Amidst a distressing trend of substance abuse and dependence among the teeming population of Kano State, Weekend Trust went undercover to expose the thriving business of ‘pocket dealers’ within the prominent Sani Abacha stadium. With a highly addictive stimulant called ‘Ice’ now finding its way into the hands of users in a state with inadequate treatment facilities, experts warn that unless something drastic is done, a great danger lies ahead.
Daddy and some youths have claimed a corner within the urban area of Kano, a small enclave amidst chaos, where they gather to escape reality. This corner is in the slummy part of Yakasai, a community tucked between Kofar Mata and Kofar Nasarawa in Kano Municipal Local Government Area of the state.
At their black spot, the air was pungent with the mingling smoky flavour of weed and cigarettes—an aroma that acts as a beacon for like-minded souls. The scent has become synonymous with the area, making it a signature perfume that marks the territory as much as debris and dried faeces.
It was here that this reporter met Daddy, a 23-year-old who indulges in the use of numerous substances like Taba or Wee-wee (a local name for cannabis), different pills, and codeine cough syrup.
Despite enjoying a private education up to secondary school, Daddy said his fascination with the hostile local environment while growing up influenced his first use of substance at the age of nine. “We grew up amidst youths constantly fighting with knives and machetes,” he recounted.
While he puffed out a mouthful of smoke from the wrapped cannabis dangling from one hand, he held a grip to a bottle of codeine in the other hand. Daddy had enjoyed a modest living from his parents, but said the rebellious lifestyle of many youths in Yakasai had robbed off on him, pushing him to begin experimenting with classroom chalk at a young age. Over time, he visited ‘joints’ to collect and smoke remnants. “But now, I buy it with my money,” he said.
The young men appeared carefree at the spot where this reporter met them as they smoked and sipped from a drink diluted with codeine cough syrup.
Like Daddy, 32-year-old Zara’u Sani, a divorced mother of two is a substance user. This reporter met her at the Niger street in Sabon Gari where she narrated how she was introduced to drugs after her divorce. She now lives with her youngest son, among commercial sex workers in a non-conformist part of Kano metropolis.
