Cracking down on narcotics, as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is doing in Kano, is fine but so is sensitising residents on dangers of abuse. OLUGBENGA ADANIKIN reports
Kano state poses quite a challenge to National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). There is a huge market for hard drugs there. Youths, including mothers, are consuming illicit substances and paying dearly for their habits. Tonnes of narcotics are seized and destroyed by officers of the NDLEA but such seizures do not seem to be halting traffic in the substances or their consumption. That was why the NDLEA and the Kano authorities mounted a campaign to sensitise everyone on the dangers of hard drugs.
Between January 2014 and August 2017, the state command of the NDLEA seized huge tonnes of narcotic drugs as well as psychotropic substances. It got approval of the Federal High Court, Kano to destroy only 54,244,69kg while the other chunk still awaits court judgment.
The profile of drug use is of immense concern to the NDLEA chair Col. Muhammad Abdallah (retd).
He said, “The increasing abuse of drugs among the youth and women across the country has resulted in needless deaths, stunting youth education and career, rendering them largely unproductive as they end up being unsuited for gainful employment. The end result is that families are left bemused and devastated.
“Young boys and girls have taken to mixing a pharmacopeia of chemical substances in their drinks. Worse still, mothers who ought to know better and should be guiding lights have themselves sadly joined the fray, despicably. Escapism for whatever reason is not the stuff real mothers and housewives are known for.”
Abdallah was speaking in Kano during public the burning of exhibits worth over N10 billion.
He put the statistics of the seized psychotropic drugs in Kano alone at 42 tonnes, describing the quantity as worrisome. Psychotropic drugs are often flameless and a mixture of synthetic chemicals. They include cough syrup laced with codeine, tramadol, cocaine and diazepam, among others.
The public burning of the exhibits was jointly conducted by the NDLEA chairman alongside Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, Speaker, Kano State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdullahi Ata, Alhaji Bashir Tofa and Special Adviser to the President on Youth, Nasiru Adhama among others.
Illicit drugs affect the society in different ways. Everyone either directly or indirectly has become victims and that is because most families in the country today contend with the challenge of drug-dependent persons. This ultimately leads to social vices.
The form of concealments is ever evolving. One could never imagine how far drug traffickers would go to transport their drugs, some hiding them in printer cartridges, motorcycle seats, television sets as well as “brain boxes” of vehicles. The reason is simple, dealing in drugs could be lucrative but it’s a criminal offence
The chairman advocated for urgent and immense intervention. He tasked the court for better cooperation on judgments that would facilitate quick destruction of seized unlawful drugs. Describing the scourge of illicit drugs as a threat to youth development and a ticking time bomb, the NDLEA chairman emphasized need for collective efforts against the social problem.
“I feel relieved each time this exercise takes place because it is the concluding part of our tortuous operations and investigation process, which means that so long as drugs are not ordered for destruction by the courts, we would still remain burdened in suspense. Besides, the society needs to be relieved of the burden of having to put up with seized drugs for an indeterminate period.
“This is where my enthusiasm ends. In as much as the tonnage of the seized drugs for destruction today is a clear indication of a good performance by NDLEA, for 54.244 metric tons of drugs to be intercepted from a particular state in no such a long period of time is of unacceptable magnitude and quiet worrisome. It speaks of the extent and prevalence of these deadly substances in the state,” Abdallah said.
He added that in most states where similar public destruction of illicit drugs was carried out, the major drug of concern had been Cannabis sativa.
“The trend here in this state is more complex in that we are talking of seizures of multiple drugs with all of them in considerable quantities. The quantity of Psychotropic substances seized standing at 42 tons is whopping. There have also been seizures of reasonable quantities of Cocaine and Heroin in the State. These are category A drugs that are not produced in the country.
“This clearly explains the preponderance of the abuse of psychotropic substances including cough syrup laced with Codeine, Tramadol and Diazepam. Sadly, all of us have become victims of drug abuse, directly or indirectly. There is hardly any family in Nigeria today that is not contending with the challenges of a drug dependent person. It is in the same vein that the entire society is battling with the litany of social vices and extreme violence, aggravated by substance abuse. As I like to point out, behind every violent crime is a history of drug abuse or dependence.”
He commended the state government for its interventions and support, especially the formation of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and public sensitisation by voluntary groups.
NDLEA State Commander, Hamza Umar, in his remark, said the command made a seizure of 12, 314, 3111 kg in 2016. He rolled out details of seizures made in the last two years to include Cannabis Sativa 11, 504. 822 Kg, Psychotropic substances 42, 700.27kg, cocaine 26.187kg and Heroin 13.360 kg, all summed to be 54, 244.639 kg.
But beyond primary mandate of the agency, the NDLEA state command has significantly enjoyed some levels of community supports such as the establishment of community volunteer group in the state. Also is the Drug Control Steering Committee which comprises civil society organisations and the NDLEA officers.
Umar expressed optimism on the proposed drug marshals who are to support the agency from 44 local governments in Kano state. They are expected to identify black spots in the state and assist in information sharing.
