Lagos Neighbourhood Battles Rapidly Growing Drug Crisis While Families Watch Young Lives Collapse Without Lifelines Nearby

 

Agege’s Isale Oja community sits at the heart of Lagos and pulses with endless activity, yet beneath the noise lies a bleak struggle that many residents can no longer ignore. Streets crowded with traders, commuters, artisans and transport workers also double as open drug corridors where young people lose their futures in quiet, devastating ways. The signs are everywhere, from dazed teenagers leaning on market walls to older users wandering aimlessly with no awareness of their surroundings.

A tragic example of this crisis is the story of a young man locally called The Law. Known by neighbours for his restless energy and troubled habits, he reportedly lost his life after smoking the synthetic psychoactive substance Colorado, popularly shortened to Colos. His death shook the community not only because of his age, which had not yet reached 30, but also because he was one of three brothers trapped in the same destructive cycle. Mission, the eldest, already carries visible scars of prolonged substance abuse, while their younger sibling, Saddam, remains on the brink.

Residents say this is not an isolated case. Voices around Capitol Bus Stop, Alagbigba Street and the tight corners of Market Street speak of a pattern that grows more disturbing with each passing month. Youths gather openly to smoke or mix harmful chemicals into soft drinks, laughing as they pass bottles among themselves. The atmosphere blends casual acceptance with resignation, as though the community has lost the will to fight back.

Local traders confirm that the issue cuts across ethnic identities. Both Hausa and Yoruba families are losing sons to addiction, and many parents admit they no longer know how to intervene. The police presence offers brief relief but little long term change. Lagos State Task Force teams mostly conduct late night raids, sweeping through hotspots and arresting clusters of suspected users or petty criminals. Recent crackdowns, reported earlier this year, resulted in 114 arrests in several flashpoints such as the Railway Corridor at Ojurin, Oke Koto, AP area and inner Isale Oja.

Despite this turmoil, Isale Oja Market continues to thrive as one of Agege’s busiest commercial spaces. Shoppers visit daily for fresh produce, meat, fish and items used for traditional practices. The community’s cultural identity remains strong, demonstrated through events like the annual Gbogunleri Isale Oja Day which brings residents together for sports, entertainment, training programmes and music. Yet even these celebrations are overshadowed by concerns about the rising number of youths lost to drugs.

Prominent figures who grew up in the area have sounded the alarm. Afrobeats star Adekunle Temitope, widely known as Small Doctor, returned to the neighbourhood and walked through familiar streets only to witness shocking scenes. His reflections, shared on X, described young people swaying in trance like states, some asleep while standing, others frozen in awkward positions as if disconnected from reality.

What emerges from Agege is a picture of a community fighting for its children with limited resources and wavering hope. Families mourn silently, leaders express frustration and youths continue to drift into dangerous networks that promise escape but deliver destruction. Without stronger intervention, the vicious cycle threatens to become the defining story of a neighbourhood once known for its resilience rather than despair.