A STUDY TO DETERMINE THE INCIDENCE OF DRUG ABUSE AMONG THE STUDENTS OF TERTIARY INSTITUTION
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Nigeria is situated in West Africa and Edo State is an Integra part of Nigeria popularly known as heart beat of the nation.
Benin is one of the biggest oldest ancient city in Nigeria where culture is highly recognized and practiced.
The incidence of drug abuse among students of tertiary institutions in Ovia South East in Benin City of Edo State, Nigeria, cannot be over emphasized. In Ovia South East in Benin City, students of tertiary institutions have limited knowledge of drug medication; they need specialist on drug prescription before they can use it. They depend on personal prescription, lack of understanding and they are ignorance of the effect of drug abuse.
Drugs are substances that we take medically to affect physiological set up our body system within some given time. The misuse or wrongly administration of such drugs without expert advice is called “Drug Abuse”. This is often practiced among students of tertiary institutions.
In Benin and other less advance cities in Nigeria, drug abuses are largely carried out without knowing the effects or implication because of some reasons:
Shyness
Bad habits
Peer groups
Sport
Broken homes
Ignorance
Illiteracy
Poverty etc
An educated, advanced, civilized city, the right or normal ways of drugs use must be legislated and enforce it on every students of tertiary institution in Ovia South East in Benin City of Edo State, Nigeria.
With education, seminars, disciplinary measures and follow the step of NAFDAC with the help of the above mentioned processes, drug abuse could be reduced among the students of tertiary institutions in Ovia South East in Benin City of Edo State, Nigeria.
Drug abuse can be defined as the misuse or wrongly administration of drugs without doctor’s prescription. It is applicable to smoking of hard drugs like india helm, marijuana, inhaling taber, cigarette, cocaine and overdose of simple drugs.
Drugs abuse is usually practiced among poor educated background, peer group, ignorance, because of poverty, students from broken homes, sports, etc. in Ovia South East in Benin City, students in tertiary institutions are not so much civilized, they normally go from their villages and towns to Lagos or Ibadan and come back to Benin. This system of primitive ways of life made them to have interest in drug abuse instead of following the normal ways all the above mentioned points made it possible for them to drugs abuse.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
There are a lot of problems militate against incidence of drug abuse among students of tertiary institutions in Ovia South East Local Government Area in Benin City. People are of opinion that highly among the problem is poverty that contributed to most drug abuse among the students, that, there is little or no sufficient money to go hospital or to visit the doctor. While some people raised objection to it, that the problem is poor educational background of the family, others concluded that broken homes, lack of understanding can be a curse to drug abuse. People too were very inquisitic to know why the students of tertiary institution in Ovia South East have interest in drug abuse.
Majority of the people in the Local Government Area and in Benin City, complained of lack of rules and regulations and some are saying that there should be law and enforcement on any students’ caught with drugs and this will stop or reduce the problem of drug abuse in the local government and Benin as whole.
All the above argument, suggestions and objectives of the people in Ovia South East Local Government brought about the researcher to raised the below research questions.
The following are used:
Are students from poor home more prone to drug abuse than students from rich home?
Are students from broken home more prone to drug abuse than normal home?
Do students from poor educational background?
Is ignorance one of the causes of drug abuse?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to investigate the incidence of drug abuse among students of tertiary institutions in Ovia South East in Benin City, Edo State. The outcomes of the findings will prefer solution to the problem of drug abuse among students of tertiary institutions in Ovia South East in Benin City.
The study, it is hoped will influence the high institutions from Technical College, College of Education, Polytechnics up to University level, the authority should assist the students to impact knowledge into their life not to abuse and make it mandatory and enforce it on them, and any student who abuse drug should be reprimanded and repelled.
It will influence family to teach their children the evil of drug abuse. As a village heads they will put it into law in the village, the punishment that follow any child that abuse drug. Individual will also teach their children the damage of drug abuse, community would gear the people of the community up to sit tight and fright against drug abuse among the students of tertiary institutions in Ovia South East Local Government Area in Benin City, Edo State.
Local government council would help locally people to check up these students from bad ways of drug abuse by introducing lectures, seminars, symposia and even inculcate it into school curriculum from primary to university level. And also promulgate law or enact law against defaulters in order to mold the life of the students in the area and from individual homes to university level.
Federal and state levels must make it compulsory in the school curriculum, the teaching of drug abuse that is danger to human life.
Finally, when this research is completed, result of the action raven from the authorities that concerns accepted and applied from federal to state level, from state to local government downward to communities and individual homes. The purpose would be achieved to find solution to the problem of drug abuse among the students of tertiary institutions in Ovia South East in Benin City, Edo State.
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
The study of drug abuse among the students of tertiary institutions in Ovia South East in Benin City, is very significant in the sense the people will benefit from it. Individuals, family, villages, towns, community, local government, state and federal level will benefit from it after they might have applies teaching, seminars enact law etc.
The family, father, mother and their children will surely benefit from the research since they must have acquired the knowledge of preventing their children from drug abuse through education.
Children also (the students) are also beneficial since they will go through seminars, symposia, lecture on drug abuse.
The government of the day will gain a lot in this research the huge amount of money spent yearly on psychiatric patients and sickness in hospital would be used for another social problem.
International organization will also benefit like World Health Organization (W.H.O), World Bank by using huge amount of money on health of these people in psychiatric hospital.
Doctors also will benefit in this study because the time used in treating mad and neurosis people will be used for other patients.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
During the course of the research, there are obstacles or setbacks encountered, this include:
Time – The time for study was too short, therefore much could not be achieved.
Cooperation – Lack of cooperation from the students and personnel of the institutions most of them did not return the questionnaire handout in time.
Activities – As part time students, there area lot of activities that does not allow to do the study effectively, going to work, coming back to schools. At times, there might not be chance to come to school to attend lecture because of work.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study is restricted to five tertiary institution among the numerous institutions in Ovia South East in Benin City.
The institutions were selected using random sampling procedure. The study was restricted to five institutions such as Oka-University, Ologbomodion University Oka, Usen Polytechnic Usen, Ekiadolor College of Education, Federal University, Benin and State University, Ekpoma.
