Tonto Dikeh opens up on addiction battle, urges support for victims

By Johnson Arua

Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, has opened up about her past battle with substance abuse, saying she turned to drugs as an escape from emotional pain she struggled to understand.

Dikeh made the disclosure in a social media post in which she urged Nigerians to shun drug abuse and show compassion and support to people battling addiction.

The actress said her experience taught her that drugs could not heal emotional wounds, noting that although substances might provide temporary relief, they ultimately leave the underlying pain unresolved while gradually destroying the life of the user.

According to her, people struggling with addiction should be encouraged to seek professional and emotional support rather than being condemned because of their behaviour.

Recalling her own experience, Dikeh said she was once perceived as chaotic, angry and self-destructive by people who did not understand the emotional struggles behind her actions.

“I was once the chaos people judged. The noise. The mess. The broken decisions,” she wrote.

She, however, explained that her actions were not driven by a love for darkness but by a desperate search for relief from pain she could not express.

“I wasn’t lost because I loved the darkness. I was lost because I was hurting,” she said.

Dikeh described addiction as a manifestation of deeper emotional pain rather than a reflection of a person's true identity.

She said, “Drugs weren’t the problem, they were the symptom. Addiction wasn’t my identity, it was my escape from pain I didn’t know how to name.”

The actress also attributed her recovery partly to her faith in God, saying divine intervention played a significant role in her journey towards healing and restoration.

She urged Nigerians not to write off people because of their mistakes, stressing that individuals battling addiction could still have a meaningful future if given the necessary support.

Dikeh consequently called for an end to the stigmatisation of people struggling with substance abuse, urging society to distinguish between condemning drug abuse and condemning those trapped in addiction.

“Hate the drugs. Hate the addiction. But never stop praying for the person trapped inside it,” she said.

The actress maintained that addiction did not make anyone worthless or beyond redemption, describing her personal journey as proof that recovery and restoration were possible.

She urged families, friends and society at large to continue supporting and praying for people battling addiction, stressing that timely intervention could save lives.