By Lillian Okenwa
An animation movie —The Great Cheese Conspiracy, adapted from Jean Van Leeuwen’s book with the same title tells the humorous tale of a mouse gang who decide to hit the big time and rob a cheese shop having grown tired of the slim pickings of their movie-theater home.
What they didn’t envisage was that after eating so much cheese they’d be unable to scurry out of the opening through which they sneaked in. With bloated bellies, they were stuck in the cheese shop unable to escape. Days ago in Nigeria, a scavenging rat got more than it bargained for. This time it wasn’t cheese. The hapless creature ate so much hemp it started doing acrobatics.
Spokesman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)Femi Babafemi, NDLEA, shared a video of the animal via his Twitter handle. The inebriated rat, which according to Babafemi was under the influence of cannabis, was seen spinning repeatedly.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1582376803338924032
The creature reportedly strayed into an exhibit storage room for cannabis in one of the commands of the NDLEA. Minutes after its arrival Babafemi said the rat “began to misbehave.”
The spokesman added that there is a message in the situation, asking Nigerians to shun mind-altering substances.
“Stray rat gets high on C/S: So this rat on Friday strayed into the exhibit room where cannabis was stored in one of @ndlea_nigeria commands and few minutes after, it began to misbehave,” Babafemi wrote.
“Need I say more? The message is clear. #SayNoToMindAlteringSubstances#”
Cannabis is currently outlawed in Nigeria but despite the harsh and severe punishment, Marijuana use in Nigeria is widespread; from the North to the Delta, where you have the famed Kwale weed.
With the UNODC ranking Nigeria third in worldwide usage, the country is just behind Iceland and the United States.
Meanwhile, there are reportedly well-known places where marijuana is “openly” sold ranging from N50 – N2000 naira a “bag”.
It is also no secret that some law enforcement officials that have been mandated by law to carry out the war on drugs have decided to tap into the lucrative world of marijuana, by offering protection for dealers, extorting dealers, and users.
And although there are advocates calling for it to be legalised, the NDLEA has said the risks outweigh the benefits.
