President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday stated his administration would prioritise prevention mechanisms to curb drug abuse within the nation.
Tinubu stated investing in prevention is a “prudent approach of safeguarding our future” as a result of it “not solely saves lives but additionally saves sources that may in any other case be spent on therapy and rehabilitation.”
The President gave the reassurance on the event of the Worldwide Day Towards Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, in any other case often called World Drug Day, on Wednesday, on the State Home Convention Centre, Abuja.
Talking on the theme of the day, “The Proof is Clear: Spend money on Prevention,” he expressed his assist for the Nationwide Drug Legislation Enforcement Company in its battle in opposition to substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in addition to its ramped-up efforts to stop Nigerians from falling prey to the drug scourge.
With roughly 14.4 per cent of its inhabitants (aged 15 to 64) affected, Nigeria’s drug abuse scenario is sort of 3 times increased than the worldwide common of 5.6 per cent, says the United Nations Workplace on Medicine and Crime.
Probably the most generally abused substances embody hashish, opioids (equivalent to tramadol and codeine), and cough syrups containing codeine or dextromethorphan.
Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Authorities of the Federation, Senator George Akume, lamented that illicit medicine and substances have wreaked havoc on people, households, communities and nations worldwide.
He stated, “Within the face of such a formidable problem, prevention is probably the most potent weapon we will deploy. Prevention not solely saves lives; it additionally saves sources that may in any other case be spent on therapy and rehabilitation.
“It empowers people to make knowledgeable selections, promotes wholesome existence and creates resilient communities able to withstanding the pressures of drug abuse.
“Investing in prevention shouldn’t be merely an ethical crucial however a prudent approach of safeguarding our future. By allocating sources in direction of evidence-based prevention programmes, we will break the vicious cycle of drug abuse and defend our youth from falling prey to the menace.”
He added, “The task earlier than us as a rustic requires that we prioritise evidence-based prevention methods, allocate satisfactory sources and foster partnerships for higher influence.”
Consequently, he assured the NDLEA of his dedication to the anti-drugs battle, saying, “This authorities will assist NDLEA in constructing on the success recorded prior to now few years. We will work with all related stakeholders to make sure that we have now constructive statistics from the subsequent nationwide drug use survey that shall be performed within the nation.”
He additionally urged all Nigerians to affix palms in what he known as “an task for all patriotic residents,” together with spiritual leaders, conventional leaders, academic establishments, opinion leaders and civil society organisations.
In his welcome remarks, the Chairman/Chief Govt Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen Mohamed Marwa (retd.) stated that the ‘Save Our Households’ social advocacy marketing campaign launched on the ceremony by the President is designed to stop and sort out drug use via early detection and intervention by making the Company’s newly produced particular drug take a look at kits a necessity in each dwelling, faculties and workplaces.
Marwa defined, “The Company has launched the Drug Integrity Take a look at initiative anticipated to metamorphose into an anti-drug tradition for each Nigerian.
“The take a look at is meant for secondary faculty college students, college students in search of admission into tertiary establishments and returning college students, staff in authorities and personal places of work and people in search of political places of work in addition to potential {couples} earlier than taking their marriage vows.”
He argued that the drug take a look at would function a instrument to stop drug use and early detection of the person’s standing of drug use for the aim of acceptable intervention together with therapy and rehabilitation.
“Let me additionally add that our drug integrity take a look at, which has been adopted by some authorities establishments and tertiary establishments within the nation, is a preventive mechanism.
“Consequently, we have now produced tens of 1000’s of particular take a look at kits able to detecting 15 completely different substances, now obtainable in all our instructions throughout the nation.
“That is to be used in houses, faculties, workplaces and others. Aside from serving to in early detection of drug abuse particularly by our youths in order that we will get them assist in the type of therapy, this may also create some deterrence results,” stated Marwa.
On the theme for this yr’s World Drug Day, the NDLEA Chief stated drug use prevention lies on the coronary heart of NDLEA’s technique in addressing the drug drawback as a result of it’s far more practical and cost-efficient to stop drug abuse than to cope with its penalties.
