The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig-General Buba Marwa has lamented the rising cases of drug abuse among Nigerian youths.
He said a lot of young people who engage in the consumption of the illicit and dangerous drugs now infuse cannabis in cookies and brownies, pepper soup and drinks.
He added that NDLEA’s activities since January 2021 has further reinforced the facts of Nigeria being an important hub in the global illicit drug network, and that the country was not only a transit pipeline but also a market.
Marwa made the assertions Thursday, in Lagos, while delivering a keynote paper at the Realnews Magazine’s 10th Anniversary Lecture and Hall of Fame Investiture.
He spoke on the theme: “Drug Abuse among Youths in Africa: Implication for Nigerian Economy and 2023 General Elections.”
“So what do we have today? We have young people vaping, inhaling cannabis-infused shisha and experimenting with synthetic cannabis and other potent variants such as Loud and Colorado.
“Alarmingly, some of them started using the substance between ages 13 and 17, with the largest pool of users in their early 30s.
“Still, the activities of the past 22 months in NDLEA have given us further insights and we now know that aside from smoking, they use it for cookies and brownies, pepper soup and also infuse it in drinks,” Marwa said.
Noting that drug abuse had been on the rise globally and poses serious danger to the world, he said Nigeria in particular cannot afford to trivialise the menace in light of the country’s illicit drug statistics.
He, however, said every opportunity for public discourse on the subject matter was highly appreciated because keeping drug issues on the front burner in society was one way of catalysing solutions to the scourge.
To start with, Marwa stated that Nigerians were not ignorant about drug trafficking and drug abuse issues.
He pointed out the activities of the NDLEA in the past 22 months had given the Nigerian society a clear picture, certainty and the severity of the drug problem in the country.
Marwa said during the period under review, the agency arrested 19,341 drug offenders and subsequent convicted 3,111 in addition to the seizure of 5.5 million kilograms of assorted drugs, adding that the 22 months had shown incontrovertible facts of a deeply entrenched illicit drug subculture.
He said NDLEA’s activities since January 2021 further reinforced the facts of Nigeria being an important hub in the global illicit drug network, and that the country was not only a transit pipeline but also a market.
“It is disturbing that abusing marijuana and alcohol is the new normal for youths, especially the Gen Z and even the Millennials. For parents who are adept at using social media, Snapchat offers graphic details of what our young people are doing with alcohol and psychotropic drugs.
“The empirical facts around us speak volumes about how young people are abusing dangerous substances. However, we may not have a grasp of the depth of this decadence until we begin to see statistics and other data,” Marwa stated.
Stating that the society was also partly to blame for the rise in drug abuse among youths, he argued that there was no gainsaying that the incident of more youths abusing cannabis was fuelled by society sending wrong messages to young people.
He said, “today, there are all sorts of pro-cannabis groups, movements and activists all over the place, who make it seem as if smoking cannabis was innocuous and not dangerous to health, and, therefore, should be an inalienable right of the smoker.”
“Even some politicians and institutions, focused on the economic gains of the cultivation of cannabis, are ready to liberalise the commercialisation of the plant. All of these send mixed messages to young people.
“Knowing that young people abuse drugs is alarming, but knowing the kind of consequences such action will bring on them and the country, will leave us all in a perpetual state of anxiety”, the NDLEA boss said.
However, Marwa said the economic cost of drug abuse by youths was not easily calculable for the country, explaining that the economic cost of the menace in Nigeria would be grossly underestimated.
He advised that all stakeholders should take the issue of drug abuse serious and ensure that young people are kept away from dangerous substances that compromise the bright future ahead of them.
Some of the dignitaries at the occasion included the Managing Editor and the Chief of Staff of THISDAY Newspaper, Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi and Mr. Ayo Arowolo respectively; Arise News Channel’s anchor, Dr. Reuben Abati; Managing Directors of The Guardian, The Sun and Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Martin Oloja, Mr. Ugo Onuoha and Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, respectively.
Others were the Consul General of Ghana to Lagos, Ms. Samata Gifty Bukari; Chairman, Governing Council, Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON), Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye; Group Managing Director, Futureview Financial Services Limited, Mrs Elizabeth Ebi, amongst others.
NDLEA Links Surge in Crimes to Drug Abuse
In a related development, the Commander of the NDLEA in Ondo State, Mumini Kayode Raji, on Thursday identified the surge in kidnapping, killings armed robbery in the state and across the country to drug abuse.
Raji who stated this while receiving leadership of the Nigerian Union Journalists, Ondo state council, said there was a nexus between drug abuse and the current state of insecurity in the country.
He said all forms of criminalities are linked with the use of illicit drugs.
According to him, no right-thinking person could take up arms against another individual without the aid of illegal drugs, saying that the abuse and illicit trafficking of drugs among youths in the country had assumed a worrisome dimension.
Raji while expressing worries over the spate of the drug abuse among youths, he called for collaboration of all stakeholders to address the drug problem which has become so prevalent and requires deliberate actions to nip it in the bud.
The NDLEA commander who assured that the anti-drug agency would remain resolute and steadfast in its operations to ensure a drug free society said, “the effect of drug is huge and it’s not just restricted to user alone but it’s extended to the whole society and we must all join hands together to eradicate this in our society.
“We also pledge to work with you and other stakeholders in order to achieve a drug free society and address the problem of drug and substance abuse, particularly among our young people” Raji said.
Peter Uzoho in Lagos and Fidelis David in Akure
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