Public drug abuse by teens was a forgettable part of 'Detty December'

Public drug abuse

In December, Pulse did a breakdown of what ‘Detty December’ is and how it’s a scam to suck you of funds with a veiled hose of enjoyment that will kill you.

Over the past year, teenagers — especially from the IJGB crowd — have become key features of the Nigerian concert culture, baring all and defying Nigerian standards of ‘morality’ with avant-garde concepts.

While 20-somethings also join in, the spotlight is more on what these teenagers do and it’s really starting to reek of worrisome headlines.

While being scantily clad in provocateur outfits, with no bra or sometimes, short-short skirts or dresses can be overlooked for the scenery and times of expressionism we live in, drug and substance abuse will never be cool for teenagers who maybe, shouldn’t be at some of these shows.

In all its glory, Detty December has that one blemish that doesn’t seem like reducing anytime soon. It’s so bad that these kids engage in some of these vices in the most obvious of ways.

Why are kids at concerts?

Lolade, a 34-year-old Banker who grew up as a Pastor’s son said he feels teenagers need better exposure to the thrills of life for when they turn 14.

“I think when you know the thrills of life very early, you probably learn how it’s overhyped and move on, you engage for a while and change in a few years or you engage in those thrills and they derail your life or become a part of you as you thrive,” he says.

He continues, “Whichever way, if you will be ruined by vices, you’ll be, if you won’t be, you won’t be. A child who gets ruined by those thrills will definitely understand how to cope early, but there are risks. That said, the teenager will soon know these thrills at Uni (University) so a child who gets ruined by thrills he knew at 14 from concerts will probably still be ruined had he discovered it in Uni.”

On the other hand, Olof, a Ukrainian based in Nigeria says, “On no account should a child under 18 be allowed to go to concerts by his parents. I understand the reasons for advocating this, but it’s too what’s the word, risky.”

Two great points, but the issue is that Nigerian kids are too boxed and protected. It’s a factual cliché that children who get excessively guarded as children get lost in the thrills of life when they leave home and get high on life and freedom.

Make no mistake, vices and perpetrating wrongs are very fun! So, once these kids get to that stage, they get attracted to those fun and thrilling things their parents shielded them from and get lost in them.

Kids need exposure and allowing them to go to concerts has a lot of positives that will serve them well later in life. We can then take solace in the fact that if a child abuses this opportunity and gets lost in thrills, it’s not exactly the parent’s fault.

If the child hadn’t gotten lost there, he would likely have gotten lost later — getting lost in thrills is mostly about a lack of discipline, not entirely influence. What is bad is bad, no matter the enjoyment societal factors will remind you from time to time that what you’re enjoying is bad and so will your natural inclinations.

However, it is also risky to allow children and teenagers attend concerts alone, even if a driver patiently waits in the wings.

Can parents really stop children from engaging in vices?

Parents can try, but it’s gotten to a level where vices and ‘thrills’ have been normalized and elevated to a status of ‘cool’ and that is sufficient tacit permission that anyone requires.

Thus, no matter what a parent does, a child will engage in whatever vice he enjoys — it’s just life.

That said, doing it with excessive carelessness to be cool and fly is worrisome

Public or private, vices are wrong. But these kids openly form circles at concerts, passing around jumbo blunts, share blue pills which they down with copious doses of alcohol.

Where are we headed? Why do these kids enjoy vices more than simply living the life?

Yes, a lot of us sought out these thrills at their age, but it was never this bad. While some might peg the openness of it to a lack of pretence, it is glossing a terrible wrong with positive shade.

We need to do better.




In This Story: #PublicDrugAbuse #DettyDecember #Teens

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