Substance Abuse among In-School and Out-Of-School Youth in Sokoto, Northwestern Nigeria

The objective of this study was to investigate substance abuse amongst in-school and out-of-school youth in Sokoto, northwestern Nigeria using cross-sectional descriptive survey. In the course of the survey, the commonly use substances, causes, effects, and protection were assessed. The data obtained show that, most of the respondents were males (93%), only few were females (6.7%). All the respondents were Muslims. Most of the out-of-school youth (OSY) were married (80%) and only 6.7% are married among in-school youth (ISY).The respondent’s age was within 18-22 years in most cases. Most (80%) of ISY were at senior secondary classes, 46.7% of OSY left school after primary education, 26.7% never attended school. Most of the respondents have more than 2 kids (93.3%), only 6.7% have about 10 kids. Commonly cited drugs are: cigarette, cannabis, alcohol, inhalants, tranquilizers, opiates, and hallucinogens. Reasons for substance abuse were: social/ peer pressure, rebellion, overwork/learning, shyness, fear, parental influence, fun and lack of role model. It also revealed that ISY started drug use earlier than the OSY. Friends, drug pushers, curiosity introduced youth to drugs. Effects of substance abuse are: bad temper, disturbed sleep, ill-health, depression, anxiety, tiredness, disrespect, failure at workplace/school on individual. At family level the effects include: disgrace, breakdown of relationship, loss of confidence in child, and ill-health. While at friend’s level, the effects include: breakdown of relationship, fear, anxiety. And at community or society levels, the effects listed were: crime, reduced productivity, violence, ill-health, high cost of treatment, accidents. To protect youth from substance abuse diverse efforts by government and NGOs and interventions are required. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v24i9.10 Copyright: Copyright © 2020 Sarkingobir and Dikko. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CCL), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Dates: Received: 25 August 2020; Revised: 25 September 2020; Accepted: 20 September 2020

Generally, drugs are helpful when they are properly used and destructive when they are misused or abused, but the abuse of substances or drugs has traverse the youth in large extent across the globe. Substance abuse is a harmful pattern of use of any substance (drug) for mood altering purposes, subsequently leading to frequent and serious problems. These problems can affect performance at school, work or home. In many instances, relationships with friends, parents, and households fade because of substance abuse (Nasiru et al., 2019a). Substance abuse can also be dubbed as the harmful or hazardous use of substances, including alcohol and other illicit drugs. Drug substances use can lead to dependence syndrome, a cluster of behavioural, cognitive, and physiological phenomena that develops after repeated substance use and that typically includes a strong desire to take the drug, difficulties in controlling its use, persistence in its use despite harmful consequences (Lawal and Aliyu, 2020). All the organs of the body are prone to damages due Substance abuse. The respiratory, digestive, heart, liver and nervous diseases have particularly been established to be due to the abuse of substances (Shekarchizadeh, 2013;Abubakar and Nasiru, 2019).
An estimated quarter of a billion people, or around 5 percent of the global adult population, use drugs at least once, more worrisome is the fact that about 29.5 million of those drug users, or 0.6 per cent of the global adult population, suffer from drug use problems leading to deaths and injuries. Substance abuse is a major universal health problem. It exposes the individuals to major socio-economic and health problems, and serves as a predisposing factor for crime in a society (Yusuf, 2013). Youth are very significant in any society. They are one of the greatest warewithal any nation can use to achieve development and economic growth. They remain the leaders of tomorrow. The youth are particular portion of the national population that is meant to be sensitive, energetic, and active and the most productive among the citizens. The youth are also most volatile and yet the most vulnerable segment of the population (Nasiru et al., 2019a). The worry is, no comprehensive data is available on the estimated number of use of drug substances in Nigeria or in Sokoto which was drawn from large and diverse actors (in-school youth, out-ofschool youth, key informants, sellers). Most of the studies are hospital-based and retrospective, making prediction of trends rather difficult and to curtail this problem there is need to understand the cause, effect and source of these drugs to individuals, family, and community (Fareo, 2012;Nasiru, 2015;Lawal and Aliyu, 2020). The objective of this study was to investigate substance abuse among in-school and outof-school youth in Sokoto, northwestern Nigeria, the commonly use substances, causes, effects, and protection.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Research design: Cross-sectional descriptive survey was used to cover some selected schools and out of school groups, key informants and selling points in Sokoto.
Research setting:This research was carried out in Sokoto state, Nigeria. Nigeria as a nation in Africa lies between 50N equator and 30 and 40 east of the green which meridian. Nigeria composed of 36 states, with federal capital territory Abuja. There are seven hundred and seventy four local government areas. Sokoto is one of the 36 states of the federal Republic of Nigeria, with a total population of 4,427,760 based on 2006 census report. Sokoto is located in the northwest part of the country; it formed boarders with Kebbi, Zamfara, and Niger republic (Sarkingobir and Abbas, 2017;Sarkingobir, 2020ab).
Target population:Targeted population in this study was the youth who use substances in Sokoto state. The study was carried when they are calm. Selected key informants were interviewed using questionnaire and Sell outlets were visually inspected.
Inclusion criteria: Sokoto youth within the age range of 18-25 who uses substances were included. Key informants from teachers, health workers and relations were included.
Sample size:Quality of information is the main aim in qualitative studies that is why smaller sample sizes are used in contrast with quantitative studies. Most PhD studies used 20, 30, 40, 10, 25 sample sizes respectively.
The sample size in this study was 60 youth drawn (30 in school youth, and 30 out of school youth) from the three senatorial zones of the state. 10 key informants and 10 drug sellers were enrolled (MacDougall and Fudge, 2001;Hodge et al., 2011;Sarkingobir and Abbas, 2017).
Sampling technique:Purposive, snowballing, and convenience sampling were used in this study.

