AN APPRAISAL OF COMMUNICATION APPROACHES OF THE SKILL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE ON MARIJUANA (INDIA HEMP) INTERVENTION IN SAMARU, SABON GARI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KADUNA STATE

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Department of Arts

Marijuana abuse is said to be one of the commonest substance adopted by young people in recent times, particularly in Nigeria. More worrisome is the peculiar sociological and socio-economic problems youth find themselves in, as a result of indulgence in Marijuana use, such as reckless sexual activities, rape, murder, idleness, restlessness, interference with academic and vocational career, mental and physical health disorder leading to socio-economic incapacitation and economic dependency. This research, therefore, set out to study the communication approaches of the Samaru Skills Development Centre (SDC) as one of the Organizations that has been part of the Marijuana intervention among the youth in Sabon-Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The objectives of this research were to identify factors that stimulate youth into Marijuana abuse and the attendant implications to their developmentto examine the communication approaches of the Skill Development Centre and their effectiveness for positive behaviour change among youth. The research deployed Paulo Freire‘s (1970) Theory of Dialogic Communication and Action. It is a normative theory of participatory communication that asserts that communication is ideally a dialogue that leads to expanded consciousness and power to deconstruct social contexts. The qualitative approach of research was employed with a purposive sampling technique and sample size of 39 discussants, comprising relevant stakeholders of the selected community, trainees and trainers as well as volunteer staff.The instruments for data collection include the Focus Group Discussion, Key Informant Interview and Documentary Observation. The findings of the study revealed that,lack of parental care, poverty, peer group pressure, inadequate information and environmental influence are the reasons for Marijuana abuse among youth. It was also discovered that, the skills development approach is the most utilized communication strategy adopted by the Organization while skills are mostly imposed on target audience (trainees). It further revealed that some of the Community Based Organisations and target audience are not included in the whole processes of the intervention programme.Consequently, the study recommends the use of inclusive communication approaches and effective partnership with other multi-disciplinary bodies, such as Health promoters, psychologists, Counsellors, Development Communicators, Technical experts and a host of others to enhance.Facilities and equipment should be made available for effective skills training,because the skills development is the major communication strategy SDC utilizes and is perceivedas asubstitute technique of engaging youths against psychoactive substance (Marijuana).