All stakeholders should do more to contain the menace
Ahead of yesterday鈥檚 2025 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched an awareness campaign which included a range of non-governmental organisation-led activities focused on drug prevention and youth engagement. With the theme, 鈥楾he Evidence is Clear: Invest in Prevention鈥 for the 2025 World Drug Day (WDD), the NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa, called on Nigerians to join the efforts to rid the country of the malaise.
While the war against illicit drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria is particularly difficult because it has, over the years, been compromised on many fronts, the NDLEA is gradually building public confidence in its operations and increasingly justifying government investment with an impressive record of arrests, convictions, and drug seizures. However, the challenges remain. Ranging from cannabis 鈥 often called Indian Hemp 鈥 to cocaine, heroin and amphetamines 鈥 hard drugs are increasingly available on the street and abused by both the young and old in the country. The UNODC鈥檚 Country Representative, Cheikh Toure, emphasised the critical role of preventive measures in tackling the global drug crisis. 鈥淭he proceeds of the illicit drug trade often finance violent extremist groups, further destabilising already vulnerable regions,鈥 Toure said. 鈥淭ogether, these interconnected crimes form a vicious cycle that entrenches poverty, exploitation, institutional weakness, and addiction.鈥
Considering the dire implications, authorities in Nigeria must pay more attention to this menace. Statistics may be hard to come by but most experts agree that issues related to drug abuse have increased the challenges of insecurity in the country. Insurgencies, vicious robberies, kidnappings, etc., are said to be aided by drugs. But Marwa has made a big difference by putting the spotlight on the issue of drug abuse in Nigeria and making the NDLEA more alive to its responsibility. Besides issues of welfare, he has strengthened the capacity and capability of his officers with good operational tools.
Despite the increasing risk, evidence abounds that many desperate Nigerians are still enmeshed in the illegal drug business. But it is also heartwarming that the relevant authorities are now taking bold steps to contain the drug scourge. In four and half years, Marwa has led the agency in the arrests of about 66,000 drug offenders (including 94 drug barons); made seizure of more than 11 million kilograms of assorted illicit drugs and successfully prosecuted and secured the conviction of hundreds within the same period.
But perhaps more importantly are the NDLEA sensitisation and awareness creation lectures and other activities carried out in schools, workplaces, worship centres, motor parks, traditional rulers鈥 palaces and rural communities. The NDLEA has reduced drug use disorder with emphasis on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Under the war against drug abuse (WADA) social advocacy initiative, many addicts have been treated and rehabilitated in the agency鈥檚 counselling and rehabilitation centres across the country. This is in addition to providing psycho-social support services for thousands of others through the agency鈥檚 call centre manned by professional counsellors, clinical psychologists and psychiatry doctors through a toll-free helpline.
It is indeed heartwarming that officers and men of the anti-narcotic agency are making it increasingly difficult for drug barons, traffickers, and cartels to operate in the country. We hope the agency can sustain the momentum. Nothing can be too much to fight the illicit drug business. The social problem of having our young people hooked on drug is a major issue that should attract the attention of not only the government but all stakeholders in the Nigerian project. Now that the 2025 WDD ceremony is over, we urge Marwa to keep up the fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse in Nigeria.