The use, sale, and possession of narcotics are all strictly forbidden at the American University of Nigeria. The AUN campus is a secure, drug-free area conducive to learning and the development of character. Since it was established in 2004, AUN has adopted a stringent zero-drug policy that is strictly upheld on campus. The consequences for any student found using or dealing with hard drugs are outlined in the AUN Student Code of Conduct. For emphasis, AUN's strategy for eradicating drug usage on its Yola campus lays more emphasis on reducing the demand for hard drugs among students because young students make up a university's main demographic. Although offenders are punished appropriately, a lot of effort and resources are placed on re-educating and reorienting students to help them make morally sound decisions for a better life. The three interconnected tiers of the AUN drug policy are prevention, enforcement, and recovery. Taken together, the AUN anti-drug program is highly successful, forward-thinking, and backed by students. AUN has one of the least incidences of drug-related cases among Nigerian Universities, a fact the Police and NDLEA can readily confirm.
Prevention
At AUN, the Judicial Affairs Unit organizes regular sensitization programs that educate students on the dangers of drug abuse. These sensitization programs, often led by the student, are regular and create the needed awareness of drug abuse. Motivational speakers are often invited as resource persons. The University has a resident professional psychologist who plays a key role in the prevention strategy. From an understanding that students take to drugs due to different psychological issues or distress like depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, the Psychology unit uses both direct and indirect approaches to sensitize students against the use of psychoactive substances.
The indirect approach is centered on helping students manage various psychological distresses that could lead to the use of substances. Programs like Stay Afloat and the Mandala are designed to help students face various life challenges without being distressed.
The direct approach includes interventions/therapy that help students curb their use or reliance on psychoactive substances. It is believed that the use of psychoactive substances could cause other psychotic issues for students and make them become a threat to other students and the university community as a whole.
Enforcement
Like in the wider society, the Judicial Affairs Unit adopts a three-scale categorization when dealing with drugs on campus. There are the users, those who possess large quantities, and the distributors. There are no recorded cases of the last two categories on the AUN campus. When a drug user is identified after a tip-off, intelligence report, or being busted, they are immediately sent to the Clinic for a drug test. The AUN Clinic is equipped with state-of-the-art drug detection equipment and the staff are professionally trained. When confirmed, the culprit will appear before the Judicial Council and is made to face various sanctions ranging from paying a hefty fine to expulsion. Depending on the category or severity of the individual case, the Judicial Council would recommend punishment according to the AUN Student Code of Conduct. All Dormitory rooms at AUN are equipped with smoke detectors. Resident Directors who live among the students and monitor their behavior are trained to detect drugs and drug usage. RDs have the authority to stop and search students for suspected drug use or possession. Students at AUN are mandated to take a random drug test if suspected of using psychoactive substances.
Recovery
The AUN Students Code of Conduct stipulates that convicted drug users must undergo rehabilitation and present a certificate of drug-free status before they can be readmitted to campus. This policy is also strictly applied. The University offers to counsel students who need it regarding drug use.
Building on the Success of the AUN anti-Drug Policy
How safe and secure students and visitors feel on campus is the ultimate yardstick for evaluating the effectiveness of any anti-drug policy. The most notable effects of drug addiction in the larger society, such as cultism, mugging, assaults, kidnapping, and sexual harassment, are completely absent from the AUN campus. The NDLEA duly recognizes AUN's rigorous anti-drug environment and has adopted our campus as a role model for other higher institutions. Officials of NDLEA were on campus on Friday, November 4, 2022, to witness the inauguration of the students-led War Against Drug Abuse (WADA). There could be no greater, more justifiable recognition of the success of the AUN anti-drug policy.
Lastly, no student from AUN has ever been admitted to the NDLEA Drug Rehabilitation Center in Yola, which is regarded as the one of the best in Nigeria.