With the ban on the use of dangerous substances in the country, drug addicts are exploring cemeteries and other places for alternatives..…..CONTINUE READING>>>>>>
With the ban on the use of dangerous substances in the country, drug addicts are exploring cemeteries and other places for alternatives.
This was as the Special Assistant to the President on Citizenship and Leadership, Ms Rinsola Abiola, called for the creation of more rehabilitation centres, seeking state governments’ dedicated partnership.
An expert in drugs and narcotics, Dr Martins Agwogie, dropped the hint on the cemetery alternative, yesterday, in Ilorin, Kwara State, at the maiden stakeholders’ summit on drug abuse prevention and control with the theme, ‘Forging Common Front in Fight Against Drug Abuse’.
Agwogie disclosed that drug addicts now besiege cemeteries to exhume corpses, and gather dry bones, which they grind and later sniff.
He alerted: “Drug addicts have started going to the cemetery to exhume corpses, grind their bones and sniff,” fearing that there is no feasible way out of drug abuse, even with all hands on deck.
He, however, faulted the total ban on substances, arguing that the step was merely taken because of abuse not considering those who need them as recommended medications.
Describing drug abuse as a social menace, Agwogie lamented that Nigeria is one of the worst drug users in the world.
The expert commended the efforts of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in fighting the menace.
On the way out, Agwogie challenged state governments to take firm control by showing renewed interest in the menace, instead of leaving it in the hands of the two agencies.
Consequently, the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum (NGSF) has called on the government at all levels to declare a state of emergency on substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria, even as they committed to mobilising resources to tackle the pandemic.
The call was one of the key resolutions of the group at a two-day Drug Prevention Treatment and Care (DPTC) training organised by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), for wives of state governors, which started, yesterday, in Abuja.
In a communiqué at the end of the meeting, the Chairperson of the Forum, Olufolake AbdulRasaq, noted the importance of rehabilitation, addressing the mental and physical health of drug addiction, as a way of reducing harm due to consumption of psychoactive substances.
Some of the decisions reached at the meeting include “the urgent need to take control and reinvigorate State Drug Control Committee (SDCC), for optimal functioning and encouraging states that do not have SDCC to constitute one for increased rehabilitation programmes that focus on holistic recovery, addressing both physical and mental health of drug addiction as well as harm reduction.”
The governors’ wives stressed the need for “the Federal Government and state governors to declare state of emergency on illicit drug use and trafficking pandemic to mobilise resources to tackle it.”
Other resolutions in the communiqué include “the need to foster good parenting through Parent/Teachers Associations (PTAs), community outreach programmes supporting the NDLEA Drug Integrity Testing (NDIT) policy for early detection of drug users and timely intervention to prevent the progression to addiction/dependency.”
They also resolved to work as a body and facilitator towards strengthening collaboration and cooperation between state governments, NDLEA and other security agencies in the fight against drug use and trafficking. Supporting the building of at least three standard drug rehabilitation centres, one in each senatorial zone of the states to cater for drug users within the states and reduce the challenges of costs, access and stigma to drug treatment among others is also in their plan.
The NGSF disclosedthat their resolutions were based on their understanding of “the nexus between drug use and the heightened level of criminality, the increasing number of school dropouts, social and health issues, family problems, including violent extremism, kidnapping, banditry and terrorism, and its resultant impact on food security, the safety of life and property, foreign direct investment, the economy and national security,” among others.
Commending NDLEA and Brig-Gen Mohammed Marwa (rtd), the Kwara governor’s wife said: “In recent years, the fight against drug use and trafficking recorded resounding successes in the areas of arrests and seizures, prosecutions and convictions, awareness raising, counselling and rehabilitation among others.”
The group also intimated the anti-drugs abuse agency of its preparedness to take the knowledge gained during the training to their states for further action.…..CONTINUE READING>>>>>>