“On this regard, we have now used our Warfare Towards Drug Abuse social advocacy initiative to marketing campaign vigorously on the grassroots and create consciousness for our individuals to shun illicit substances.
“WADA is a sensitisation and advocacy initiative that employs the entire of society strategy to have interaction all stakeholders together with the Authorities sectors, establishments, and Non-Governmental Organisations with emphasis on youths out and in of college, neighborhood gatekeepers together with conventional and neighborhood leaders, in addition to spiritual leaders amongst others,” defined Marwa.
He famous that the programme has efficiently served as an efficient instrument of advocacy for social motion and an awareness-driven car for public engagement and collaboration in opposition to the drug scourge.
Going into the main points, the previous army administrator for Lagos State revealed, “As an example, between 2021 and 2024, the Company launched into 6,423 sensitisation and schooling programmes focusing on younger individuals at school and 987 programmes for Out of Faculty youths as a way to create consciousness on the hazards related to drug use.
“That is along with the tens of millions of houses reached with our anti-substance abuse messages via our aggressive and impactful media campaigns utilizing varied conventional and new media platforms.”
He stated other than the varied plans and initiatives deployed as preventive measures in opposition to the provision and entry of illicit substances in addition to their abuse by residents, the NDLEA has been offering counselling and therapy for individuals combating drug dependence throughout 30 of its therapy and counselling centres nationwide the place 33, 453 drug customers had been handled in three and a half years.
The NDLEA boss stated is equally not relenting in its effort to chop off illicit drug provide channels and dismantle trafficking networks. “In spite of everything, whenever you minimize off drug provides, you deny customers availability and entry to them, together with insurgents, terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and varied criminals who depend on medicine to foster their criminalities”, he added.
He stated, “The magnitude of our effort is mirrored within the statistics of our drug provide discount actions.
“We’ve arrested 52, 901 drug traffickers, together with 48 barons, in three and a half years. Over 9, 000 of the suspects have been convicted in court docket.
“We’ve additionally seized over the identical interval 7.6 million kilograms of various illicit substances.”
The outgoing UNODC Nation Consultant, Dr. Oliver Stolpe really helpful that, after the profitable testing of the school-based drug prevention programme UNPLUGGED involving half one million secondary faculty youngsters in Nigeria, the programme needs to be rolled out to all 28, 000 private and non-private secondary faculties.
Stolpe known as for enhanced resilience in opposition to drug use among the many tens of millions of out-of-school youngsters via sports-based initiatives equivalent to LINE UP LIVE UP.
“Moreover, we have to strengthen households of their skill to recognise and handle drug use in efficient and constructive methods,” he added,
The UNODC boss additionally highlighted an pressing must repeat the 2018 nationwide drug use survey saying, “With out up-to-date information, there is no such thing as a approach by which we will assess whether or not our collective efforts have long-term influence and handle the precise priorities.”
In the meantime, the Minister of Training, Prof. Tahir Mamman, emphasised the significance of testing in faculties.
Mamman expressed the ministry’s assist for the NDLEA drug take a look at marketing campaign, calling authorities businesses “to work collectively and assist all these efforts.”
He stated, “An important place the place this prevention battle ought to begin is the schooling sector. And we are going to do our personal half, even final week, it was one thing we thought-about and promised to evaluation the present insurance policies in order that we will work with NDLEA to take it to secondary and first faculties.
“To ascertain in any respect ranges obligatory and sustained testing. It must be obligatory and sustained via the years and interval of their schooling.”
Chairman, Home of Representatives Committee on Medicine and Narcotics, Abass Adigun, known as for extra budgetary provisions for NDLEA within the face of its multi-faceted mandate.
He stated, “We on the Nationwide Meeting are able to work with the NDLEA and we’d like the federal authorities to look into this.”
Others who spoke on the occasion embody Senator Sadiq Umar, who represented the Senate President; Legal professional Basic of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; Chairman of MTN Basis, Julius Adeluyi and visitor lecturer on the occasion, Dr. Vincent Udenze of Intersect Consortium, amongst others.