Studies confirm the increase in drug users in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, which has to deal with a growing scourge.

The ENACT research program to combat crime in Africa, funded by the European Union and implemented in the framework of a partnership with Interpol, indicates that the number of users of illegal drugs or prescription opioids at purposes other than medical, has tripled in recent decades in West Africa. And according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2019 report, drug use is twice the world average in Nigeria. The country has become the new hub of the continent's narcotics trade.

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The number of users of all drugs in the world has increased by 30% in a decade. Although cannabis remains the most widely used drug, the number of opioid users has increased by 50%. These are substances of natural origin, such as heroin or opium, or of synthesis, such as painkillers of the Tramadol type. PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP

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Drug consumption in Africa, which is not spared from this scourge, will double within the next thirty years, say the experts. Sub-Saharan Africa will be the most affected. And the continent is set to become number one in the global drug trade. More than half of drug addicts are in West Africa, while only 30% of Africans live in this part of the continent. Nearly 200,000 people use cocaine there and almost as many heroin. NEXT24ONLINE/NURPHOTO/AFP

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According to the study entitled “Drug demand and use in Africa”, published in September 2019 by ENACT, “the quantity of amphetamines, cocaine, opiates and prescription opioids for non-medical purposes , demanded by West Africans, is expected to more than double by 2050, from around 185 tonnes in 2018 to 430 tonnes.” ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP​

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The Nigerian authorities are concerned about the rise in drug use, mainly among young people. Men are more likely than women to consume it. In Nigeria in 2017, three out of four consumers were men, compared to two out of three globally. PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP

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​The number of consumers aged 15 to 64 is estimated at 14.3 million people, out of a population close to 200 million, according to the UNODC survey. One in five addicts injects the product intravenously. A rate four times higher than the rest of Africa. The average age of first heroin use is 22 years. SAFODIAN MUJAHID / AFP

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The non-medical use of prescription opioids, mainly Tramadol and to a lesser extent codeine, is also on the rise, according to the same survey. This is despite the very low health expenditure per capita in Nigeria. 4.6 million people used them in 2019. The country is also a new hub for "Meth" (methamphetamine), specifies franceinfo Africa. ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP

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Mushin, a poor and violent neighborhood in Lagos, has long been abandoned by the police. Here, all drugs are available. Weed, crack and bottles of codeine circulate as fast as firearms. Pastor Keji Hamilton, former drug addict and ex-musician of Fela Kuti the king of Afrobeat, marauds there every day. After completing training in psychology and social affairs, he opened a professional drug addiction center. He is proud and delighted to have "released between 80 and 120 young people from drugs". He told AFP: "Today in Nigeria, drugs have become the No. 1 problem and the government is not interested in it." PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP

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In West Africa, between one and two million drug addicts are at risk of developing physical and psychological disorders related to drug use. While 40% of high-risk users in Nigeria require treatment, they do not have access to it due to the cost of care and the stigma associated with this type of problem. Many families then turn to traditional or religious care. A man says: "Two days ago, my mother wanted to take me to a camp of her Mountain of Fire Church to heal me... but I am too weak! A week of prayers and fasting will kill me (…) For me, all I need is medicine and being able to sleep." PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP

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In November 2019, Human Rights Watch denounced the mistreatment and abuse that patients suffer in these rehabilitation centers run by religious, Islamic or Christian organizations. The NGO regretted the lack of competent structures in Nigeria which "has less than 300 psychiatrists for a population close to 200 million". President Muhammadu Buhari said he would "not tolerate the existence of these torture chambers in the name of rehabilitation". SCREENSHOT HRW