By OBIOTIKA WILFRED TOOCHUKWU

The dew of modern young people is completely dried up; they do not just face boredom and emptiness, they inherited dangerous addictions as well. Nigeria’s young people did not create the crisis they are now forced to survive. They inherited a country still healing from long economic strain, political instability, and a global cost-of-living struggle that continues to squeeze hope out of ordinary families. What many adults call “weakness” in young people today is often a quiet form of exhaustion. The youth are trying to breathe in a society that is steadily running out of air. Unemployment remains the heaviest weight. A young person between eighteen and twenty-five in both rural towns and large cities wakes up daily to the same question: what is the future asking of me? Not having all the answers; they join gangs, peers to inhale cannabis, marijuana daily. When that question is answered with silence for too long, the mind begins to search for relief instead of purpose. That is where smoking addictions quietly return—not as rebellion alone, but as escape. What looks like choice is often a form of surrender to stress, anxiety, and loneliness.

The tragedy Is that many still believe smoking only damages the lungs. The truth is deeper and more frightening. Smoking attacks concentration, emotional stability, memory, sleep patterns, and confidence. A young person who smokes regularly may feel temporary calm, but underneath, the body is being trained to depend on something artificial for peace. Instead of building strength, the habit slowly replaces it. It affects the heart, the brain, and even the ability to think clearly about the future. When the mind becomes tired and dependent, hope also becomes weaker. Even more painful is the fact that this trend is spreading among young girls. This is not a sign of freedom; it is a sign that pain has become equal. When both young men and young women begin to depend on dangerous habits just to survive emotional pressure, it means society has failed to protect its next generation. What should have been years of growth, creativity, and bold dreaming are now being swallowed by anxiety and imitation. Social media glorifies comfort and pleasure while quietly hiding the cost of addiction.

From 2008 to 2025, many reports and observations have shown a worrying pattern: the youth are becoming more disconnected from purpose while becoming more attached to quick satisfaction. It is not that young people are lazy or careless. Rather, many are fighting invisible battles—hopelessness, rejection, fear of the future, and the pressure to appear successful even when life is not working. Smoking, substance dependence, and other destructive lifestyle habits grow strongest where hope is weakest. Yet this generation is not beyond redemption. In fact, it may be the most powerful generation if it rediscovers direction. Young people still possess imagination, courage, creativity, and the ability to rebuild what older generations have damaged. What they need most is not condemnation but illumination. When understanding replaces blame, change becomes possible. When truth replaces deception, strength returns.

The danger today Is not only addiction; it is the culture that celebrates comfort without discipline. Many Gen Z youths are slowly being trapped in a system that promises pleasure but removes purpose. A life built only on comfort cannot survive difficulty. A life built on understanding can. If young people are guided to see their value clearly, they will not trade their health for temporary relief. If they are shown light, they will not remain in smoke.

Nigeria’s future still lives inside its young people. But that future will only survive if we stop mocking their struggles and start addressing them with honesty. Awareness about the real health dangers of smoking, stronger mental support, meaningful opportunities, and truthful leadership can still turn this story around. The ability to command a featuring future does not happen with dreams and visions only; the mind and senses must be enlightened to gain insight and self-mastery. Finally, understanding will rescue the mind. Light will rescue the generation.

•Obiotika Wilfred Toochukwu writes from Living Grace Restoration Assembly Inc., Nkono-Ekwulobia, Anambra State.

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