The influence of musical interventions on drug abuse reduction among Nigerian youths: a study of David Jones’s popular music (2017 – 2022)

Abstract

Drug abuse is one of the extreme health and social problems confronting Nigeria, as the national prevalence rate of 14.4 per cent surpasses the global prevalence rate of 5.5 per cent (UNODC, 2021). Drug abuse prevalence is perceived to be very high among Nigerian youths (NDLEA, 2013; Umukoro et al., 2016; Adeyemo et al., 2016; Umukoro & Aina, 2020) as a result of several prevailing risk factors (Unya & Onya, 2020; Adeniyi, 2022) that the Nigerian youths are predisposed to in their immediate environments. A good number of communication strategies have been adopted in the past, both at international and national levels, to reduce the impact of these risk factors on Nigerian youths. However, these approaches have failed to yield the expected outcomes, partly due to the complexities in developing drug abuse interventions that can help to address the situation. The use of educational programmes in Nigeria's efforts to address drug abuse has since been championed (Ajayi & Alli, 2020; Olarewaju et al., 2022). Entertainment Education (EE) applications are rare health interventions in the Nigerian context. This thesis explores, in a broader sense, the EE potential of an anti-drug abuse popular music intervention, David Jones's anti-drug abuse popular music (2017-2022), as a tool to address drug abuse among Nigerian youths. Using Social Cognitive Theory, this study explores David Jones’s anti-drug abuse interventions through the lived experiences of Nigerian youths exposed to it, towards exploring the EE potential for drug-related interventions. The epistemological assumption upon which this study draws is the interpretive paradigm. The study used hermeneutic phenomenological methodology fortified by seven FGDs to generate qualitative data. The purposive sampling was employed to select a sample comprising 41 Nigerian youths who volunteered from seven tertiary institutions, namely the Rivers State University (RSU), Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe University (KOMU), Godfrey Okoye University (GOU), Coal City University (CCU), Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) and Veritas University (VU). The data collected for the study were analysed employing reflexive thematic analysis. The findings of this study sustain the conclusion that EE holds vast potential in the development of interventions that would help address the growing prevalence of drug abuse among Nigerian youths aged 18 -25 years. David Jones’s anti-drug abuse interventions’ messages were found to have offered transformative educational information, promoted guidance and counselling of the study’s participants, and stimulated self-belief. This also indicates that the anti-drug abuse popular music intervention was grounded in SCT and perceived to be relevant in informing EE interventions (Willoughby et al., 2018). However, David Jones’s anti-drug abuse popular music intervention (2017-2022) does not fully address the entertainment needs of some Nigerian youths due to the music composition and deferential in the listening functions of significant music uses. These include the music theme, melody, repetitive and minimalist pattern, and static nature, as it lacks dynamics and contrast. The study concludes that continuous engagement in the production of intriguing EE music is essential to foster the saturation level needed for the success of music interventions. It also emphasises the importance of incorporating theories in EE music messages through design and implementation. The appeal for behavioural changes and the highlight of the dire consequences of drug abuse should be paramount in music intervention. This approach may help suppress the risk factors responsible for drug abuse among Nigerian youths and trigger good drug use behaviour. The success of EE music intervention depends on a nuanced understanding of youths' music genres, information or practical needs, and entertainment experiences.