Data collection methods and tools and management:A
questionnaire was used to collect data with the help of voluntary research assistants after a pilot study. The data was analyzed using content analysis.
Who introduced youth to drugs? OSR said friends (38). ISR said drug pushers (22), then friends (16), and the least was curiosity.Oh how people relate with drug abusers and drug addicts, 32 OSY said they mostly had bad interaction with people. 6 of them felt they experience fair relationship. Whereas, 2 think they had very good relationship with people. From ISY, 24 experienced fair relations with people, 12 said people relates with them badly.
Whereas, 2 felt that people relate to them excellently. Among OSY, 32 respondents agreed that drug abuse is increasing, while, 6 OSY were of the view that drug abuse is not rising.
Moreover, 32 ISY agreed that drug abuse is not increasing, 8 were of the view that drug abuse is on the rise.To protect youth from substance abuse, the following submissions were made by the respondents:   (18) Crime (12)

Anxiety (2)
High cost of treatment (2) Breakdown in work (2) In-school youth

Disturbed sleep (22)
Breakdown in family relationship (34) Anxiety (26) Crime (34) Violence (6) Ill health (10) Disgrace (24) Breakdown in relationship (8) Accidents (2) Bad temper (10) Ill health (6) High cost of treatment (2) Bad temper (8) Types of substances and their uses: Generally they explained that substance abuse as the act of taking any drug (substance) which modifies mentality without medical advice or behavior of taking intoxicating substances. Common substances asserted by them include: cough syrup, cannabis, cigarette, tea and tablets. Most of the key informants (KIs) said substance abuse is increasing as explained by shops and sell outlets along the streets. Only few of them believed that substance abuse is decreasing. KIs said youth buy substances from markets, home, garage, chemists and vendors. The youth called substances with names like medicine, stimulants, and materials.

Loss of confidence in child (4) Anxiety/Fear(8) Tiredness (4) Depression (4) Failure to do work/ school (4) Disrespect (2)
To protect youth from substance abuse there is need for making them knowledgeable, organized, guided, counseled, and monitoring.
Causes of substance abuse among youth are: Bad friends, accessibility, lack of proper parental care, and lack of education. Prevention of substance abuse was suggested in: Policies by government-Banning of imports of substances, drug education in school; extensive campaign against drugs; proper parental care; substance abusers treatment through rehabilitation and counseling. Observation of sale outlets:Observation of sale outlets indicated both males and females patronize their supplies. The buyers are mostly 18-25 years. Most of the transactions take place in the night and it is peak during rainy season. No security outbreak was observed around the premises of drug outlets. The method of buying is open, direct, through boys and money is used.
In this study most of the respondents are male (93%), only few are females (6.7%). This might be because the practice among females was accorded less attention (Bassi et al., 2017). All the respondents are Muslims. Religion should have deterred them. Most of the OSY are married (80%) and only 6.7% are married among ISY. Normally, people who go to school tend to stay longer before getting married.  (2012), Ahmed (2012), Yusuf (2013), Nasiru (2015), Tracy (2016), Nasiru et al., (2019). To protect youth from substance abuse the following measures were submitted by the respondents: parents should not expose children to drugs, parents should give them confidence and proper knowledge to make decisions, peer group educators should work, and there should be national campaign against drugs. Nasiru et al.,(2018) reported similar findings.
Key informants (KIs):KIs cited, cough syrup, cannabis, alcohol, cigarette, tea and tablets as commonly used drugs among youth. Most of the KIs encounter substance abusers among the youth populations of 10years. There is an increasing trend of substance abuse and substances are sourced from markets, garages, homes, chemists, and vendors. All the effects of substance abuse stated by youth were similar to those submitted by the KIs, they added mental problems, dark skin, accessibility, political thugs, stigmatization and lack of sexual discipline. They believed bad friends, accessibility, improper parental care, and illiteracy are the causes of substance abuse. They equally believed, organization, guidance and counseling, and education, government interventions, campaign and rehabilitation prevents drug abuse among youth.
Observation of sell outlets:Mostly, youth (18-25 years) patronize the observed sell outlets in Sokoto. The inhabitants were calm and peaceful during their transactions and it mostly occur in the night and it become peak during rainy seasons. From the above we see that drug abuse is all pervasive, it is found both in schooled and out of school youth. Similar to past reports in the literature (Abdulmalik et al., 2009, Cofie, 2010. Generally, drugs are useful when they are properly used. So many studies and trials are carried out to establish their safety. Therein, they are attached with adverse reactions or effects, let alone when misuse or abuse. They are destructive when they are misused or abused, but most youth care not. World over, the use of drug or substances is a major public health problem characterized with effects on individuals, friends, families and the communities. The abusers use a diverse array of substances and the menace requires diverse approaches for curtailments (Nasiru, 2015;Dikko et al., 2020ab).

SARKINGOBIR, Y; DIKKO, M
Conclusion: Substance abuse in Sokoto is similar among in-school and out-of school youth. The practice is wide and mostly among males who consumed many drug substances. It is also associated with several effects on individuals, families, and communities.