By Matthew Denis
Worried by the prevalence of drug abuse among youths, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kwara Command in collaboration with Lifefount Foundation organised an awareness programme in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
In attendance at the programme last Wednesday were no fewer than 500 youths that cut across secondary school students, undergraduates of tertiary institutions and members of youth organisations.
Speaking at the event, the state Commandant of NDLEA,, Barr. Ona Ogilegwu said the programme is aimed at fighting against consumption of illicit drugs and targeted at youths who have highest record of the menace in the society.
Addressing the participants, he said: “Drug abuse will bring lots of health hazards and those of you students who are drugs dependent will eventually drop out of school, look older than your age, might end up in jail and even become liable to die young.
“Other attendant menaces are cultism and hooliganism. So you need to stay away from any tendency that could predispose you to danger and ruin your future.”
Onilegwu stressed that the current shambolic way of curbing the social vice has to give way to a more methodical approach, with Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) willing to offer assistance in partnership with government agencies to curbs the vices.
He added, “For many addicts, drug abuse starts like a game, a fad arising from peer group, therefore parents have to be on the alert to stop them from Inculcating the habit. “
He warned the pharmaceutical companies and dealers in all kinds of illicit drugs to desist from it as they would be appropriately sanctioned if caught.
In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Lifefount Foundation, Dr. Yemisi Adeyeye noted that the threats posed by drug abuse to the society are real and alarming.
She stressed that the focus of the foundation this year is on drug/substance abuse, which leads to unruly behaviours, criminality and untimely deaths.
She said, “The least it deserves is a strategic, sustainable alliance by stakeholders. Having succinctly defined the prevailing negligence, the ball is now in everybody’s court not just for government to deal with it.
According to her, at the root of the nuisance is the breakdown in societal values, and the pervasive influence of Western civilisation that eroded in part the strict morals of the past.
In her lecture, the Guest speaker, Dr. Romoke Buhari stated that aside Cannabis, there is a growing abuse of synthetic drugs, which were once strange to the Nigerian milieu
The consultant psychiatrist noted that the culture of drugs is spreading fast in the country.
“Nigeria is growing from being just a corridor to a nest of barons , who wield enormous influence and financial resources , and tempt the impressionable youths into drug addiction,” she added.
The expert further noted that substance abuse also makes treatment of illnesses difficult and fuels the spread of HIV/AIDS, saying, “For a country battling with poor infrastructure and low budgetary provisions, the health implications are enormous.”
She lauded effort of the foundation towards curbing the social vice in the state and country at large, describing it as timely.
