combines drug enforcement with prevention, counselling and rehabilitation.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it operates residential counselling and rehabilitation centres in 30 state commands.
Its website also says people with more complex drug-use disorders or co-existing conditions can be referred to other treatment facilities.
In a recent account of its work, the agency said it had treated and rehabilitated 13,508 drug users through 31 rehabilitation centres over an 18-month period.
It also reported more than 6,600 drug-prevention awareness programmes during the same period.
Drug use is not a marginal problem
Nigeria's most widely cited national drug-use survey found that an estimated 14.3 million people aged 15 to 64 had used a psychoactive substance other than tobacco or alcohol in the previous year in 2017.
The survey, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, put the annual prevalence of drug use at 14.4% among people aged 15 to 64.
It also estimated 376,000 high-risk drug users, with pharmaceutical opioids among the substances most associated with high-risk use.
The NDLEA currently lists cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, codeine-containing cough syrup, heroin, morphine and amphetamines among substances commonly abused in Nigeria.
Bankole also named cannabis, tramadol and other opioids, codeine-based mixtures, psychoactive cough syrups, cocaine, methamphetamine and substances sold as ecstasy or MDMA.
He warned young people against assuming that occasional experimentation could not lead to dependence.
“You do not have to plan to become addicted before dependence can begin. The statement that ‘I will only try it once’ is not a guarantee.
Some drugs can produce unusually powerful reward signals in the brain, reinforcing the behaviour and making repeated use increasingly difficult to control,” he said.
Prevention alone cannot solve the problem
Nigeria's National Drug Control Master Plan for 2021-2025 already recognised prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery, rehabilitation and social reintegration as key parts of the country's response to drug use.
The plan specifically identified children, out-of-school young people, unemployed youths and displaced families among groups requiring particular attention.
This makes FAI's call for a stronger treatment system less a departure from existing policy than a demand for greater implementation and capacity.
Bankole said prevention campaigns should therefore run alongside accessible treatment.
“Prevention is important, but prevention without treatment is not enough. We need more rehabilitation centres, more psychologists, more psychiatrists and more trained therapists.
We also need to give young Nigerians who want to enter these professions the support to study and the incentive to remain here after training,” he said.
The mental health workforce is another constraint
Access to treatment also depends on the availability of trained professionals.
The Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria said in 2024 that fewer than 200 psychiatrists were available to serve a population of more than 200 million people.
Its then president, Prof Taiwo Obindo, linked the shortage partly to the migration of health professionals and said those remaining were overworked and poorly paid.
The figures have since changed, so the 2024 estimate should not be treated as the current number of psychiatrists in Nigeria.But the workforce shortage remains a significant policy concern.
A recent report by The Guardian cited 262 psychiatrists serving a population of about 240 million, while also reporting that mental healthcare remains poorly funded.
FAI is calling for government grants, scholarships and structured training opportunities for Nigerians pursuing clinical psychology, psychiatry and other recognised therapeutic professions.
It also wants retention and professional-development incentives to reduce the loss of trained specialists to migration.
What should happen next?
The immediate challenge is turning calls for more treatment into measurable commitments.
Governments would need to identify where treatment gaps are greatest, publish data on the capacity and utilisation of existing facilities, and determine how many additional professionals and centres are required.
They would also need to address the cost and accessibility of treatment, particularly for young people who may depend on families or communities to seek help on their behalf.
For Bankole, the response must extend beyond government agencies.
“To our young people, I say this: your future is worth more than a temporary high. Do not allow peer pressure, frustration or curiosity to take away the years ahead of you. Let us turn a new leaf,” he said.
He also urged parents, schools, religious organisations, community leaders, civil society groups and government agencies to treat drug prevention as a continuing community responsibility.
The wider test, however, will be whether Nigeria can move beyond periodic awareness campaigns towards a treatment system that young people can actually reach when prevention has failed.
International Youth Day 2026 is being observed under the theme “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations”, with the United Nations highlighting young people's shared needs for dignity, opportunity, inclusion, health and a meaningful role in shaping their futures.
For Nigeria, the drug-use debate therefore goes beyond telling young people what not to do.
It also raises questions about whether the health, education and social-support systems are strong enough to help those already affected.
