By Zahra Muhammad
ASHENEWS reports that the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa has said that the task to keep modern societies safe from the scourge of illicit drugs demands global commitment, due to the severity of the issue.
Marwa stated this while addressing a gathering of academics, students, mental health professionals, and Nigerians in the diaspora at the Jayhawk Welcome Centre, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, US.
Delivering a lecture on “War Against Substance Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking: The Nigerian Story,” Marwa described illicit drug trafficking as an existentialist threat to the Nigerian nation, stressing the urgency and intensity of action required to bring the situation under control.
Marwa maintained that Nigeria is doing everything possible to fulfil its own end of the bargain.
“We have been able to keep huge cache of drugs from getting into our streets by seizing them at the border or before distribution courtesy of intelligence sharing with our counterparts in source countries or along the transnational routes.”
According to him, Nigeria has run an unflagging anti-illicit drug campaign based on global best practices for drug law enforcement in line with UNODC’s Whole-of-Society approach to the drug conundrum.
“While we have achieved remarkable mileage, the Nigerian anti-drug campaign is nonetheless a work in progress. Be that as it may, our achievements of the past 30 months, relative to the past 30 years, have bolstered our hope of greater accomplishments going forward.
“The support from international partners, governments of friendly countries, the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Nigerian people has strengthened our conviction that the objective we pursue is not unrealistic. Now we have before us an open vista where the objective of a drug-free society is a possibility,” he said.
He added that the NDLEA as part of its strategies towards tackling the menace has resolved to adopt innovation.
“We upgraded our Standard Operating Procedures. We innovated our methodologies, adopted sophisticated tools and systems, and embraced revolutionary paradigms in treatment.
“For instance, to break the jinx of barriers to treatment, NDLEA commissioned a drug abuse tele-therapy center. This toll-free call center has a round-the-clock helpdesk to which drug users, their families, and associates can call for assistance, and receive prompt attention from a team of counsellors and mental health professionals.”
He further said that the agency was strengthening ties with the country’s international partners, such as INL and DEA, Narcotics Control Bureau of India; the UK Border Force, and NCA; Germany’s Bundeskriminalamt, and the French Police, among others.
This online platform reports that the 2023 edition of the Marwa Africana Lecture Series was established and organized annually since 2003 by the Department of African and African-American Studies of the University of Kansas.
