The Chief Whip of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mojisola Meranda, has expressed the commitment of the house of Assembly to tackling the issue of drug abuse among the youths in the state through the passage of various motions and resolutions on the floor of the house, adding that it is also partnering with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the fight.
Meranda, who disclosed this on Thursday in Lagos during the 7th Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting with the theme: ‘Increasing Wave of Drug Abuse: A Threat to Nation Building’ stated the event was aimed at interacting with their constituents regarding getting their inputs in the forthcoming state annual budget and also emphasize on the increasing rate of drug abuse among the youths.
She noted that the issue has become a serious concern to the leadership of the house who have moved several motions such as ‘Need to curb the Sales and Consumption of Hazardous Liquid Substances (Sokudiaye) in the state.’
She lamented that the abuse of drugs is fast becoming prevalent among adults and especially youths.
Meranda, who was represented at the event by her Special Assistant on Media, Mr Gerard Ubakor, hinted that drug abuse has been identified to have diverse and devasting effects on the safety and progress of society.
Read Also: Lawmaker decries drug abuse
She further explained that apart from the negative social effects of drug abuse such as violent crimes, disruption of the family, and child abuse, the menace has been associated with some other criminal behaviours such as gang formations, rape, cultism and others.
According to her, “Several motions have been raised on the issue and we have created a lot of enlightenment on the need for the youths to be careful about getting involved in drug abuse and the consequences in the society.
“A survey by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime in 2018, stated that Lagos and Oyo States had the highest prevalence of drug abuse among youths in the Southwestern part of Nigeria. These statistics are alarming and are red flags about the need to safeguard our state by safeguarding the future of the young generation.
“More disturbing is the revelation of experts who have established the relationship between the menace of drug abuse and rising incidences of violent crimes in the country.
“We are working with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Schools to get everybody involved and create massive awareness. The way out of this crisis is to continue raising awareness on it and ensure that every hand is on deck to address it because it is a big problem that we all have to address.
“The stakeholders’ meeting is an annual event and the main focus is to create a platform where the house members’ can interact with their constituency. Secondly, as we work towards drawing up the project for the year the members of the house feel it is important for their constituents to make inputs into the annual budget.
“Today, we are providing free eyeglasses, and screening to our constituents. We are targeting not less than 200 patients. Every time we have an annual conference we also try to reach out to our constituents, but for this year, I am donating educational materials (books, school bags, and mathematical sets) to eight Primary Schools in Apapa 1.”
Leave a Reply