‘‘If there is no alcohol, there is no party”: Social pressures, alcohol consumption and social identity construction in Nigerian students’ parties

Alcohol consumpton and its related problems are rising among Nigerian students, and factors such as social pressures to drink or drink more, social identty constructon with heavy drinking, students’ partes and other contextual factors contribute to these problems. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 31 male and female undergraduate students atending a Nigerian University, this study explores how students employ alcohol to construct social identty and develop social capital in party contexts. The fndings show that for a social event to be ‘qualifed’ as a ‘party’, alcohol must be served. While the brands of alcohol served in each party are associated with social class, the meanings atached to drinking in partes and drinking motves are fuid. The fndings further show that entertaining guests with foreign and/or expensive alcoholic beverages confers a higher social status on the host than serving locally-made/ cheap brands. Also, the larger the quantty served, the higher the host is ranked on the social ladder. Consequently, young people employ the promise of sumptuous beverages to woo potental party atendees to their partes. Males are generally wooed because they will drink free and expensive alcohol while females tend to perceive the host as possessing a higher economic status; thus, they want to associate with him. At the same tme, the ability to outdrink peers during gendered ‘drinking games’ is used to construct a range of social identtes and to develop social capital. The use of alcohol to construct social identty and social pressure to drink among students should be addressed through health educaton and reorientaton. Public health interventons that will reduce alcohol availability on and around campuses should also be implemented in Nigeria. Keywords: Alcohol, gender, Nigeria, party, social capital, identty, student

Anywhere, everywhere: alcohol industry promotion strategies in Nigeria and their influence on young people

Despite the increase in alcohol marketing activities by the transnational alcohol corporations in Nigeria, little research has focused on their impact on young people’s drinking behaviours. Using empirical data from in-depth interviews with 31, 19 to 23-year olds from a Nigerian university, this study explores students’ awareness of promotional activities on and around campus and the extent to which sales promotion influences their alcohol consumption. The data were analysed to generate themes with the aid of NVivo software. Sales promotion is common on campus and around students’ off-campus residential and leisure sites. Students’ awareness of, and exposure to promotional activities were high, to the extent that they identified the sales promotion strategies that are particular to students’ environments, the specific alcohol companies that use each strategy and the particular bars where promotions are held. Whilst sales promotions offering free alcohol and price discounts influenced men to buy and consume larger quantities of alcohol than they had intended, the actions of sales personnel also engendered impulse purchasing and the consumption of more potent brands. The women were also influenced by sales staff to consume more alcohol than originally planned, although their main motivation for participating in sales promotions was to win ‘giveaways’ such as cars, electronic gadgets and other branded paraphernalia. The findings indicate that while effective monitoring of alcohol promotions and related marketing strategies should be reinforced, the government may also give serious consideration to more evidence-based regulatory measures rather than relying on marketing self-regulations.Keywords: Alcohol Marketing, Nigeria, Policy, Sales Promotion, Student

Boko Haram Violence and Social Inequalities: A Sociological Exploration of Internally Displaced Persons in North-Eastern Nigeria

Nigeria has experienced protracted violence and conflicts orchestrated by the Boko Haram terrorist group. The unbridled use of sophisticated weapons among this group has led to the extermination of innumerable lives across Northern Nigeria, the displacement of individuals, and the widening of social hierarchies. Drawing on the social conflict script, this study explores how the persistent violence/conflicts facilitate the displacement of people and create/widen social inequalities across North-Eastern Nigeria. Our analysis shows that between January and December 2017, 279,000 persons were displaced because of the conflicts/violence. Between January and June 2018, additional 417,000 persons (mostly women and children) were displaced. While the number of persons displaced is increasing, the provision of food and other essential amenities is decreasing in various Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps, where they are forced to flee. For example, between 2015 and 2016, 3.9 million people were in urgent need of food and medical supplies, but less than 20 percent of the $248 million needed was provided. The shortfall orchestrated by inadequate and/or unfavorable government policies, official corruption and mismanagement of fund provided by donor agencies, facilitated insufficient food and medical supplies. This has consequently led to malnutrition, diseases and deaths of children in the camps. As part of their coping strategies, illicit drugs sale and consumption, prostitution, child trafficking and sale of new-born babies are increasing in IDP Camps. The study argues that while these conflicts and violence create social inequalities in this region, official corruption and mismanagement of fund sustain and widen social hierarchies

