The National Association of Seadogs (NAS) aka Pyrates Confraternity, Zuma Deck, Abuja, on Saturday staged a walk through the streets of Kubwa, Abuja, as part of its nationwide and global campaign against drug abuse and child homelessness.
The event, tagged The NAS Street Child Project, was part of a simultaneous advocacy action carried out across Nigeria and in NAS chapters abroad, underscoring the group’s global solidarity in the fight against social vices threatening young people.
Speaking during the march, the 2nd Mate and Programme Director of NAS Zuma Deck, Dr. Uju Patrick, said the association embarked on the campaign to highlight the dangers of substance abuse, which he described as having reached “epidemic levels” in Nigeria.
“The rate of drug and substance use in this country has gotten to an epidemic level. You may not know it until you go down to the grassroots, the slums, and the hidden corners of the city. Even the rich are involved,” Patrick said.
He noted that homelessness often worsens the problem, exposing children and young people to drug use, violence, and other social vices. As a medical doctor, Patrick warned that substance abuse has devastating health consequences, including kidney and liver damage and the destruction of mental capacity, which can turn victims into “liabilities to society.”
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He called on Nigerians to support the advocacy, stressing that NAS cannot fight the battle alone. “Whenever you see something going wrong, you must speak. Whenever there is a need to lend a helping hand to anybody who has been a victim of this, you must offer that helping hand,” he said.
Also speaking, Chairman of the Advocacy Committee, NAS Zuma Deck, Barrister Ndukwe Charles, described the campaign as part of the association’s flagship Street Child Project, which seeks to reduce the number of children living on the streets and prevent their exposure to drugs.
“Drugs have destroyed children’s dreams, stopped them from achieving their ambitions, and contributed to increased crime rates and mental illness in society. We need to go back to the drawing board and start afresh to take drugs off our streets,” Charles said.
He stressed that the campaign was not a one-off effort but an ongoing programme that would include radio engagements and outreach to schools already adopted by NAS for mentorship and support. “It is an annual campaign, and it is very dear to us because of the impact we desire to achieve,” he added.
A well-wisher at the event, Engineer Nancy Onuoha, said she joined the walk to show solidarity with NAS and its campaign, which she described as timely.
“Drug abuse is a societal disease that has eaten deep. I have interacted with youths whose lives and health have been destroyed by drugs. It has broken homes and rendered many promising young people useless. If we don’t do anything about it, the future will be at risk,” she said.
Onuoha urged other organisations to emulate the initiative and join forces to fight drug abuse and homelessness, warning that failure to act would have dire consequences for Nigeria’s future.
The NAS Street Child Project is one of the association’s longest-running humanitarian interventions, designed to address drug abuse, homelessness, and educational deprivation among vulnerable children.
