Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

Drug abuse: Winner emerges in 2019 monster hit Story contest

An Enugu-based pastor, Gabriel Obiano (Gabriel Ooc), has emerged winner of 2019 Monster Hit Story Contest. The competition is an initiative of Ororo Pattaya 20km and David Jones, who is known for his Anti-Drug Advocacy among Nigerian Youths. The contest, which ran on Instagram and Facebook between April and May, was designed for Nigerian youths…

David Jones David (left), Project Director, Ororo Pattaya 20km, Twin Parrot and production manager Hamed Molik

An Enugu-based pastor, Gabriel Obiano (Gabriel Ooc), has emerged winner of 2019 Monster Hit Story Contest. The competition is an initiative of Ororo Pattaya 20km and David Jones, who is known for his Anti-Drug Advocacy among Nigerian Youths.

The contest, which ran on Instagram and Facebook between April and May, was designed for Nigerian youths on social media to share true-life story that borders on any life changing experiences on drug and substance abuse.

Report of a survey conducted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), revealed that the rate of drug abuse in Nigeria in 2018 was more than twice the global average of 5.3%.

According to the report, 14.3 million Nigerians are involved in abuse of drugs such as marijuana, opioids and cough syrup. The report further showed that those involved in abuse of such drugs are mainly between age 15 and 64, while one in every four of them is a woman.

Obiano’s story, How I Lost My Girlfriend To Drug Abuse, was a revelation on the disturbing trend of drug abuse and addiction among Nigerian women. He narrated how he met Esther and later proposed to her, only to discover she was a drug addict who has gone as far as using cocaine.

“I met Esther in God’s Word Outreach Ministry, in Port Harcourt. As a young preacher, who was willing to settle down as of that moment after my Bible School, I picked interest in her. We started dating and finally I proposed to her and she accepted. Meanwhile, she told me how the father abandoned her and her mother at her early stage. She told me, she couldn’t give account of where the father is now. Due to hard life, she left her mom too and moved to Port Harcourt.

“I felt her pain and advised her to make out time to visit her mom and know how she was doing and find out if she is aware of her dad’s whereabouts. She turned the advice down. She was seeing male friends, who were in the military and some cultists, who live a thug life. I was not aware of this until I was desperate to find out what she was doing with her time.

“On a Thursday, I visited her, coming close to her she was drunk and also offered me some drinks. The drink she offered me was missed with Tramadol. Sitting in her apartment, I saw some used Tramadol. As at that time, I never knew it was a hard drug; I thought she was just taking medicine.

“The next day she sat beside me and told me plainly she has been using hard drugs and most especially cocaine.”

Obiano explained that despite his many efforts to help Esther retract her wayward steps, she ended the relationship citing the sharp contrast in their lifestyle.

“One day, I decided to visit her after calling her several times. When I reached her door post, I was hearing noise inside, what I saw that day destroyed my mind. I was heartbroken that my mind was not right anymore. At the door post I sighted her getting high with friends, male and female.”

Obiano’s story attracted 377 likes, and 849 comments on Instagram, making a total of 1,226 votes to emerge winner of the contest.

Obiano’s story attracted 377 likes, and 849 comments on Instagram, making a total of 1,226 votes to emerge winner of the contest.Traction records revealed that the contest enjoyed good followership from social media users across Facebook and Instagram. The competition attracted 42 entries. A total of 5,700 likes, 2,900 comments, 4,200 views, and 48,000 impressions were recorded on Instagram entries.

0 Comments