Methamphetamine (Mkpulummiri) use in eastern Nigeria: A new addition to drug users’ repertoire

Media reports indicate that methamphetamine (mkpulummiri) use is growing among young people in Eastern Nigeria, but empirical research has not been conducted. This article reviews the recent media reportage of methamphetamine use in Eastern Nigeria, presents an empirical account of a methamphetamine user, and synthesizes the available evidence, showing the factors facilitating its use. Available evidence shows that drug trafficking and illegal laboratories are the two main factors encouraging current methamphetamine availability and use in Eastern Nigeria. The NDLEA has discovered illegal laboratories where methamphetamine is produced in Enugu and Asaba. These laboratories were established by drug barons from Eastern Nigeria and their foreign counterparts. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that these local laboratories have largely contributed to the growing methamphetamine epidemic. Media reports indicate that youth organizations and vigilante groups apply corporal punishment by flogging identified users in public but do not highlight how effective this sanction is. While empirical data show that weight control motivates methamphetamine use, the grey literature has blamed youth unemployment. There is an urgent need to conduct empirical research to determine methamphetamine prevalence, the sources, motivations for use, and consequences in Eastern Nigeria. This will facilitate the design of effective interventions to reduce the growing trend. Efforts to discover and dismantle illegal laboratories should not only focus on cities because laboratories set up to evade detection may exist in rural settings. It is vital that the government work with all stakeholders to increase public awareness of the dangers of methamphetamine use in Nigeria and develop mechanisms to support addiction treatment and rehabilitation to prevent social stigma users may face

Adolescent Health Series - alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa : A narrative review

Abstract: Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use by adolescents are major contributors to death and disability in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This paper reviews the extent of adolescents’ ATOD use, risk and protective factors, and studies evaluating prevention interventions for adolescents in SSA. It also describes the harms associated with adolescents’ ATOD use in SSA, which mainly include interpersonal violence, sexual risk behaviours, and negative academic outcomes. We use the socio-ecological model as our framework for understanding ATOD use risk and protective factors at individual, interpersonal, peer/school, and societal/structural levels. We used two strategies to find literature evaluating ATOD interventions for adolescents in SSA: (a) we sought systematic reviews of adolescent ATOD interventions in SSA covering the period 2000–2020; and (b) we used a comprehensive evidence review strategy and searched for studies that had evaluated ATOD interventions in all SSA countries between 2000 and 2020. Only two community interventions (a brief intervention and an HIV prevention intervention), out of four that were identified, were partially effective in reducing adolescent ATOD. Furthermore, only one school-based intervention (HealthWise), out of the six that we uncovered, had any effect on ATOD use among adolescents. Possible reasons why many interventions were not effective include methodological limitations, involvement of non-evidence- based education-only approaches in some studies, and shortcomings in adaptations of evidence-based interventions. The scale of ATOD and related problems is disproportionate to the number of evaluated interventions to address them in SSA. More ATOD interventions need to be developed and evaluated in well-powered and well-designed studies

Reflections on Identity: Narratives of Obstetric Fistula Survivors in North Central Nigeria

Obstetric fistula is a condition that affects women and can lead to identity changes because of uncontrolled urinary and/or fecal incontinence symptom experiences. These symptoms along with different emerging identities lead to family and community displacement. Using narrative inquiry methodology that concentrates on the stories individuals tell about themselves; interviews were conducted for 15 fistula survivors to explore their perception of identities of living with obstetric fistula. Within a sociocultural context, these identities consist of the “leaking” identity, “masu yoyon fitsari” (leakers of urine) identity, and the “spoiled” identity, causing stigmatization and psychological trauma. The “masu yoyon fitsari” identity, however, built hope and resilience for a sustained search for a cure. Identity is a socially constructed phenomenon, and the findings reveal positive community involvement which reduces obstetric fistula stigmatization and improves women’s identity. Sexual and reproductive health issues remain of grave concern within a contextualized societal identity of women’s role

