…pledges support for NDLEA’s war against drug abuse
Nigeria has launched the ‘Save Our Families Campaign’, a renewed initiative of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to strengthen the fight against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
Launching the campaign on Wednesday, June 26, as part of activities commemorating the 2024 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, President Tinubu also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to supporting the NDLEA in its fight against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
Speaking at the event, the President who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, also urged all Nigerians to join hands in the fight against drug abuse, praising NDLEA’s efforts and the success of its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.
President Tinubu affirmed that investment in prevention is a prudent way of safeguarding citizens’ future, adding that allocating more resources to evidence-based prevention programmes will break the cycle of drug abuse and protect the youth from becoming prey to the menace.
“Prevention not only saves lives it also saves resources that would otherwise be spent on treatment and rehabilitation. It empowers individuals to make informed choices, promotes healthy lifestyles, and creates resilient communities capable of withstanding the pressures of drug abuse”, he said.
Speaking on the theme of the day: “The Evidence is Clear: Invest in Prevention,” President Tinubu said “I enjoin all and sundry to support the War Against Drug Abuse initiative, otherwise known as the WADA campaign, launched by NDLEA three years ago.
“I commend and urge everyone to redouble their efforts to combat drug abuse and trafficking in the country. On this score, I wish to reassure you of this administration’s support. The Renewed Hope Agenda places the youth at the centre of its focus. Therefore, we ensure that our young people are protected from anything that could derail their future or destroy their potential”, he said.
While noting that illicit drugs and substances have wreaked havoc on individuals, families, communities, and countries worldwide, the President said: “In the face of such a formidable challenge, prevention is the most potent weapon that we can deploy.
“Prevention not only saves lives; it also saves resources that would otherwise be spent on treatment and rehabilitation. It empowers individuals to make informed choices, promotes healthy lifestyles, and creates resilient communities capable of withstanding the pressures of drug abuse.
“Investing in prevention is not merely a moral imperative, a prudent way of safeguarding our future. By allocating resources towards evidence-based prevention programmes, we can break the vicious cycle of drug abuse and protect our youth from falling prey to the menace”, he said.
The president further noted: “The assignment before us as a country requires that we prioritise evidence-based prevention strategies, allocate adequate resources and foster partnerships for greater impact.”
He consequently gave strong assurances that “this government will support NDLEA to build on the success recorded in the past few years. We shall work with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that we have positive statistics from the next national drug use survey that will be conducted in the country.”
He urged all Nigerians to join hands in this noble cause, saying, “This is an assignment for all patriotic citizens of this country, including religious leaders, traditional leaders, educational institutions, opinion leaders, and civil society organisations. NDLEA has created a formidable platform for cooperation vis-à-vis its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy initiative”.
In his welcome remark, the Chairman of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), said that the ‘Save Our Families’ social advocacy campaign launched at the ceremony by the President, is designed to prevent and tackle drug use through early detection and intervention by making the Agency’s newly produced special drug test kits a necessity in every home, schools and workplaces.
According to him, “The Agency has introduced the Drug Integrity Test initiative anticipated to metamorphose into an anti-drug culture for every Nigerian. The test is intended for secondary school students, students seeking admission into tertiary institutions and returning students, workers in government and private offices, and individuals seeking political offices as well as prospective couples before taking their marriage vows.
The drug test will serve as a tool for the prevention of drug use and early detection of the individual’s status of drug use for the purpose of appropriate intervention including treatment and rehabilitation. Let me also add that our drug integrity test, which has been adopted by some government institutions and tertiary institutions in the country, is a preventive mechanism”, he said.
He challenged parents, teachers, and guardians to live up to expectations and work together with the resolve and determination to build a world where every individual has the opportunity to live a healthy, drug-free life.
The Guest Lecturer, Dr Vincent Udenze, identified advocacy, prevention, and deliberate investments in the fight against drug abuse and illicit trafficking, stressing its importance to transport, health, and other key sectors.
He called for increased funding for the NDLEA, emphasizing that for the activities of the agency to be better catered for the government must deliberately invest in it
Udenze tasked the private sector and civil society organisations to bolster the Save Our Families Campaign saying all groups are needed to empower the prevention campaign through a multisectoral approach.
The outgoing UNODC Country Representative, Dr. Oliver Stolpe also made several recommendations.
“After the exceptionally successful testing of the school-based drug prevention programme UNPLUGGED involving half a million secondary school children in Nigeria, the programme should be rolled out to all 28, 000 public and private secondary schools.
“We need to enhance the resilience against drug use among the millions of out-of-school children, for example through sports-based initiatives such as LINE UP LIVE UP (LULU). Furthermore, we need to strengthen families in their ability to recognise and address drug use in effective and constructive ways.”
Stolpe further said: “Most importantly, there is an urgent need to repeat the 2018 national drug use survey. Without up-to-date data, there is no way in which we can assess whether our collective efforts have long-term impact and address the actual priorities.”
The Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, who emphasized the importance of testing in schools expressed the ministry’s support for the NDLEA drug test campaign while he called on agencies of government “to work together and support all these efforts.”
According to him, “The most important place where this prevention fight should start is the education sector. And we will do our own part, even last week, it was something we considered and promised to review the existing policies so that we can work with NDLEA to take it to secondary schools and primary schools.
“To establish at all levels compulsory and sustained testing. It has to be compulsory and sustained, right through the years and period of their education”, Mamman said.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Drugs and Narcotics, Hon. Abbas Adigun, who represented the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, called for more budgetary provisions for NDLEA in the face of its multi-faceted mandate, saying, “We at the national assembly are ready to work with the NDLEA and we need the federal government to look into this.”
Others who spoke in the same light include Senator Sadiq Umar who represented the Senate President; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN; Chairman of MTN Foundation, Prince Julius Adelusi Adeluyi and guest lecturer at the event, Dr. Vincent Udenze of Intersect Consortium, among others.
