The drug problem must be confronted collectively with the entire will and resolve of the nation behind the effort. Failure to do so will indubitably mean that every effort made in isolation will defeat all our endeavours, and render our task the more difficult and futile.
The spokesperson of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), Abdulazeez Suleiman has described drug situation in the North as one of the most serious social and security challenges facing Nigeria today.
He stated this at a sensitisation lecture on drug abuse and proliferation of dangerous substances among the youth, organised by the Zaria local government students association on Sunday.
According to him, “No nation can aspire to greatness or seek to remain secure and safe when its youth and the productive segments of society are left to indulge in self-destructive practices like drug and substance abuse.”
Read the text below:
“National challenges such as the one we are faced with should not be treated with levity and condescension. Neither should they be seen as affecting only one region or state or, for that matter, one ethnic group or the other. On the contrary, such challenges are cross-national issues that affect every one of us regardless of where we live or come from.
“At the risk of overstating the case, I can unhesitatingly assert that the drug situation in the North is one of the most serious social and security challenges facing Nigeria today.
“The fact that the problem is insidious and not readily apparent is the more reason why it should be seen as an existential matter that needs to be addressed and tackled robustly and defeated once for all.
“Every one of us must therefore, become a stakeholder and a committed actor in this struggle to free our society and our country of this hazardous and debilitating problem.
“All of us, young and old, men and women, leaders and the led, politicians and civil servants, businessmen and women, teachers and students, and people from all walks of life, must get involved in this struggle to eradicate this singular menace from our midst.
“Addressing a complex issue like drug addiction and substance abuse requires a multifaceted approach that takes into account temperamental and attitudinal considerations.
“The sociology of addiction is a phenomenon that requires close and careful study, as well as engagement from the victims’ points of view.
“The issue is made even more difficult by the intersecting factors that cross the boundaries of age, class, gender, religion, ethnic identity and other artificial and natural classifications, thereby enfolding in its grip both adolescents and young people, males and females, rich and poor and the different categories of society.
“This multiple and cross-cutting attribute of the problem makes it a grave and complex matter that cannot be addressed by traditional means alone. Law enforcement and juridical actions important as they are, may not suffice in addressing the issue on a long-term basis.
“More would need to be done in terms of anticipatory legislative enactments that would not only address the problem as it currently stands, but also make allowances for the evolution of the challenge and its future dynamics.
“The immediate and remote causes of drug and substance abuse in our societies must be determined from a wide range of carefully conducted studies and sensitively interventions that underscore the gravity and scope of the problem.
“Factors such as the breakdown of family systems especially the loosening of parental control and oversight, rapid and uncontrolled urbanization, the breakdown of our educational system from the primary to the tertiary levels, and general neglect of the youth to their own devices without guidance or mentoring, have all conspired to compound and exacerbate the problem that we are facing today.
“The roles of important actors must also be delineated and reinforced by other measures like public awareness and general sensitization of target groups like adolescents, youth and women who are among the most vulnerable.
“Meaningful roles for traditional rulers and religious leaders must be found and supported by governmental control, oversight and sanction for infringement of extant rules and regulations.
In this regard, the roles also of the NDLEA, NAFDAC and the Nigeria Police are crucial in determining the parameters of official action and responses to the threats posed by unbridled availability and abuse of drugs and substances. It is especially important and indeed critical, that the NDLEA and other Federal and State agencies are adequately funded and equipped to meet the challenges that they are supposed to combat and eradicate.
The strengthening of institutional capacity for fighting any social problem is a national security issue that must also be seen within the ambit of the general well-being of the country and its peace and tranquillity. Abandoning such a serious issue to the wanton vagaries of chance or opportunity is to assign not only this generation but succeeding generations to grave danger and uncertainty.
As we live in a political dispensation that has law and order and democracy as its underpinning principles, the threat of drug and substance abuse to the maturing of our system of government and effective civic participation in electoral processes cannot be over emphasised.
Indeed, apart from the sporadic armed conflicts that occur now and then in different parts of the country, the drug problem is the simmering tinderbox that is awaiting to explode if care is not taken, that would engulf our societies and destroy our families.
The maxim that says prevention is better than cure should be assiduously applied to this situation. Widespread unemployment, lack of a future for the youth, increasing poverty and a growing sense of frustration and alienation compounded in some situations by illiteracy, have become the most disturbing indicators of the downward slide of the economic fortunes of the North and our country today.
Problems are there to be solved or ameliorated and never to be shied away from. We must therefore, solve this challenge quickly as a matter of the most urgent consideration.
PREVIOUS EFFORT
Let me recall that in recognition of the enormity of the challenge before us, and the urgency of the situation, our Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) took the initiative intimate Professor Ango Abdullahi, convener of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), to inaugurate a Technical Committee on Drug Abuse and Proliferation of Dangerous Substances in Northern Nigeria, in Kaduna, on Saturday, 18th November, 2017.
The Committee was tasked with the responsibility of addressing a number of issues as part of its terms of reference, and to submit its report in one month from the date of inauguration.
Among its terms of reference, the Committee was to find the remote and immediate reasons that have led to the escalation of the drug problem in the North. Its other tasks include providing a baseline study to ascertain the extent of the situation to serve as a reference to measure effectiveness of actions taken to curb it.
The Committee was also asked to examine the factors that currently exacerbate the problem as well as identify the channels used for the importation of processed or unprocessed materials for the illegal production of the substances including domestic manufacturing locations, illegal distribution channels and other user-access routes. I also tasked the Committee to suggest practical measures for detection, apprehension and permanent neutralization of the identified illegal industries and supply chains wherever they could be found.
The committee was also expected to define the roles expected of the various government institutions in the country including the executive and legislative arms of government and make suggestions for possible legislative and structural reforms.
Furthermore, it is expected that the exercise will define the roles expected of traditional and religious leaders and civil society organizations in addressing the problem.
On a wider scale, we endeavored to specify the roles expected of the general public in monitoring, exposing and ensuring action against defaulters. This also included putting together a list of definitive and effective measures for reformation, rehabilitation and re-assimilation of victims in all locations.
This can only be done by articulating a workable framework for advocacy to effectively reach and interact with victims, vulnerable groups and other likely soft targets. Formulating various forms of public engagement, mobilization and mass sensitization would therefore, be critical to this effort.
I am gratified to state here that the members of the Committee responded patriotically to our call and demonstrated genuine resolve by undertaking this difficult but important assignment with diligence and dedication. Already, a working paper has been produced which served as the basis for the exercise, and we expect the final report to be submitted in due course.
CONCLUSION
I call upon our governments both State and Federal, to borrow a leaf from practices that have proven to be effective in other countries. Studies abound about the drug problem and how other nations have overcome it or are busy addressing it. Likewise, we must develop strategies for engagement and sharing of best practices with global and regional institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Bank (WB), the African Union (AU), the African Development Bank (AfDB) etc, to support our various national initiatives towards eradicating the problem.
I also wish to suggest that we should develop close collaboration with our neighbouring countries to work in tandem with them to address this challenge which we face in common.
Finally, I should like to call on the Federal Ministry of Health and all other relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to develop policy frameworks and devote part of their budgetary allocations to address the problem of drug and substance abuse in all parts of the country and especially the North.
Thank you and God bless.
