While human behaviour is described by psychologists and social scientists as normal when an individual’s overall attitude conforms to societal norms and values, he is considered abnormal when his pattern of behaviour contradicts ethical standards, cultural and religious values. If madness is also defined to mean “a spectrum of behaviours characterised by certain abnormal behavioural patterns that manifest in violation of societal norms,” the behaviour of many Nigerians today (men and women, young and adult) suggests that ours is a society of many crazy people.
Life was not made to be perpetually rosy. The challenges and obstacles that stand on man’s path to prosperity in life have been designed to strengthen and inspire him, not to add to his worries. Different people respond to life challenges in different ways. However, the response could itself become a problem if a troubled mind responds to life predicaments in a way that might lead to a failed life. The worst disservice to self by a distressed individual is the resort to drugs as a way of tackling critical life challenges.
A large population of our contemporary yet digitally-minded youths, fondly referred to as ‘the GenZ’ in Nigeria are the worst hit as victims of drug addiction. Many of them do so probably because drugs are easily accessible and can be purchased at will. While youths who have access to money, which they do not actually need resort to hard drugs such as cocaine; the indigent among them take recourse to Indian hemp. Others overindulge themselves in the consumption of drowsy substances and solutions including cough syrup.
Drug addiction has become a common phenomenon not only among students in the country’s tertiary institutions today, but also widespread among commercial motorcycle operators popularly called ‘Okada riders’; motor-park touts; unskilled labourers at construction sites; and drivers, especially those who drive trailers and heavy-duty trucks. Driving over a distance of 10km or 15km on any Nigerian highway or within any of the major roads in Nigerian cities would reveal to you all the extent of how substance abuse has destroyed the psyche of many Nigerians. Most disturbing is the involvement of young girls and married women in drug and substance addiction.
The bizarreness in every abnormal behaviour is often determined by the extent to which an individual is guided by common sense. Madness does not necessarily refer to a person who, due to loss of mental consciousness, is walking naked on the street. A well-dressed man or woman could yet be an image of some mental form of illness. While there are different types or categories of madness, it also has various levels or degrees of severity depending on how significantly or otherwise the mental or behavioural disorder has advanced.
Although psychosocial variables have some degree of influence on all subtypes of defiant behaviours (which could degenerate into mental disorders), the major categories of such maladjusted personality traits according to the American Psychiatric Association include substance-related disorders as may be manifest in alcoholism and withdrawal; mood disorders; anxiety disorders; factitious disorders; eating disorders; and adjustment disorders.
Abnormal behaviours can broadly be classified into two categories: the first being those whose abnormal behaviours are not necessarily attributable to influence of drugs, and the second being others whose deviant behaviours are direct consequences of stimulant substances. To the first category belong leaders who speak from both sides of their mouths; leaders who remain very insensitive to the feelings of citizens; kleptomaniac leaders; as well as leaders who betray the trust and confidence of those they claim to be ‘serving’. Recall that a former chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Farida Waziri, once recommended that political officeholders should be subjected to some psychiatric tests owing to their craziness for stealing public funds.
It is also abnormal when those who are professionally trained and equipped to curb crime are themselves caught as criminals. Recall also in this regard that the late Governor of Kaduna State, Mr. Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, once recommended bi-annual psychiatric tests for police officers because some of them have become threats to the security of lives and property of those they are statutorily charged and paid to protect. These are indeed abnormal behaviors that only abnormal minds would consider to be normal.
As for the second category of defiant behaviours, most of those who present behavioural symptoms of substance-related disorders are young boys and girls. Abnormal behaviours especially after advancing into mental disorders have great consequences with prospective chains of effects on the society especially when they manifest in children and youths. It is sad that a large chunk of the country’s GenZ have become symbols of a hopeless generation who are drug addicts, disobedient to constituted authorities, and generally irresponsible in thoughts and actions.
The consistent failure by government to address the critical needs of Nigerian youths indirectly provides an enabling environment for the breeding of scoundrels and criminals. Even with the current efforts of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) under the leadership of General Buba Marwa, the end of the tunnel where we expect to see the light is still far; given the damage which substance abuse has done to our GenZ. Indian hemp and other substances, including hard drugs are still easily accessible as the kissing of one’s hand.
Parents of our GenZ youths would need to review the rate at which they over-pamper these young minds. Religious and community leaders should make efforts at reducing the rate of failed marriages as a way of cutting down on the incidence of broken. Parents are also encouraged to increase their vigilance on the peer groups kept by their children and wards. Government should have a strategic orientation agenda for the GenZ so as to forestall a situation where, in the near future, the country’s fate will be decided by a generation of crazy leaders.
Parents must be seen to squarely take up their responsibilities of giving their children the right type of moral training. Government should equally be seen to be committed to the basic needs and rights of the Nigerian child, including access to quality education, protection against all forms of vulnerabilities. May Allah (SWT) guide our leaders and give them the wisdom to take necessary steps that would stop the breeding and nurturing of a drug-subsisting GenZ, amin.