Awareness of alcohol advertisements and perceived influence on alcohol consumption: a qualitative study of Nigerian university students

Despite the growing alcohol marketing activities of the transnational alcohol industries in Nigeria, little research has focused on their effects on Nigerian youths. This study explores students’ awareness of electronic and outdoor alcohol advertisement on campus and around students’ off-campus residential and leisure sites, and the extent to which they perceive it to affect their drinking. Thirty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with male and female undergraduate students (aged 19-23 years) from a south-eastern Nigerian university. Alcohol advertisements on television, posters, billboards and the branded fences of bars are common on campus and around students’ off-campus residential and leisure spaces. While students were exposed to television alcohol advertisements aired during football games, movies and news hours, they regularly saw point-of-sale and other outdoor advertisements on and around the campus. Students demonstrated sophisticated levels of awareness of alcohol advertisements, to the extent that they ‘identified’ brand names, vividly described the advertising messages they had seen and named specific bars, restaurants and other sites where they had seen alcohol advertisements regularly. While alcohol advertisement influenced men to consume new products, it also affected their brand preference on a permanent basis. Although alcohol advertisements appear not to have influenced the women, it is argued that this was because they were exposed to the advertisements of alcoholic brands that are categorised as ‘men’s alcohol’ in Nigeria. The results suggest that while effective monitoring of electronic and outdoor advertisements should be reinforced, policymakers may consider replacing self-regulation with evidence-based alcohol control regulatory measures in Nigeria

Can brewer-sponsored ‘drink responsibly’ warning message be effective without alcohol policies in Nigeria?

Alcohol availability, use and misuse and their related problems are rising in many parts of the African continent and this has been attributed to many factors such as non-existent or ineffective regulatory measures. In contemporary Nigeria, while a culture of intoxication is growing, there are no regulatory measures in the form of alcohol policies to reduce it. What exists is brewer-sponsored self-regulation. This paper therefore, critically analyses this self-imposed 'drink responsibly' warning message, arguing that because responsible drinking messages are strategically designed to serve the interest of alcohol industries, it cannot be effective. The paper further argues that because there are no definitions of standard drinks and where alcohol by volume (ABV) is scarcely inscribed on product labels of alcoholic beverages, such message will remain ineffective. Therefore, it recommends that an urgent step should be taken by the government to formulate and implement comprehensive evidence-based alcohol policies in Nigeria

Journey for a cure: illness narratives of obstetric fistula survivors in North Central Nigeria

Obstetric fistula is a life transforming event resulting in embodied biographical disruption. Survivors suffer myriad long-term physical and emotional consequences. This paper is an account of a narrative inquiry, conducted with 15 fistula survivors in North-central, Nigeria, who described how their identities had been transformed by their condition. A narrative therapeutic approach, using Frank's 'chaos, restitution and quest' typology, was used to map their recovery narratives. 'Chaos', described by Frank as the opposite of restitution, dominated, with women losing hope of recovery. Women's shift towards 'restitution' began with treatment, but inadequate health-care access often delayed this process. In their quest narratives, women's life and identify changes enabled them to derive meaning from their experience of obstetric fistula within the context of their own lives. The findings highlight socio-structural factors raising the risk of obstetric fistula, which in turn causes biographical disruption and hampers sufferers' treatment and recovery. Rehabilitation should include income-generating skills to bring succour to survivors, particularly those whose incontinence persists after repairs

Use of mixed methods designs in substance research: a methodological necessity in Nigeria

The utility of mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) is becoming increasingly accepted in health sciences, but substance studies are yet to substantially benefit from such utilities. While there is a growing number of mixed methods alcohol articles concerning developed countries, developing nations are yet to embrace this method. In the Nigerian context, the importance of mixed methods research is yet to be acknowledged. This article therefore, draws on alcohol studies to argue that mixed methods designs will better equip scholars to understand, explore, describe and explain why alcohol consumption and its related problems are increasing in Nigeria. It argues that as motives for consuming alcohol in contemporary Nigeria are multiple, complex and evolving, mixed method approaches that provide multiple pathways for proffering solutions to problems should be embraced