THE ADDICT BY E.T.H...Aina

...say no to drugs... say yes to life...

Mar 18, 2025

I was overjoyed to see my sister and her children in my house. They had traveled from Osogbo to Lagos to see me. I don't cook often because I'm a lazy bachelor, but my sister went to the market to get foodstuff and other ingredients for soup. By 7:30pm she had finished cooking a delicious meal. The kind of meal which was strange to me since I usually only ate soft drinks and sausage – specifically, Lacasera and Gala. The dinner – semovita with egusi soup spiced up with ponmo, crayfish and other condiments and spices – was incredibly good. Yummy!!!

We left the room after dinner to get some fresh air outside since my small generator which Nigerians like to call "I better pass my neighbour" would not work that night. I handed my nieces my phone so they could play Temple Run game as my sister and I conversed about various topics. We talked about my work, immigration, and her father-in-law who has been bugging her since she got married. At 11:30pm, the temperature was a little chilly. We went back to my room to sleep. As luck would have it, we woke up looking hale and hearty the next day. After saying the Lord's prayer, my sister went into the kitchen to make breakfast, which was white rice, sauce, and chicken.

One would have assumed that after the breakfast I would take my visitors to a recreation center, but at that particular moment I was just putting my life on the right track. My salary was less than 25000 Naira that was why I would not go above my limit. I got my nieces cold soft drinks and told them the tale of the tortoise and the river goddess. If I didn't tell them stories, how would they know that their uncle is a storyteller? I was telling them the story when I got a call from one of my cousins.

“Are you at home?” He asked.

“Yes, I am,” I replied.

“I am coming to greet you and your sister and her kids.” He said.

After a short while, Bro showed up. We greeted each other in our dialect. He hugged my nieces and they started playing as if they had known each other for decades. The bonding was incredible. My sister immediately gave him food. He was itching himself while eating the food, as though he had terrible skin rashes. He finished the food in a matter of seconds. As my sister slept on the bed and I sat on the floor, he continued to play with my nieces on my two-seater sofa. In fact, everything about him was impulsive.

Bro shouted out of the blue and collapsed to the ground. My sister and I were perplexed because we lacked basic Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills. When I put my ear to his chest, I did not feel his heartbeat. I exclaimed, "Bro has died!" With dismay, my sister looked at me. She screamed and she and her kids began to cry. Motorcyclists near my house on Grace Abosede Street were drawn to the commotion. They rushed to my room and began to make efforts to breathe life back into him. One of them requested water, a spoon, and onions. My sister and her children were in tears. A little later, he was conscious but we needed to take him to the hospital for treatment. We tried calling a few people, but sadly, none of them answered until I remembered to contact my uncle and his wife. My uncle quickly arrived in my place and we drove Bro to Bayo Hospital. He spent two days in the hospital.

According to the doctor, Bro had a cardiac arrest. That was startling, but the reason for the cardiac arrest was even more startling. Upon regaining consciousness, Bro told us that he consumed two thousand grams of tramadol.

One of the most often overused drugs by Nigerian youth is tramadol. Young boys use it to increase their sexuality. For Bro, he had lately started dating an energetic lady who was sexually active; in an attempt to keep up with her, Bro turned to drugs.

"I used 1800 grams the night before, and we had sex all night long," Bro said. Everyone was really taken aback. 1800 grams! "In the morning, she went to her house to change her clothes after I went to deliver some goods to one of my clients. We agreed to meet again at 12noon to continue where we left off. I consumed another 200 grams of Tramadol in preparation for the sexual marathon," Bro narrated.

None of us could say anything. The room was silent – we looked at him disdainfully. He was ashamed and wished he could just melt away before our eyes.

Bro was lying on the bed, and my mind was racing with thoughts. Who would have believed that my sister and I weren't responsible for his death if he had passed away in my room? Would I have been jailed? When a nurse came into the ward to advise us to let Bro rest for a while, I asked her to give me some seconds so I could ask Bro some questions. All eyes were fixed on me, and everyone listened attentively.

“Bro, why do you need a stimulant’s help to perform on the bed or have you forgotten that pleasure sought with natural manliness is satisfactory and fulfilling? "Stop doping so that your entrance into this world would not be your transit to the world beyond. Bro was embarrassed once more and wished he could just vanish into thin air.