The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd.) has decried the use illicit drugs among young persons of school age in Nigeria, saying “it has taken a worrisome dimension.”

According to him, a large percentage of young persons of school age have been found to use all kinds of psychoactive substances including unconventional concoctions, inhalants

Meanwhile, the Parents’ Teachers’ Association-Nasarawa Agricultural Development Programme (PTA-NADP) International College, Lafia, Nasarawa has emerged the winner of MTN Anti-substance Abuse Programme (ASAP) quiz competition.

The competition was organised by MTN in collaboration with the NDLEA and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in commemoration with International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

In a related development, Marwa said that protecting Nigerians from the devastating effects of substance abuse is key to national development.

He made the statement at an Anti-drug Conference and book launch organised by the NDLEA Celebrity Drug-free Club as part of activities marking the 2023 United Nations Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drugs Trafficking in Abuja.

To sustain the reinvigorated campaign against substance abuse, the agency has been employing an all society approach in its drug control strategy.

Represented by the Director, Media and Advocacy of the agency, Femi Babafemi, the Chairman explained that the NDLEA Celebrity Drug-free Club is a platform set up by celebrities to advance the campaign against substance abuse in Nigeria within the entertainment industry where they operate and to the larger society.

Meanwhile, Anglican Girls’ Grammar School, Benin City, emerged second while Government Girls’ Secondary School, Yola was third.
The competition had 18 participating states after which six states, Adamawa, Enugu, Oyo, Nasarawa, Katsina, Edo made it to the finale in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, Marwa who decried the extent of drug use among young people, as young as 15, or less, noted that the National Drug Use survey revealed that 14.3 million Nigerians aged between 15-64 years had used a psychoactive substance while one in seven persons had used a drug other than tobacco.

The NDLEA boss stated that the effects of drugs were very devastating, including the destruction of major body organs such as the respiratory system, kidney, liver, reproductive organ, brain damage, memory loss as well as psychological effects like depression, anxiety and loss of concentration.

He said: “Social effects include increase in crime rate, destruction of relationships especially family, truancy, cultism in schools, affects academic performance due to loss of motivation and concentration, impacts future career, invariably kills ones dream. Young people use drugs mainly because they want to be like their peers, (peer pressure), they copy quickly and are highly impressionable.

Marwa observed that the objectives of the competition was to provide learning opportunities for students to develop skills and attitudes about drugs, and to appreciate the benefits of a healthy life style and build skills to resist the pressure to use drugs and encourage peer education.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Mrs. Odunayo Sanya, said the quiz competition was aimed at creating awareness of substance abuse among secondary students.

Sanya also said it was to assess the level of awareness and knowledge of substance abuse and issues among secondary school students.

“The competition aims to recruit participants as advocates for ASAP in their respective schools,” she said. This is just as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) projected a 40 per cent increase on drug use in Africa by 2030.

UNODC Country Representative, Dr. Oliver Stolpe, said that the theme for this year’s World Drug Day, ‘People First: Stop Stigma and Discrimination, Strengthen Prevention’ was particularly relevant for Nigeria, as data indicated a growing drug use problem.

According to him, the 2018 Nigeria Drug Use Survey put Nigeria’s drug use prevalence at over three times the global average, with users being predominantly young people between the ages of 16 and 34.

“As at the 2018 Survey, there were over 14.8 million Nigerians who had used drugs with 3 million of them living with a drug use disorder.

“There are projections that the drug use prevalence in Africa will increase by 40 per cent by 2030 and for a country like Nigeria with a teeming youth population, this is alarming

“It should be a wake-up call to everyone, not just NDLEA, or other stakeholders currently working in this field.
“All hands must be on deck to reverse this negative trend. Our youths are our future and the current indices do not augur well for the future of the country.”