Nigerian music sensation, Inetimi Alfred Timaya Odon, popularly known as Timaya, has candidly shared his battle with drug addiction, describing it as a challenging ordeal.
In a recent interview with The Beat 99.9 FM in Lagos, the acclaimed ‘Dem Mama’ crooner revealed the tough journey he faced in breaking free from the grip of addiction, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Timaya confessed, “I am not a saint. I have done drugs. Breaking off from drugs was a hell, it was a tough fight.”
The singer recounted how he was introduced to drugs during the pandemic-induced lockdown in 2020, attributing his initiation to curiosity and peer influence.
“I got introduced to drugs during the COVID-19 lockdown, 2020. Everybody was home and there are those young guys in my house who are always so happy,” Timaya disclosed.
“And I was like, ‘Bro, how are you guys happier than me, I am the boss I got money? What are you guys on?’ And they told me that they got molly.”
Timaya admitted that his initial encounter with drugs left him feeling euphoric and excessively happy, leading to a downward spiral into addiction. He recounted how he became dependent on substances to sustain his mood and happiness.
“When I took it, I did not understand myself. I was so happy that I dashed all the money in my pocket,” he revealed.
“So I wanted to just keep feeling like that. That was how I lost a lot of weight. I was not eating, I was just happy? How you go just want dey happy? You are supposed to first of all, be happy naturally. But when you now need substance to make you happy, it replace the natural happiness. So you have to be buying happiness.
“When I said I was taking molly, I was taking like three pills everyday and it felt like medication [laughs].”
