Experts push for campus wide-action as drug abuse spreads in universities
Pharmacists, academics and student leaders say stronger counselling, tougher oversight and early intervention are urgently needed as substance abuse increasingly affects students across Nigerian campuses.
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s health and education sectors have called for a coordinated national response to rising substance and drug abuse in universities, warning that the problem is no longer confined to campuses but is increasingly affecting secondary schools and threatening the country’s future workforce.
The call was made during a webinar themed Campus Crisis: Addressing Drug and Substance Abuse in Nigerian Universities, organised by the Board of Fellows of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), where experts described substance abuse as a growing public health and social challenge requiring urgent intervention from government, educational institutions, healthcare professionals, parents and students.
Speaking at the event, Professor Oluwatoyin Odeku, Professor of Pharmaceutics and former Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Ibadan, said drug abuse has evolved into a national crisis, warning that institutions once known for learning and character development are increasingly battling addiction, mental health problems and poor academic outcomes.
She noted that experimentation with drugs often begins in the first year of university when many students are adjusting to a new environment and are particularly vulnerable to peer influence, academic pressure and social expectations.
According to her, social media has also contributed to the problem by normalising and glamorising substance use, while the emergence of new psychoactive substances has made treatment more complex because many users combine multiple drugs, increasing the risk of mental illness and organ damage.
Odeku expressed concern that Nigeria currently lacks adequate legislation to regulate many of these emerging substances and urged pharmacists to play a more active role in prevention, public education and responsible dispensing of medicines.
She also called for stronger collaboration among agencies, including the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), alongside reforms to strengthen the country’s pharmaceutical supply chain and curb the misuse of prescription medicines.
According to her, drug abuse reflects broader social challenges affecting families and communities and cannot be addressed through isolated interventions alone.
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Chairman of the Board of Fellows Drug and Substance Abuse Committee, Dr Kingsley Chiedu Amibor, said universities are witnessing increasing cases of addiction, mental health disorders, violence and declining academic performance linked to substance abuse.
“As pharmacists and custodians of medicines, and as the Board of Fellows of PSN, we have a duty to speak up and act. Silence is complicity,” he said.
Amibor explained that the webinar was designed to raise awareness about the causes and consequences of substance abuse, promote early detection and prevention, and encourage practical solutions that would help create drug-free campuses.
“We are not here just to talk. We are here to take action,” he added, urging participants to become advocates for prevention within their schools and communities.
Contributing to the discussion, Professor Mohammed Garba Magaji of Ahmadu Bello University said many universities are gradually shifting from punitive responses to preventive and rehabilitative approaches. He proposed that every university should establish a Drug and Substance Abuse Counselling Committee under the Office of the Vice-Chancellor to coordinate awareness campaigns, counselling and rehabilitation programmes.
Former Imo State Commissioner for Secondary and Tertiary Healthcare, Professor Michael Ubaka, said government alone cannot tackle the growing problem, stressing the need for continuous public awareness campaigns, surveillance and stronger collaboration among all stakeholders.
Student representatives also highlighted peer pressure, social media influence and inadequate parental guidance as major drivers of substance abuse among undergraduates. They called for students to be actively involved in designing and implementing anti-drug initiatives on campuses.
The National President of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Students noted that professional knowledge alone does not prevent substance abuse, revealing that even pharmacy students have been known to misuse drugs, particularly during examination periods.
Participants concluded the session by calling for stronger institutional policies, expanded counselling services and closer collaboration between universities, regulators, healthcare professionals, families and student organisations.
The discussion also highlighted the global scale of the problem, with speakers citing World Health Organisation estimates that about 64 million people worldwide live with drug-related disorders, underscoring the need for sustained advocacy, education and coordinated action to address substance abuse among young people.
