The Responsibility of Influence | Music, Drug Culture & the NDLEA

The Responsibility of Influence | Music, Drug Culture & the NDLEA

Author: ISRAEL OLUWAFEMI MAKANJUOLA July 19, 2026 Duration: 14:46

I covered the Oyo State meth lab bust: billions in drugs, five suspects, a Mexican trafficking expert arrested. It got me thinking about a different side of Nigeria’s drug problem, one law enforcement can’t touch.


For most young Nigerians, drugs weren’t first understood on the streets. They were first heard in a song.

On this episode of The Artiste Hangout with Femi Makx, I sat down with Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA, to talk about drugs, music, and Nigeria’s entertainment industry.

I asked him directly: Are artists responsible for glorifying drug use in their lyrics? Do celebrities get protected from arrest while smaller, independent artists take the fall? Can an artist battling addiction trust the NDLEA enough to ask for help without being exposed? And does using drugs actually make anyone more creative, or is that the biggest lie in the music industry?


His answers reveal a side of the NDLEA most Nigerians never hear about, including a confidential rehabilitation program that has treated Nigerian celebrities without their names ever going public.

This episode covers Afrobeats, addiction, fame, drug culture, youth influence, and the NDLEA’s real approach to Nigeria’s entertainment industry, straight from the agency’s own Director of Media and Advocacy.




Topics: NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, Afrobeats, drug addiction, Nigerian music industry, youth culture, rehabilitation, Femi Makx, The Artiste Hangout


At Artiste Hangout with Femi Makx, the conversation starts where the music ends. Hosted by music journalist Femi Makx, this isn't a typical interview show; it's a deep, meandering exploration of how the sounds we love are forged. Each episode is built on the premise that a song is never just a song-it's a product of identity, a response to power structures, a spark of creativity shaped by its time. You'll hear long-form, in-depth conversations that deliberately wander, connecting artistic choices to the wider currents of youth culture and social change. The podcast operates from a simple, powerful idea: to examine music not as a passive soundtrack, but as an active, living commentary. This means peeling back the layers of a hit record to find the personal and political stories underneath, or understanding how a specific creative scene reflects broader shifts in society. The analysis is thoughtful and the atmosphere is more like a candid backstage chat than a formal Q&A. It’s for anyone who listens to a track and wonders about the world that made it, who sees the artist as a citizen and their work as a cultural artifact. Tune in for a perspective that treats the creative landscape with the seriousness it deserves, making each episode a hangout that challenges how you hear everything.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Artiste Hangout with Femi Makx
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