Youths in Nigeria have been advised to stay away from any form of drug use to avoid its adverse effects.
The warning came from Mr. Endurance Edafewotu, Managing Director of Elomaz Communications Limited, publisher of The Trumpet Newspaper.
Edafewotu was a special guest on Thursday at a drug awareness interactive conference organized by the Global Peace Advocacy and Empowerment Initiative and in conjunction with West African Action Network on Small Arms in Nigeria (WAANSA Nigeria) and Premiere Academy at the school’s premises in Lugbe, Abuja.
He warned young people of the adverse effects of drug abuse on humans and the society, noting that psychoactive drugs consist of chemical elements that are harmful to the human nervous system.
According to Edafewotu in the speech titled, “War Against Drug Abuse: Secondary School Students Taking the Lead”, the spate of drug abuse has skyrocketed in geometrical progression. He observed that drug abuse and porous borders has led to gun proliferation, particularly light weapons which are rampant among youths and teenagers.
He said there are different types of drugs noting that the “our focus today is on what is known as psychoactive drugs, which consist of chemical elements that are harmful to the human nervous system. He warned that this class of drugs can distort the functionality of the mind, generate mood swings or disorders, and give the drug-taker unreal sensitivities such as depression, anti-depression, and hallucination.”
While stressing the importance of youths leading the fight against drug abuse, Edafewotu pointed out that young people are the nucleus population that society relies on for regeneration. He stated that the youths represent every home and have energy that can advance the fight against drug abuse through peer-to-peer interactions.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (Rtd), who was the Chairman of the occasion, said the agency would be pleased to establish its anti-drug abuse club called ‘War Against Drug Abuse (WADA)” in the Premiere Academy to build a culture that frowns at illicit use of drugs in young people in the school.
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Marwa, who was represented by Superintendent of Narcotics from Drug Demand Reduction Directorate of the agency, Owonubi Gbenga, said drug abuse destroys both the family and the society by taking away the joy and lives of those that abuse it. He advised the students to “Say no to drugs, yes to healthy living.”
Marwa said: “I want to make a plea to the school authority to allow us to come around soon to organize and launch the ‘War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) club in Premiere Academy.”
Earlier in his remark. Director General of Global Peace Advocacy and Empowerment Initiative, Dr. Badamasi Sadiq Ibrahim said the aim of the conference is to catch the students young so that they can preach about the dangers of drug abuse to friends, families and neighbours.
Speaking in the same vein, Principal of Premiere Academy, Mr John Olugbenro said, “drugs do harm to youths; youths are the victims of drug smuggling, drug trading, drug injection and drug taking, not the adults. When youths have their future destroyed, then the entire country is destroyed.”
While noting that his school does not joke with campaigns that seek to better the lives of students, he said classroom education builds intellectual faculty but the awareness conference against drug abuse builds total lives.
On her part, Temitope Lamidi, President of WAANSA Nigeria advised the students to stay away from hard drugs, saying that there is a great connection between drug abuse and crime. She warned against the use of small and light weapons by youths for illicit purposes and stressed that to overcome crime in the society, the fight against drug and substance abuse needs to be sustained.
She called on the government to do more to support campaigns against drugs, which she described as the bedrock of insecurity.
Also, the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), who was represented by Head of Pharmacy Unit, DCC Ugwu Cletus Ejiofor stated that whatever a person becomes in life is to a large extent by his or her choices. He charged the students to “make good use of wise and reasonable choices” by saying no to drug misuse.
Highlight of the event was the unveiling of thousands of customized notebooks with the inscription: “Say No to Drugs and Illicit Substances”, which was distributed to all students and participants that were present.
