08/06/2026
Last night I watched 2 men talk about what addiction really looks like. I haven't stopped thinking about where AI is in this fight.
The Honest Bunch Podcast, with the episode on: "What Substance Addiction Really Looks Like", featured Keji Hamilton — 32 years sober and Abraham Okodugha — 4 years sober.
Two honest men with testimonies about what drug abuse does to a person, a family, and a future. It was raw, specific, and no performance.
I watched the whole thing. It sent shivers down my spine because it wasn't foreign to me.
Over 10 years ago, I started walking closely with recovering substance users.
My friends, Iyke Akiti and Gabriel Elekpa of MORE House, have spent years doing this work in places most of us never reach. Quietly and without fanfare.
Their dedication to rehabilitation and faith-based recovery deserves far more recognition than it gets.
One line from the podcast has stayed with me: "This industry isn't going anywhere. It is a billion-dollar machine with beneficiaries at every level keeping it alive."
The numbers sit behind that statement.
316 million people worldwide are currently using drugs — a 28% rise in just the last decade.
Nigeria's drug use rate is 14.4%, nearly 3 times the global average. More than 14 million Nigerians between 15 and 64 have used substances. Across sub-Saharan Africa, only 3.4% of people with drug use disorders are receiving any form of treatment.
3.4%.
I sat with that number for a while.
As an AI strategist, I kept asking myself one question:
➟ Where is AI in this fight?
Leaders are using AI for decks. Professionals are using it for emails. I believe in all of that work. But there are people spending their lives helping others reclaim theirs from addiction, with stretched resources and no system to scale what actually works.
Here is where AI can genuinely help:
➟ Relapse prediction.
AI can monitor behavioral signals (communication patterns, social withdrawal, digital activity) and alert counselors before relapse happens. Earlier warning means earlier intervention.
➟ 24/7 anonymous support.
A person in recovery at 2am doesn't always have someone to call. An AI-powered touchpoint gives them somewhere to go. A bridge to the next conversation with a human who can help.
➟ Personalized recovery planning.
AI can help counsellors analyse what worked for patients with similar profiles — same substance, same triggers, same background — and build faster, more targeted plans.
➟ Family literacy tools.
Families often don't know what to say or do. AI can help them understand what their loved one is experiencing and how to support without enabling.
➟ Faith-based support at scale.
Organizations doing faith-integrated recovery can use AI to deliver personalized devotionals, accountability check-ins, and structured spiritual engagement at a volume no team can manage manually.
The link to the podcast is in the first comment. Watch it.
If you work in rehabilitation, public health, faith-based recovery, or technology — drop your thoughts. If you need help to build an integrated solution with the suggestions above, we can partner.
This problem deserves more than good intentions.
Your expertise and this problem are closer than you think.
Back to work, you are either an expert or irrelevant.
The |
♻️ Save this. You’ll need it again.