Timaya: How I got hooked on drugs during COVID-19… lost money, weight

Timaya, the Nigerian singer, has opened up about his previous battle with drug addiction.

In a recent interview with The Beat 99.9 FM, Lagos, the ‘Dem Mama’ hitmaker said he got introduced to drugs during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

Timaya narrated how he became close to some young boys residing with him who get very excited after consuming Molly.

Molly, also called 3,4-Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine, is a synthetic drug with psychedelic properties that alters mood and perception, awareness of surrounding objects and conditions.

The singer said Molly nearly destroyed his life. He added that the drug started to harm his health. He said he stopped eating, lost weight, and money.

“I am not a saint. I have done drugs. Breaking off from drugs was a hell, it was a tough fight,” he said.

“I got introduced to drugs during the COVID-19 lockdown, in 2020. Everybody was home and there were those young guys in my house who were always so happy.

“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.

“When I took it, I did not understand myself. I was so happy that I dashed all the money in my pocket. 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 replaces natural happiness. So you have to be buying happiness.

“When I said I was taking Molly, I was taking like three pills every day and it felt like medication [laughs].”

The singer said the moment he realised he had to stop taking Molly was after he lost a lot of money.

“I got kicked out of jobs, contracts… people I was doing business with did not want to work with me again,” he added.