Whenever Mandera is mentioned, Al Shabaab and the insecurity problems associated with the historically marginalised region come to people’s minds.

Few care to think if the region has youths and if it has, they fear that the youths would eventually waste away by joining the dreaded Al-Shabaab militia. Well, Mandera has a ballooning youth population, which could be slowly but surely wasting away, thanks to consuming a narcotic drug called codeine.

The drug has become fashionable in the region and everyone especially youth who go for it like taking it with miraa to get high.

Talk with them and they tell that the drug brushes off their worries and makes them more talkative and courageous.

Others say it gives them a floating sensation due to its anaesthetic effect, which makes users forget the cares and frustrations of this world. To note, the jobless and educated youths in the region are quick at embracing the codeine frenzy. Their parents on the other hand are in tears over a looming possibility of losing a generation of young people affected by the narcotic drug.

Tethered on trees

The sad state of it is perhaps reflected in most of their homes where they tether their educated youths on trees for excessive use of codeine to tame their violence and zombie-like zeal. Some are rude and outright violent to their parents from whom they demand money to go get the drug. The addictive drug popularly referred to as “baby heroin” for its power to cause euphoria, warmth, and relaxation experience causes irreparable damage to the cognitive abilities of persons who misuses it.

The dependency levels on the drug coupled with its addictive nature have seen the youth turn to crime to get money for more. This condition is dangerous considering that the dreaded Al Shabaab can take advantage of it to recruit the users into the militia for a fee to keep the supply.

Interestingly, the prescription drug is sold over the counter in the region by chemists’ shops which appear to have “good stock” of it. Medics advise that it can have fatal side effects if one uses it with alcohol or with other drugs that cause drowsiness or slow breathing.

 The danger of drugs and substance abuse in the region is unfortunately not confined to codeine. More and more young people in Mandera who cannot afford codeine are resorting to illicit alcohol. Those with average earnings go for miraa. One parent confided to me that she saw young men stabbing each other on the streets of Mandera town and attributed the dangerous behavior to drug abuse. It is not uncommon to find young people sitting in groups eagerly waiting for miraa vans which land in the town late in the evening. The moment the vans unload their cargo the whole town bursts to life with a round of miraa chewing till dawn.

I was surprised at the numbers of young people who turned up during my visit under the auspicious of the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) with the support of the UNDP, to be trained on entrepreneurship skills. In fact there was oversubscription for our programme. This by large implies that whatever is driving the young people in Mandera into acts of desperation like joining violent extremist groups or consumption of harmful drugs is certainly the inability to get sustainable jobs and means of livelihood.

Mandera, a traditionally conservative Muslim county, is slowly turning into a place where the traditional values of being sober, hardworking and modest is slowly wasting away to drug and substance abuse. On the one hand, a danger from Al-shabaab has turned certain parts of the county into a no-go zone where even the security agents dread to venture into. On the other hand, the main urban settlements are under the siege of illicit drugs and even alcohol. While we continue focusing on fighting violent extremism, here are more dangers at hand.

The political and religious leadership of the region should find a lasting solution to the question of the youth quickly getting hooked on drugs. Mandera has vast opportunities in business and agriculture, which can sustain a better livelihood for the youth. It becomes prudent for us to recall Adolf Hitler’s saying: “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future” as we think of the state of Mandera young men and women.

Mr Guleid is former deputy governor, Isiolo County